Has specialty coffee overcorrected toward acidity
I genuinely feel like specialty coffee culture overcorrected so hard against burnt coffee that acidity became overvalued
I completely understand why people moved away from dark roasted burnt diner coffee, I dislike that too, but sometimes modern filter coffee feels like the opposite extreme
A lot of V60s I’ve tried taste thin, overly acidic, and under extracted rather than balanced, and I sometimes wonder whether “bright” and “complex” are being used to describe flavors that most average people would simply call sour
For me, the best coffee sits in the middle ground between sour and burnt
That’s where you get balance, body, chocolate, caramel, nuttiness, sweetness, texture, and pleasant fruit notes instead of sharp acidity
That’s also why I personally think milk based espresso drinks are more enjoyable for most people than straight espresso or highly acidic filter coffee
And before anyone says milk hides coffee quality, I honestly disagree
A bad espresso still tastes bad in milk, sour shots still taste sour, bitter shots still taste harsh, and weak shots still taste thin
Milk softens and balances coffee, but it doesn’t magically erase the espresso underneath
I also think it says something that globally popular coffee drinks tend to be balanced drinks like lattes and cappuccinos rather than highly acidic black coffee
Maybe I just prefer medium roasted, balanced coffee profiles, but I’m curious whether anyone else feels like specialty coffee culture sometimes confuses acidity with quality