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searealist 3 days ago

Here the first sentence of Third-wave coffee's wikipedia page:

> Third-wave coffee is a term primarily in the United States coffee industry emphasizing higher quality, single-origin farms and light roast to bring out distinctive flavors.

I also strongly suspect your definition of "decently dark" is still below a medium roast. If not, I would be interested if you could cite a "decently dark" roast you have tried from a third-wave coffee shop.

noirbot 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

Sure, I'm not denying what's in that quote - that the emphasis is usually on lighter roasts. Somewhat because there's already a number of older roasters who do nothing but dark roasts.

Many of the cups I've had at Dark Matter in Chicago are decidedly on the darker side, and they have Starry Eyes which is specifically sold as their dark roast. I don't think they post exact roast curves, so I'm not sure there's an objective way to denote what qualifies as a "real" dark roast, but I'm guessing most people who like a more classic dark roast would at least find it acceptably close. Roasters in Atlanta like Chrome Yellow, Dancing Goat, or Portrait also tend to be on the darker side, though I'm not sure if they have mainstay coffees.

It's not as if I've never had a cup of Lavazza or Folgers or Cafe du Monde to compare to. I grew up on basic coffeemaker grocery store French Roast all day every day.

searealist 3 days ago | parent [-]

This is actually a perfect example. I agree that you can find dark roasts at some third-wave shops, but they are _not_ third-wave coffee.

> Our premier dark roast is a nod to the old style of roasting which is still favored throughout the world

In this case, they even go out of their way to disqualify it as a third-wave roast.

dghlsakjg 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I used to work for these guys. Here’s their listings of dark beans available from small third wave roasters.

They are definitely a smaller category, but it is patently false to say that third wave coffee houses don’t do dark roasts. https://beanbox.com/coffee?tags=roast-profile:dark&

searealist 3 days ago | parent [-]

Just to clarify, many third wave shops do serve medium and dark roasts. My point is that third wave coffee shops often call a roast dark when they are actually medium or light. Additionally, I think only light roasts really qualify as third wave.

Most of the coffees you listed look like actual dark roasts.

"Full City Roast" with "lemon zest" in the flavor notes raises some red flags for me. Indeed, from the reviews: "Yum! I don't like dark roasts, and this is not a dark roast which is why I liked it. Lots of chocolate. Very smooth, not bitterness, a hint of fruit as it cools. I really enjoyed drinking this."

"Imunika Black" might also be an exception: the "blackberry" tasting note makes me think it isn't very dark.

I see more with citrus or other fruity descriptions, and I doubt those are dark roasts either.