By Madison Mace
Overview
| Roast Level | Look | Acidity | Aroma | Flavor Profile | Ron's Recs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIGHT | Light brown, matte | High | Bright fruit, floral | Light-bodied, vibrant, pronounced origin notes | Finca Terrerito Mexico San Basilio |
| MEDIUM | Medium brown, some sheen | Medium | Mild fruit, toasty, some sweetness | Balanced, smooth | Bikers Blend Colombian Supremo |
| MEDIUM-DARK | Rich brown, some surface oil | Low | Toasted nuts, hints of smokiness | Full-bodied, bittersweet, more roast-forward | Peleton Espresso |
| DARK | Dark brown, shiny / oily | Low | Smoky, chocolatey, hints of caramel and nuts | Full-bodied, chocolatey, caramelized sugars, very roast-forward | N/A |
Light Roast
Distinguished by its light brown color and a dry, oil-free surface, light roast coffee is enjoyed for its brightness, acidity, and preservation of the bean’s natural characteristics. Due to its shorter roasting time, light roast coffee highlights the complex floral and fruity notes shaped by the bean’s specific origin and growing environment. This is why many specialty coffees are a light or medium roast, as extended roasting begins to impart smoky and bittersweet flavors which mask origin-specific characteristics. To make light roast coffee, the bean is roasted to an internal temperature around 400F, until right after the “first crack” occurs.
As the roasting process continues into darker roasts, the bean continues to expand and lose density, resulting in light roasts having the highest caffeine content when measured by volume. When measured by weight, however, both light and dark roasts have nearly identical caffeine levels, meaning that a brewed cup of dark roast and light roast coffee will have no meaningful difference in caffeine.
Common names for light roast coffee include cinnamon, blonde, New England, light city, and half city.
The First Crack
The first crack is a crucial moment in the coffee roasting process and is marked by an audible cracking sound similar to that of popcorn being popped. When water trapped inside the bean turns to steam, it creates pressure in the bean that causes it to crack and physically expand. Once the first crack occurs, this signals that the beans are undergoing significant chemical changes and have begun the flavor development phase, essentially marking the point in which the beans transition from raw to roasted.
Medium Roast
Medium roasts, as the name would suggest, are medium brown in color. The beans are roasted to an internal temperature of about 400-430F, until slightly past the first crack, which causes the beans to take on a little bit of the flavor from the roasting process and brings some of the oil trapped inside the bean to the surface, giving it a slight sheen. As a result, medium roasts often have a balanced flavor, aroma, and acidity, which results in a fuller body and a slightly sweeter taste than the light roast, while still retaining more of the origin-specific attributes than a dark roast.
Since it’s generally preferred in the United States, the medium roast is nicknamed the “American roast”. Other common names include city, full city, breakfast, or regular.
Medium-Dark Roast
Although we commonly consider only three roast types – light, medium, and dark – some prefer to distinguish a specific medium-dark roast with qualities of both. Dark brown in color, the medium-dark roast tends to be richer, fuller, and less acidic than medium roasts, while still retaining more of the complex and nuanced origin characteristics than dark roasts. It also tends to have a slight bittersweet aftertaste and some oil on the surface, as the extended roasting breaks down many of the natural acids found in coffee. Medium-dark roasts are usually roasted to an internal temperature of around 410-450F, until either just before or just after the “second crack” begins, depending on the preference of the roaster.
Common names for this roast include Vienna, after dinner, full city, and espresso.
The Second Crack
Like the first crack, the second crack gets its name due to an audible noise which signals a chemical transformation in the bean – though, it is more akin to the sound of Rice Krispies in milk rather than the loud popping of the first crack. During this stage, quick snapping sounds are caused by the fracturing of the bean’s cellulose structure as internal pressure from carbon dioxide and other gases build up and break through, causing the oils trapped inside the bean to surface. The second crack is a critical moment in flavor development for darker roasts as acidity drops considerably, and the smoky bitterness imparted by the roasting process intensifies.
Dark Roast
Dark roasts, as the trend suggests, are dark-brown or almost black in color. Roasted to an internal temperature of around 465F, well into or even past the second crack development phase, the natural characteristics and origin-specific notes of the bean are mostly lost, replaced by a pronounced toasty, smoky, and bittersweet, almost burnt-like flavor. Dark roasts are also known for being “shiny”, as the long roasting process bring many of the oils trapped inside the bean to the surface.
Common names include continental, espresso, New Orleans, European, Italian, and French.