A Guide To Various Types of Coffee Roast
Roasting is a heat process that turns coffee into the fragrant, dark brown beans we know and love. Roasting brings out the aroma and flavour that is locked inside the green coffee beans. Beans are stored green, a state in which they can be kept without loss of quality or taste. While the methods vary from simple (a frying pan over an open fire can do the trick) to the expensive and complicated air roasters found at many roasters and coffee shops, there’s an art and science to getting the right roast. Mass-produced coffee, with its reliance on volume, churns out standardized coffee by relying on standardized techniques. Custom roasting, on the other hand, takes into account different bean varieties’ flavour profiles and seeks to maximize them through the roasting process.
Types of Roasts
Light Roast
Light brown in colour, this roast is generally preferred for milder coffee varieties. There will be no oil on the surface of these beans because they are not roasted long enough for the oils to break through to the surface. The beans will be pale and dry-looking, resulting in a coffee with a bit less body and usually no traces of the roasting process. The coffee that results has more acidity and less body, but typically also has a more varied flavour profile.
Medium Roast
This roast is medium brown in colour with a stronger flavour and a non-oily surface. It’s often referred to as the American roast because it is generally preferred in the United States. The beans are still dry, with more sweetness due to further caramelisation. The body is fuller, and the acidity typically lower, but the flavour is somewhat more compressed, with more pronounced bitterness.
Dark Roast
This roast produces shiny black beans with an oily surface. This time, the beans have come to “second crack,” and the beans will begin to have a pronounced roasted or bitter taste. Spicy notes and a thicker, oilier mouth feel become pronounced. The darker the roast, the less acidity will be found in the coffee beverage. Dark roast coffees run from slightly dark to charred, and the names are often used interchangeably.
There it is, choose your favourite roast type from a range of meticulously curated coffees here and experience an aromatic indulgence. Check our blog on the size of grounds that will suit your need.