The Impact of Coffee Bean Roast Levels on Flavor and Taste: What Degree of Roast Makes the Best Coffee

Introduction

The flavor of coffee is influenced by many factors, from the growing environment of the origin, coffee varieties, green bean processing methods, to roasting, and finally to brewing—each stage affects the coffee's taste.

Different microclimates and coffee varieties from various origins create distinct regional flavors: Ethiopia's citrus and fruit notes, Kenya's bright berry acidity, Colombia's balanced citrus and black cocoa, Indonesia's rich herbal notes; in terms of processing methods, washed coffee has higher clarity, while natural processed coffee is fuller-bodied...

After undergoing a series of processing at the origin, coffee beans are shipped to various countries in their green state, arriving at the most crucial stage before brewing—roasting.

The coffee beans we typically see are actually roasted coffee beans. Only after experiencing roasting can green coffee beans develop their flavors, and different roasting styles and degrees have a certain impact on the coffee's taste. So how does the degree of coffee roasting affect the coffee's flavor profile?

How to Distinguish Roasting Degrees?

Coffee green beans undergo high-temperature testing in the roaster, experiencing several important stages: dehydration, yellowing, followed by first crack, dense first crack, and if roasting continues, they will experience second crack and dense second crack. As time and experienced stages vary, coffee beans will present different roasting degrees.

At this point, we can refer to the Agtron value system from the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) to reflect the degree of coffee roasting. The Agtron value is a measurement produced by the Agtron Coffee Roast Analyzer, an American food testing company's device, used to reflect the degree of coffee roasting. The analyzer uses infrared illumination—darker roasted coffee beans have poorer reflection effects and lower values, while lighter roasts have higher values.

FrontStreet Coffee uses Agtron values to determine the roasting degree of coffee beans—the higher the value, the lighter the roast; the lower the measured value, the deeper the roast.

The reference standard provided by SCA is: when coffee beans are dropped at the end of dense first crack, with an Agtron value of 95, this belongs to light roast; when dropped around the end of first crack, with an Agtron value of 85, this belongs to cinnamon roast degree, and so on. Continuing to roast after the end of first crack, with an Agtron value reaching 75, belongs to medium roast degree, while an Agtron value reaching 65 belongs to dark roast degree.

The Impact of Different Roasting Degrees on Coffee Flavor

Different roasting degrees have a huge impact on coffee. We know that the lighter the roast, the more acidic the coffee tastes; the deeper the roast, the more bitter and rich the coffee tastes. This is because with lighter roasts, the inherent flavors of the coffee beans dominate, allowing you to better taste the regional flavors of the coffee beans themselves. As the roasting degree deepens, the inherent flavors of the coffee beans are gradually diminished, while roasted flavors become increasingly prominent.

It is precisely for this reason that FrontStreet Coffee, when roasting coffee beans from many origins, does not choose excessively deep roasting degrees, aiming to better highlight the inherent regional flavors of the coffee beans. Beyond taste, mouthfeel is also affected by roasting degree.

Take FrontStreet Coffee's washed coffee beans from the Gedeb Cooperative in Yirgacheffe and Golden Mandheling as examples. These two beans represent two completely different roasting degrees. Yirgacheffe coffee beans feature citrus and fruit-based flavor profiles. To highlight this character, FrontStreet Coffee chooses a lighter roasting degree when roasting this Yirgacheffe, with an Agtron value measured at 80.8.

Meanwhile, Golden Mandheling represents typical Mandheling coffee beans, with characteristic herbal and spice flavors. To emphasize a richer, fuller taste, FrontStreet Coffee chose a deeper roasting degree, with an Agtron value of 61.

These two coffee beans with completely different roasting degrees will exhibit entirely different flavor profiles when brewed. The lighter-roasted Yirgacheffe coffee beans will feel lighter and smoother in mouthfeel, while the dark-roasted Golden Mandheling will be richer and more substantial.

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