6 Roasts to try at a Coffee Shop in San Diego
With the proliferation of chain establishments seemingly popping up on every corner, how does a new arrival to the caffeine scene find the best coffee shop San Diego has to offer? Maybe more importantly, once you wander into a promising coffeehouse, how do you make sense of all the terms bandied about? When they start throwing foreign terms like "mocha-, frappe-, and cappuccino" at you, you are absolutely lost. After all, you came in for a cup of coffee, for goodness' sake. It can be confusing.
Start with something simple. Begin by learning terms that have to do with taste, because that will give you an excellent starting point, from which you can branch out later. One of the biggest factors to influence taste is the degree to which the raw dried coffee beans are roasted.
The longer a coffee bean is roasted, the less acidic and more full-bodied the resultant brewed coffee will be. There are coffee purists on each end of the spectrum, but in actuality, the roast that you drink is entirely up to your own personal taste. There are several degrees of coffee roasts, starting with:
Cinnamon/New England, the lightest roast. This is the most acidic roast and has the least body. It is preferred by some because it allows you to judge the quality of the coffee bean itself.
Slightly longer roasting will result in City Roast, 1-2 degrees darker, and with added hints of caramel.
Next comes Vienna, first popularized in Austria. This is a medium roast, slightly thicker and with hints of the beans' oil, and a good starting point for those searching for their favorite.
The first dark roast is Espresso, which is has far less acidity than the lighter and medium roasts, offering a very balanced flavor.
Italian goes darker, with very little acidity and a strong, bittersweet flavor. It a favorite for those who like dark roasts.
Darkest of all is French, the boldest and most robust roast, with a taste that calls to mind hickory.
Any top quality coffee shop in San Diego will have professionals standing by to explain it all to you and let you sample the individual roasts.
For some, coffee is more than a morning pick me up, more than a mere hot beverage to have with a pastry, and more than the cups of consolation that you bring to the rest of the office when you are running late. No, as some enlightened people who can pierce the veil and see the truth realize, without hyperbole, truly great coffee is indeed the stuff of Life.
Start with something simple. Begin by learning terms that have to do with taste, because that will give you an excellent starting point, from which you can branch out later. One of the biggest factors to influence taste is the degree to which the raw dried coffee beans are roasted.
The longer a coffee bean is roasted, the less acidic and more full-bodied the resultant brewed coffee will be. There are coffee purists on each end of the spectrum, but in actuality, the roast that you drink is entirely up to your own personal taste. There are several degrees of coffee roasts, starting with:
Cinnamon/New England, the lightest roast. This is the most acidic roast and has the least body. It is preferred by some because it allows you to judge the quality of the coffee bean itself.
Slightly longer roasting will result in City Roast, 1-2 degrees darker, and with added hints of caramel.
Next comes Vienna, first popularized in Austria. This is a medium roast, slightly thicker and with hints of the beans' oil, and a good starting point for those searching for their favorite.
The first dark roast is Espresso, which is has far less acidity than the lighter and medium roasts, offering a very balanced flavor.
Italian goes darker, with very little acidity and a strong, bittersweet flavor. It a favorite for those who like dark roasts.
Darkest of all is French, the boldest and most robust roast, with a taste that calls to mind hickory.
Any top quality coffee shop in San Diego will have professionals standing by to explain it all to you and let you sample the individual roasts.
For some, coffee is more than a morning pick me up, more than a mere hot beverage to have with a pastry, and more than the cups of consolation that you bring to the rest of the office when you are running late. No, as some enlightened people who can pierce the veil and see the truth realize, without hyperbole, truly great coffee is indeed the stuff of Life.