Please, No Fruitiness, No Chocolate, No citrus or berries

[strauss44]

I see more and more of a trend for coffee roasters to "bring out" the fruity flavors and the chocolate tones, maybe also a hint of citrus (tartness; similar to what I find in Italian roasts).

If "the many" like those flavors, fine. It's just not my preference. But here lies the problem.

I can't find a coffee roast that has what may be called an "old" flavor.

The latest I remember from a 2009 trip to Hallstatt in Austria. At the Pension the coffee had a "strong" flavor, what I may call pure, dry, medium roast, with none of the fruitiness, or sweet, or chocolate, or citrus. But also no bitterness.

When I say strong, yes it was. I had no problem hiking the mountains all day.

When I use the word citrus, I don't mean acidity. The coffee should have a dry flavor, which I believe comes from acidity.

Anyone have an comments?

Any help in this regard will be greatly appreciated.
strauss44

[MntnMan62]

I think those descriptive tasting notes are merely a gimmick by the industry to create this allure that the wine industry has adopted. Frankly, I've never tasted any of the things they describe in some of the wines I've drunk. I just know if I like it or not. And frankly, roof tar and apshalt aren't desirable tastes that I want in my wine or coffee, yet read enough of these things and you'll see them mentioned. It just makes me laugh.

[wstsider]

I see more and more of a trend for coffee roasters to "bring out" the fruity flavors and the chocolate tones, maybe also a hint of citrus (tartness; similar to what I find in Italian roasts).

If "the many" like those flavors, fine. It's just not my preference. But here lies the problem.

I can't find a coffee roast that has what may be called an "old" flavor.

The latest I remember from a 2009 trip to Hallstatt in Austria. At the Pension the coffee had a "strong" flavor, what I may call pure, dry, medium roast, with none of the fruitiness, or sweet, or chocolate, or citrus. But also no bitterness.

When I say strong, yes it was. I had no problem hiking the mountains all day.

When I use the word citrus, I don't mean acidity. The coffee should have a dry flavor, which I believe comes from acidity.

Anyone have an comments?

Any help in this regard will be greatly appreciated.
strauss44

Well I’m not a roaster or anybody just a simple guy that likes a good cup of coffee. I’ll throw my 2 cents in this one but for those certain flavors u don’t want avoid African coffee beans because they are unique in that specific flavor which is something I love about a good Ethiopian. If there’s one guy I trust on this site and I always use his expertise on certain stuff like this it’s my guy @musicphan because he knows his coffee’s very well. Ask him.

[wstsider]

Also what region was that coffee from that u drank because that has a lot to do with it!

[Musicphan]

Flavor is impacted by 3 different things - Origin / Roast Level / Processing. The origin is simply the country the coffee is grown in and various parts of the world tend to taste slightly different due to the soil/mineral content. The second factor is the roast level - which unfortunately there is not really a standard in our industry. My medium roast is most likely 'light' if comparing to a large commercial roaster like $tarbucks. Once a roast has hit a certain level the sugars within the bean start to burn an the coffee takes on more of the 'burnt' taste vs. the origin. Lastly, the processing, a washed processed coffee is typically cleaner / brighter tasting cup. Natural processed coffee are typically sweeter and have fruity notes.

When I'm evaluating coffees I cup/taste and review against the SCA flavor wheel. This is the best way to understand what your tasting - honestly without having some visual guide its very difficult unless you have an extremely good pallet. I spend a lot of time doing sensory training with small 'smell kits'.. you open the container, smell and trying to determine what flavor your smelling. It's HARD... so I guess the fact that people can't recognize the flavors in coffee is not unusual. However, it's certainly not fictitious, it's just that your pallet has learned those flavors. When I have tastings in my shop I have people focus on the inner ring - those are the most 'generic' tastes. I do understand from the customer's perspective how it can come across gimmicky... I try to avoid putting to much emphasis because most can't take taste the nuances.

https://www.scanews.coffee/wp-conten...l.01.18.15.jpg

Now, regarding the original OP, there is not a lot of info to be able to really suggest a good coffee for you. Considering you were in Europe having the best cup of coffee it may have been Robusta (vs. Arabica) coffee which is not as common in the US. It's known for higher caffeine content, bolder flavor but not consider as good (but that is changing). For you, assuming your based in the US, find a local roaster and try their dark roast blend. I would also recommend maybe starting with South American coffee (Peru / Brazil). Hope that helps!