I Gave Up on Balance With Light Roast a Long Time Ago

It Smells Better Than It Taste — a quiet coffee newsletter where I share what I'm learning about coffee, curiosity, and daily rituals, this channel is an extension of that space: https://www.itsmellsbetterthanittaste.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=xA2I2_rbEN4 I have been drinking light roast for years. I roast it myself, as light as I can control it. And I still have not decided that I like it. This episode is me being honest about that, and about what actually keeps pulling me back, which turns out not to be sweetness at all. • Why acidity complexity, not sweetness, is the thing I'm chasing in a light roast • How a single cup can move from blackberry to crisp apple to Meyer lemon as it cools • What it's like to roast a category you're still not sure you enjoy • The gift of not liking something: you can finally be honest and objective about why • Why "it's just not my taste" is a real verdict and not a brewing failure • The thing I'm actually curious about: what everyone else is tasting that I'm not So tell me: where does the sweetness come in for you on a light roast? At the tail end, as something chocolatey? Or is the acidity the whole reason you're there? Timestamps: 0:00 Acidity's the play 0:21 Talking to my shrink about light roast 1:22 The complexity: blackberry, apple, Meyer lemon 2:02 If I can get sweetness, I'm in a better place 2:22 Fast filter, slow filter, Melodrip, ZP6 3:12 Coffees I haven't tried yet 3:32 Three, four, six months of rest 4:06 You probably go through this too 4:42 Being objective, being real with ourselves 5:20 Rose-colored glasses on the coffee we love 6:10 I'm in a unique position: I roast this coffee 7:02 I still fail to enjoy it. Is that failure? 7:17 The ride most of us never go on 7:43 Trash, the roaster, the water, or you just don't like it 8:13 The gift of not liking something 9:10 Being critical about what we don't like 9:42 I don't know how many more light roast topics I have 10:19 Where do you get the sweetness from? 10:51 Why I keep coming back 11:27 How did John taste that? 12:32 We're totally different people 13:07 Drinking the same cup with someone else 13:40 You have to want to go on the ride 14:04 Sign-off #lightroast #specialtycoffee #coffeepodcast