When a producer lists a lot without a roast or brew recommendation, the platform fills one in and marks it as automatic. The producer can overwrite it any time. Here is how it is derived, so you know what you are reading on a lot page.
Inputs
- The process: washed, natural, honey, or an espresso-oriented lot
- The SCA cupping score and the acidity and body attributes
- The flavour descriptors from the SCA wheel
Roast recommendation
The process sets the profile family. Washed lots get a light to light-medium, filter-led profile with a charge around 190 to 195 °C on a drum and 18 to 20 % development. Naturals get a slightly lower charge and a longer Maillard phase because the sugars scorch easily, with 20 to 22 % development. Honeys sit between the two. Espresso-oriented lots go medium with 22 to 25 % development and a longer rest.
Brew recommendation
Bright, fruity descriptors and high acidity point to a filter recommendation: V60 at 1:16 and 94 °C, batch brew at 60 g per litre. Chocolate, nutty and heavier body point to an espresso base at 1:2 in 27 to 30 seconds, with a note that it holds up in milk. Every recommendation states what to avoid, for example dark roasts on floral lots.
What it is not
It is a starting point, not a roast profile. The descriptors and scores come from the producer’s Q-grader; the recommendation is a rule set, not a cupping. Roast, cup, adjust.