Coffee Bean Roasting Knowledge: How to Choose the Right "Coffee Bean Roast Level"?

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How to Choose "Coffee Bean Roast Level"

Main Roast Levels & Characteristics Comparison

FrontStreet Coffee offers the following five roast levels and their characteristics, making it easy for our coffee enthusiast supporters to choose.

Light Roast: Aromatic with strong fruit acidity. Suitable for those with special preferences

Medium Roast: Retains most aromas with bright fruit acidity; this is FrontStreet Coffee's recommended lightest roast for coffee enthusiasts

Medium+ Roast: Gentle fruit acidity & sweetness

Medium-Dark Roast: Rich body with caramel aroma

Dark Roast: Rich body with bitter flavors from caramelization. Perfect for pairing with milk and making lattes

Roast Level vs. Flavor Period

Light to Medium+ Roast Coffee Beans

Roasted beans that haven't entered second crack have minimal damage to cell walls, and most oils remain stored within the cell walls of the bean body. The carbonization level is not deep, preserving the bean's natural aroma and acidity (special regional flavors/terroir characteristics from the growing region). Premium specialty coffee beans, when properly roasted, can reveal fruit aromas and acidity such as apple, lemon, and orange. For those accustomed to dark roast beans and not used to acidity, it takes time to appreciate these subtle flavors.

Medium-Dark and Dark Roast Coffee Beans

Choosing to enter second crack sacrifices some acidity and aroma. While this brings out more oils and a richer body, the consequences of cell wall carbonization and oil emergence also make preservation difficult. Coffee oils that surface on the bean combine with oxygen in the air, which is key to accelerating spoilage, resulting in a shorter flavor period (under the same room temperature conditions, the darker the roast, the shorter the flavor period). The vast majority of commercially available coffee uses dark roast processing, mainly because the quality of raw coffee beans used is poor (the coffee industry calls these commercial beans). Dark roasting carbonizes them, which not only looks good but also helps avoid off-flavors.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473