Am I the only one who heard a barista call a light roast 'weak' and got really annoyed?

I was at a coffee shop in Chicago yesterday, waiting for my pour-over. The person in front of me ordered a light roast Ethiopian, and the barista making it said, kind of under his breath to his coworker, 'another weak coffee order.' It really got under my skin. I love a bright, fruity light roast, and calling it weak just feels like he doesn't get what it's about. It's not about being strong or weak, it's about tasting the actual coffee bean. My home setup is a simple V60, and I spent months learning to get those tea-like, complex flavors right. That comment made me feel like all that work to appreciate something different was being dismissed. Has anyone else run into this kind of attitude from people who should know better?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_skyler3mo agoMost Upvoted

Wow, guess he's never tasted actual flavor before.

the_miles2mo ago

Right, because clearly if you're not drinking charcoal water you haven't experienced real flavor. I swear some people think if a coffee doesn't taste like a burnt tire and a pack of cigarettes it's not "real coffee." It's like telling someone who enjoys a nice medium rare steak that they've never tasted actual beef because they didn't order it well done. Maybe the barista just needs to add some hot sauce to his coffee to really bring out the flavor, that'll fix it.

reese_bell3mo ago

Totally agree with "tasting the actual coffee bean." I read a piece by a roaster who said calling light roast weak is like calling a fine white wine "just grape juice." It misses the whole point of flavor and skill. @the_skyler is right, that barista is missing out on a whole world of taste.