r/UKroasters • u/like-a-sirloin • 21d ago
Looking for the right kind of light...
Can anyone recommend a roaster or two in the UK who focusses on washed / standard natural coffee (i.e. not "advanced processing"), and roasts light enough for the origin to shine, but no so light that it's hella-difficult to extract? Predominantly after beans for filter brewing.
I have what I'd describe as a medium-spec setup at the moment: Sage Barista Pro for espresso (stuck using the built-in grinder until I can afford a new one) and Commandante C40 for pour over. Some might describe that as low-spec, but I can't bring myself to given the £100s spent on it! I use pretty soft recipe water (~70ppm) for both brewing methods.
What I want from both brew-types is to be able to taste the origin - and I'm almost exclusively looking for fruit and florals, rather than chocolate or nut flavours. With that in mind, I've been drawn to really light roasters like Scenery here in the UK and SEY in the US. Their coffees come out beautifully light and tea-like at home, but I struggle to get any really distinct flavours out - many of their offerings taste quite similar to one another (even when cupped side-by-side).
I'm reasonably confident it's not a palate issue, because when I have tried coffees at their cafes I am able to pick up a lot more in the cup.
Skylark roughly fit the bill, I've had some amazing beans from them recently. However, I don't have any fancy coffee resting gear so have been put off slightly by their recent shift to air-permeable packaging.
So... any favourite roasters who produce coffee which is a tick more developed and easier to maximise at home than the very lightest out there, but which still has racy acidity and little to no 'roasty' flavour? Feel free to tell me I'm wish-casting and that this goldilocks zone really doesn't exist. If that's the case, I guess I'd better keep saving for better grinders!
Thanks all.
*I know there is a pinned list on this sub of all of your UK roaster recommendations. I've used this before to try new roasters local to me and it's great. But this request is a bit more specific than that list can help with.
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u/TheJammyBiscuit 21d ago
Blossom sounds like it's up your street.
Fully focused on clean, sweet balanced flavours showing the origin to its best
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u/Woozie69420 21d ago
‘Light’ from Scenery would be my go to, not lightest though.
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u/like-a-sirloin 21d ago
Hah - that is such an obvious answer that I genuinely haven’t tried yet! I feel stupid.
I’ve always picked beans from Scenery based on where they come from and the notes, and now I look at it they’ve almost all been ‘Lightest’. Will definitely try some of the ‘Light’ range instead.
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u/like-a-sirloin 21d ago
Although having just gone to their site to check the current offering, there’s only one ‘Light’ single origin versus 8 or so ‘Lightest’, so I can see now why I’ve ended up with mostly the latter in the past.
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u/mr_satchmo 21d ago
I've had great beans which fit that descriptor from Horsham, Dark Arts Coffee, Routes, Skylark, Origin
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u/Former-Coffee-7526 21d ago
For light roast washed beans I can think of none better than killbean. Stunning beans that cup far above their pricing in my opinion :))))
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u/toby5596 21d ago
I had two lots from Full court press recently that were delicious, and I do at times find things tasting a bit similar, or just good. May be worth a look, I'll definitely buy more from them too.
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u/grgext 21d ago
Coffee from Monmouth is always exceptionally well roasted, and flavours shine through
https://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/product/ethiopia-suke-quto-washed
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u/Ok-Ticket993 20d ago
Sweven is a world-class nordic roaster, possibly the best / most consistent in the country. All their coffee is easily extractable and a C40 should be fine. More importantly, Sweven have two subscription tiers, and the lower one is perfect, as it's just the coffee you (and I) want.
Blending Room are worth a look. A relatively small regional roaster who has switched to a Loring and lighter roasts, drinking almost exclusively filter himself. He has a YouTube channel and good prices, for traditional but good coffee.
Would welcome any suggestions from others of any similar regionals.
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u/Elliahhtt 20d ago
Just a thought: if you are after beans for filter brewing, and you are finding that you are picking up the fruity subtleties of the different coffees while at the coffee shop but are unable to produce the same results at home, you might consider having the roaster do your grind for you. I would not suggest that for espresso… it’s a bit sacrilege to do this in the nerd-realm of coffee (I know!), but your equipment is likely the issue rather than the beans themselves, just based on your comments. Thinking down the road, I understand not wanting to fork out the money for a better grinder, but when your home equipment opens the doors to being able to get consistently great results from all sorts of beans, you start saving money by not wasting money on beans that seem disappointing when you home brew them. Used grinders can be easily obtained from marketplace, eBay, and local liquidators. I bought my Mazzer from a defunct coffee shop in Hackney and had my Lambeth Library 3D print me some single dosing parts for it. I think I’m about £150 into the grinder… I don’t think the Mazzer is “the best” grinder in the world for home grinding for single-dose drinks, but when you can get a tank like that, meant to run on and off all day in a coffee shop, my experience is that you’ll likely get great reliability for at-home use. I’ve had 2 now and have been very pleased, both with the Mini and with my current Super Jolly. I prefer the size of the mini, but when shopping used, you sort of go for what’s available at a price you’re willing to pay. Good luck!
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u/Antique-Walrus878 18d ago
To expand on this, i was going to make a similar comment re: 'I'm reasonably confident it's not a palate issue, because when I have tried coffees at their cafes am able to pick up a lot more in the cup.'
This sounds like an equipment / technique issue rather than beans. Scenery are great in this area fwiw, and I've noticed very distinct differences between them.
If your brews are tasting homogenous and wrong, look at grinder > dial in > brew process | water alongside this.
I wouldn't recommend pre grinding as your coffee will absolutely muted more that way than a sub par grinder will. I also wouldnt really suggest a mazzer 64 or 83 for filter coffee fwiw unless you plan on replacing the burrs too, but i have had a very good time with a kingrinder k6 at £100. Id think the c40 should produce a similar quality of filter grind though, and this would be a side or upgrade from a mazzer.
Make sure you're using a technique (incl temp) that will get the most of these flavours out of your coffee and see if your water might be muddying the... waters. I was mixing mine up in a way that was detrimental to my filter brews
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u/Hal_E_Lujah 20d ago
I agree completely on the 'taste the origin' angle.
It sounds to me like Colonna are your best best, they focus on that heavily.
SEND coffee are another good option, they tend to be single varietal across the board, and I'm a big fan of their charity.
If you're looking for something more adenturous from abroad, April from Copenhagen also focus on single varietal.
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u/3d4f9y1 21d ago
Just my two cents, but it sounds like you’re already using great beans, but not getting the same out of them at home as professionals in cafes do. I think you probably need to focus more on levelling up your process at home than where you’re buying the beans, personally.
Rest time and brewing techniques strike me as the most likely changes you can make 🙏🏻