Selecting a bean for a darker roast

[Redswing]

Looking for ideas about choosing beans for a dark roast. Digging through the older posts I saw people suggesting origins like Sumatra, Peru, and Mexico. I've heard that beans with higher acidity can withstand darker roasting better. Agree? If so, are there general rules about what regions those beans are from?
As a newer roaster, I find that I've been pushing back against too many people who want something "strong" and "rich". So I think I want to appease them and offer a good choice for a dark roast.

Currently I have these coffees on hand:
Rwanda Dukunde Kawa Coop washed
Ethiopia Sidamo grade 3 natural
Brazil Mogiana pulp natural
Honduras Santa Elana Madre Selva washed
Guatemala Huehuetenango washed

Any best option here?

 

[eldub]

I like low acid beans for a dark roast. We roast Peruvian to the edge of darkness. At a light French roast the Peruvians have a bit of bean flavor left to compliment the roasty character dark roast lovers are looking for with the low acidity of the darkest offerings.

It has been my experience that dark roast lovers aren't looking for acidity in the cup.

 

[JumpinJakJava]

I personally have never heard that beans with higher acidity make for better dark roasts.
I am not saying that it is not true. First I have heard of that.

With your current offerings I would suggest the Brazil or Honduras. Leaning more toward the Brazil.
My 3rd choice would be the Rwandan. Even though the Guat. Hue. is a SHB, it is a shame to dark roast it.
Such a great taste at Full City and a little beyond. The same with the Sidamo.

If you will be doing a lot of dark roasting, I would recommend Sumatra, Colombian Supremo, and Mexican Chiapas.

A few years ago, someone requested from me a number of times, Eth. Yirg. to a Spanish roast. He wanted it black
and oily and it had to be Eth. Yirg. I hated to roast it that far, but he was paying for it. I will tell you this that
Yirg. is a very hard bean, and I found very versatile, but all the fruit/citrus was gone.

 

[Redswing]

In James Freemans book The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee, he says: "When Peet's came on the scene in the late 1960's, commercial blends had sunk to such a nadir of quality that Peet's blends, made from carefully selected high-quality coffee chosen to have enough acidity to withstand very dark roasting, were revelatory."

He doesn't discuss it any more than that, but I thought there might be some rule accepted industry wide about a certain level of acidity needed for a darker roast. Or maybe the acidity in the "high-quality" coffee is just in comparison to whatever the commercial coffee of the day was using.

 

[JumpinJakJava]

Redswing, thanks for the info quote.