Coffee Knowledge: What Are the Differences in Coffee Bean Roast Levels? Is Coffee Bean Oiliness Related to Freshness?

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

Have You Ever Had This Experience?

When we are faced with a dazzling wall of coffee bean products, how do we choose the beans that actually suit our taste?

Our eyes are always drawn first to a bag that is shiny, stylish, or beautifully designed, especially commemorative or limited editions.

But what do light, medium, and dark roast really mean? And how exactly should we choose the beans that are right for the way we drink coffee? Cue the frustration and confusion.

It is simpler than it looks. Every roast level has to pass through the high heat of the roaster to develop that intense aroma and rich flavor.

Roasting time and temperature determine how the very same green coffee will taste in the cup, which is why one bean can present such a wide range of profiles.

As a rule, roast levels fall into three broad categories: light roast, medium roast, and dark roast.

Within those, the nuances are further broken down into eight levels, running from Light Roast all the way to Italian Roast.

Light Roast:

Light Roast, Cinnamon Roast.

Strong aroma with distinct fruity acidity.

Medium Roast:

Medium Roast, High Roast, City Roast.

More developed bean aroma and sweetness, a touch of fruit acidity, and the classic Vienna coffee character.

Dark Roast:

Full City Roast, French Roast, Italian Roast.

Bold caramel flavor with a thick, intense body.

In Summary...

The lighter the roast, the brighter the acidity; the darker the roast, the more pronounced the bitterness.

Understanding Coffee Roast Levels and Tasting a Good Cup of Coffee with Friends

As coffee people like to say, "A simple cup, rich in flavor, makes for a good day."

Coffee Bean Oil and Freshness

Lately, several customers have asked whether the oil on the surface of coffee beans is related to freshness. It is actually a complicated question, and the answer is closely tied to roast level. Using our own roasting scale, let us walk through it one level at a time.

Roast Classification, FrontStreet Coffee Roast Depth, Relationship Between Coffee Bean Freshness and Oil Secretion

Light Roast: Roast level 1-3.5. Light roast beans basically do not secrete oil, so even after more than two months they will not turn oily. For this reason, you cannot judge the freshness of light roast beans by oil secretion.

Light-Medium Roast: Roast level 4-4.5. Light-medium roast beans begin to secrete a little oil after more than a month. If you see oil on light-medium beans, they are basically no longer fresh.

Medium Roast: Roast level 5-6.5. The darker end (6-6.5) starts to secrete a little oil after about a week, while the lighter end (5-5.5) does so after about two weeks. Once medium roast beans feel completely oily and shiny, roughly a month has passed, meaning they are no longer fresh.

Medium-Dark Roast: Roast level 7-7.5. These start to secrete oil after about 2-4 days, and feel completely oily and shiny after 2 weeks, at which point you should remind yourself to finish them soon, because the aroma is about to fade.

Dark Roast-Heavy Roast: Roast level 8-9. Dark roast beans start secreting oil right after roasting. Heavy roast beans release oil inside the roaster and come out already oily and shiny. So for dark roast beans, oil secretion is not a reliable indicator of freshness.

In short, unless a customer specifically asks for a dark or heavy roast, FrontStreet Coffee does not roast to those levels by default.

For beans from medium through medium-dark roast, the range that covers most of FrontStreet Coffee's selected series, if you find them completely oily and shiny, drink them as soon as possible. That shine can also serve as a useful freshness cue.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you prefer a balanced cup, start with a medium roast. FrontStreet Brazil Queen's Estate is grown in Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer, and the beans are the distinctive Yellow Bourbon varietal. Medium roasted, they pour out creamy peanut, chocolate, toasted bread, and sugarcane sweetness, and they work equally well as pour-over, moka pot, or espresso.

For something sweeter, FrontStreet Strawberry Candy Gesha Blend brings together a honey-processed Costa Rican coffee and a washed Panamanian Gesha. It is medium roasted so that both the orange-blossom honey character and a rounded sweetness come through, and it suits cold brew, pour-over, and espresso alike.

If you want a classic, balanced profile, FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 is a Typica varietal given a medium roast so that its acidity, bitterness, sweetness, and aroma fuse seamlessly. In the cup you get chocolate, roasted nuts, cream, and caramel, with an elegance few coffees can match.