I enjoy coffee that is dark and rather strong so I am roasting to a French roast level – almost ebony. Could you recommend a bean or beans that I should try that will do well with a French roast and that will have a very bold flavor? – I brew with a chemex, but I am trying to get to almost an espresso taste. It is working fairly well hot frothed milk.
Glad to hear that you’re enjoying the roasting experience!
If you’re looking to roast to a really dark stage, it’s best to shop for very hard beans, so look for a SHB or HB designation. That will help get you started. Two on our list right now are the Brazil Organic Nossa Senhora de Fatima SHB and Guatemala Huehue ASOBAGRI. Other coffees that you might like at that level of roast include Flores, Nicaragua Segovia, Ethiopian Harrar, and Monsooned Malabar. Monsooned Malabar is quite popular in espresso blends, giving it a funky base note. Some folks like it straight–but you’ll have to try it and see what you think about that.
If you’re trying to approximate espresso, I’d suggest trying some blends. Think of a blend as a musical chord–you want some high notes, from coffees like Costa Rican, Guatemala, or Kenya. You also want some middle notes from Guatemalans (they can go both ways), Brazilian (which is often used as a base for espresso blends–and the Nossa I mentioned above is stellar for that purpose), or a Colombian, and finally you want some bass notes from the Monsooned Malabar and/or an Ethiopian for heavy body with fruity notes, if that’s your preference. Try starting with 40% Brazil, 10% high notes, 20-30% middle notes and the rest bass notes, and then adjust from there till you find what you like. Really, there’s no substitute for experimentation when you’re searching for your perfect espresso blend, and the bonus is that it’s really fun to try. When working on a blend, I put all my coffees into little glass canning jars, line them up, and then add a little bit of this/that and adjust till I have it the way I want it. Keep notes to help you remember what you did. Keep in mind that all of your coffees don’t have to be roasted the same way. When you’re blending, you might want to give your Costa Rican a lighter roast to get more fruit out of it, and dark roast your other coffees. Again, experiment to see what appeals to you.
Chemex makes an awesome brewer, but if you are shooting for aproximating espresso, I’d suggest getting a stovetop espresso maker or an Aeropress. Either one of those will give you a closer approximation to what you’re looking for than the Chemex will, and will cost less than an espresso machine. If you want an Aeropress, email us. I seem to recall seeing one around here somewhere–we used to carry them. I bet we could come up with one for you.
I hope that’s enough to get you started. Feel free to email with other questions if I missed something.