If I’m being brutally honest, I’m not typically a fan of mainstream dark roasts. What do I mean by mainstream dark roasts? Well, in general I prefer lighter, citrus and floral notes in my morning coffee. These notes are typically roasted out in the mainstream dark roast profiles that I’ll qualify as Espresso, French and Italian roasts.

I’m not suggesting that quality dark roasts aren’t out there. What I am insisting is that commodity coffee is often roasted using darker profiles to mask more of the unpleasant features associated with them. These unpleasant features are generally due to a lack of proper harvest protocols that are more or less the mainstay modus operandi of modern industrialized coffee production for commercial purposes.

Dark Roast is almost a flavor profile unto itself, especially when taking coffee to the deepest of the dark roast realms. Simply put, the darker we roast our coffees, the less of the fruitier, more floral and citrus notes of high end Specialty Coffees get roasted out. Most roasters that focus specifically in the Specialty Coffee niche rarely traverse the realms of the aforementioned mainstream dark roast profiles.

All of that said, I have been experimenting with some darker profiles and am quite pleased with the outcomes. The Burundi Gashikanwa as a Medium-Dark is a joy. The monsoon processed India Malabar is so unique, I haven’t figured out exactly how to brew it. Every time I make a grind adjustment, I seem to unlock hidden flavors that accent it’s overall earthy, cedar wood and tobacco notes.

The India Malabar is quickly becoming one of my favorite coffees. And I can’t help but feel that this coffee is telling me to roast it darker. I’ll need to order some more soon and who knows? I may just decided to test an espresso roast profile out when it arrives.

In the meantime, for those eager to try out a coffee roasted with our Dark House profile, the India Malabar is an absolute MUST!