LogFAQs > #958280710

mattymad posted...

Coffee really isn't as easy as just going "French" over "Italian", there are SO many factors for the final taste, the specific bean, if it's a blend or single source, where the beans came from, altitude the beans grew at, how it was roasted, etc.

French and Italian are just ways of roasting the bean, both are pretty similar but Italian goes a bit longer so in theory, Italian would be more bitter if you were comparing the same bean roasted the two different ways and prepared the same way.

The real way to find a coffee you like is just to try all sorts. I find shopping local at bean shops and talking to the staff (or at a local espresso place) waaaay better than just guessing from a super market. You can just talk shit with them about what you like and walk away with some samples.

Also your preparation is going to play huge in this. Do you use a French press, aeropress, espresso machine, drip filter, etc. Grind size you use, brew time, weight of beans being used, etc.

tl;dr: technically you want French but that's simplifying it.

All of this is true. But really you're just going to have a hard time duplicating that taste unless you can find another roaster doing a similar level roast using beans of an identical (or at least similar) origin. You're probably better off exploring other dark roasts from local coffee places.

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CE's friendly neighborhood rationalist.