Omni Roasts are currently very popular, some large, extremely popular roasters offer only and very many Omni Roasts. If you're still wondering what we're actually talking about now, we usually distinguish between an espresso or filter roast. These are the two major roast styles that we distinguish depending on the method of preparation. But there are also roasts that are generally suitable for both (i.e. omni). Whose roast, in other words, is somewhere in the middle between the lighter filter roast and the slightly darker espresso roast: An Omni roast. We don't currently offer any specific omni roasts, but of course it's up to you - as the coffee drinker:in - to decide whether to prepare a roast optimized by the roaster for espresso using a filter brewing method, and vice versa.
Are roasters just lazy? ;)
We interviewed our Head of Coffee Anthony about this and here comes his take on omni roasts:
"I personally like omni roasts per se. However, I prefer a really light, bright, clean espresso brewed at a longer ratio with clarity of flavor over everything else. Basically a filter coffee brewed like an espresso. I am fortunate to be able to use very expensive high-end equipment when brewing and invest a lot of time and effort to brew my "espresso" so I can really control the extraction.
I also prefer fully developed filter roasts with high sweetness and balance over extremely light filter roasts that border on underdeveloped. So in my case, an Omni roast would be just fine, but what about everyone else?
95% of our customers don't have access to the equipment. And an even larger number of people prefer a more classic espresso with lots of body and texture and lower acidity. To achieve that, it's impossible to roast Omni and not ruin what we strive for with our filter coffees. Namely, sweet, balanced, bright and juicy, and without a slight roast note.
With Omni roasts, you have to choose one compromise or the other, and that's why we prefer to roast for both filter coffee and espresso without promising anything."
Quite a bit of work goes into each of our roasts, from various team members, until the final designed coffee bag hits the shelf. So it's an even greater luxury when we roast a lot two different ways - because that means you, the coffee drinker, can try the same lot with two different roast profiles. And as I said, just because we give you a direction on the scale (espresso or filter) doesn't mean you have to stick to it. A lightly roasted espresso can make an outstanding cup of filter coffee!
Happy Brewing!
