[roflyear]

Like what you like, I think that is great. Some people really like dark roasted coffee. Nothing wrong with that, they aren't wrong/unsophisticated/whatever.

However, roasting coffee dark does homogenize the flavor of the coffee, and you do lose more and more of what that coffee tastes like. Coffees have a ton of different flavor compounds, and no two coffees are the same. There are quality issues and processing issues though that don't help to highlight this too, so it's hard to find coffee - even from people who know how to roast - that can shine in this way.

I think everyone should try a good coffee that has some punchy flavors - I'm not saying everyone should like it. It's a fun thing and should be experienced if you're interested.

[searealist]

You can make this argument for all cooking. You could even substitute "light roast" for "dark roast" in the above and it would read exactly the same. Why not brew raw coffee berries?

[throw_pm23]

You can indeed make a (less absolute) form of this argument for all cooking:

Overcooking and adding a lot of spices makes everything (more or less) edible. With less cooking and less spices, you can better taste the original ingredients.

[searealist]

"overcooking" is a circular argument

[throwaway2037]

When you say "cooking" here, do you *only* mean roasting coffee beans? Or do you use the term "cooking" more generally? If specific, I agree with your point. If general, I would say that cooking proteins fundamentally changes the food and makes it more digestible (meat, fish, eggs, etc.).

[fuzztester]

>If general, I would say that cooking proteins fundamentally changes the food and makes it more digestible (meat, fish, eggs, etc.)

Applies to vegetables and other vegetarian foods, too :)

Ever tried eating raw wheat, rice, pulses or vegetables? Only some vegetables are okay in salads.

[fuzztester]

And cooking fundamentally changes the food because cooking is a chemical and physical reaction caused by the heat on the food being cooked. Proteins get denatured, food gets softer or harder (depending upon the amount of liquid and heat added or removed), etc.

I am not a expert on the science of cooking, these are just my casual, slightly scientific observations as a layman :)

[searealist]

I mean all cooking, including roasting.

[roflyear]

I mean, you can agree that there's a difference between raw beef, a rare steak, medium, well done, and carbonized, right? Same deal. Some people may prefer well done and maybe even carbonized, but you have to agree that when you cook a steak that much you lose a lot of what the meat can offer.

[searealist]

Would you consider a medium or medium-rare steak losing a lot of what meat can offer?

[roflyear]

No, but I would say the same about coffee. I would consider these roasts: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/46... and https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/47... to have roasted a lot of what the coffee has to offer away.

[roflyear]

You should try green coffee and see what you think. Some roast on the coffee does enhance the flavor, make it more soluble, etc.. "underdeveloped" is definitely a thing.

I'm sure you will agree that raw beef and a steak taste differently?