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Permalink Reply by Matt B on June 18, 2010 at 5:02am

There is no truly standard sample roast level/profile (which is a bit of an issue--for example, calibration between cuppers who are roasting the same sample in different locations). But generally speaking, sample roasts are city/light, so that any defects in the cup stand out, acidity and inherent sweetness are prominent, etc. That said, I usually roast coffees that I am looking to purchase twice--one somewhere between city/city+, and one that is a little darker/has more development/is closer to a production roast (assuming it's a coffee that I'd roast darker than city). The more you (sample) roast, the better you become at gaging what a lightly roasted coffee's potential is, but personally speaking, I like to have and need the second roast to help me in making decisions. If I'm getting a half lb sample, or even a third (160ish grams), I can do this (assuming I don't screw one of them up).

As a roaster of high-end specialty, I'm a little spoiled, as most of my samples don't have the kinds of defects that buyers for the big boys have to deal with--PERHAPS making a really light roast (that masks nothing) a little less important. But I find that it's better to err on the side of underdevelopment than over. Just in the last week, I had one natural that lost most of its fruit, sweetness and charm well before the onset of second crack. A "medium"(whatever that means) sample roast might have meant that I passed on what is actually a really nice and complex coffee.

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Permalink Reply by joel on June 18, 2010 at 9:41am

so, if i got you right, your saying the first sample roast should be lightly roasted to show an honest and basic feel of the coffees potential, and then the second time you can try and bring out more of its characteristics?
that would make sense to me.
what is your roaster company?

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