Coffee Talk

National Coffee Brands Want to Be Like Little Guys, Hawk Lighter Roasts

Starbuck's Veranda blend.
Starbuck’s Veranda blend.

San Francisco’s booming “third-wave” coffee scene is at the forefront of a national trend toward blonder roasts of coffee that are now being hawked by typically darker roast-loving Peet’s, Starbucks, and Tully’s. We heard in December that Peet’s was trying to compete with Dunkin’ Donuts on the East Coast by introducing a lighter roast, and the Journal picks up on the trend today, quoting Jeremy Tooker of S.F.’s Four Barrel who compares dark-roast coffees to “the charcoal that’s on a piece of toast.” He says in roasting his coffees more lightly and brewing them strongly, more subtle flavors emerge. “We’re trying to show you the reasons why you bought the coffee.” And if we’re lucky we may soon have an entire nation of people who sound like this. [WSJ]

National Coffee Brands Want to Be Like Little Guys, Hawk Lighter Roasts