What Are the Different Coffee Grounds for Baking? A Complete Guide to Coffee Roasting Methods from Light to Dark

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What's Your Favorite Coffee Roast?

Light roast? Dark roast? Somewhere in between? Here's a coffee roasting guide, from light to dark coffee roasts.

The degree to which coffee beans are roasted is one of the most important factors determining the taste of a cup of coffee. Before roasting, green coffee beans are soft, with a fresh "grassy" smell and little or no taste. The coffee roasting process transforms these raw beans into the distinctive aromatic, flavorful, crispy coffee beans we recognize.

Of course, other factors also enter into the complex equation that determines your coffee's taste. Two coffee varieties, from different countries of origin or grown in different environments, will likely taste quite different even when roasted to the same level (especially at light to medium roast levels). The coffee's age, processing method, grind, and brewing method also affect taste. But roast level provides a baseline, a rough guide to what you can expect from the flavor.

The most common way to describe coffee roast levels is by the color of the roasted beans, from light roast to dark roast (or extra dark roast). As coffee beans absorb heat during the roasting process, their color darkens. Oil appears on the surface at high temperatures. Because coffee beans vary, color isn't a particularly accurate judge of a roast. However, combined with typical roasting temperatures that produce a particular shade of brown, color is a convenient way to categorize roast levels.

Roast level preference is subjective. The roast level you prefer may depend on where you live. In the United States, people on the West Coast generally prefer darker roasts than those on the East Coast. Europeans also tend to like darker roasts, lending their names to so-called French, Italian, and Spanish roasts that control the deep end of the roasting spectrum.

Roast names and descriptions are not standardized in the coffee industry. Starbucks, for example, uses the Starbucks Roast Spectrum™ to categorize its coffee into three roast profiles: Starbucks® Blonde Roast ("light-bodied, mellow," like Veranda Blend™), Starbucks® Medium Roast ("smooth, balanced"), and Starbucks® Dark Roast ("fuller and bolder"). California roaster Rogers Family Company, on the other hand, has five roast levels from light to extra dark. (San Francisco Bay Fog Chaser Blend, for example, is a full city medium roast coffee.)

Generally speaking, though, we can categorize the most common coffee roasts from light to dark as follows:

Light Roast

Light roast coffee beans are light brown, have a light appearance, and no oil on the surface. Light roast coffee beans have a pronounced grainy acidity. The bean's origin flavors are preserved to a greater extent than in darker roasts. Light roasts also retain most of the caffeine from the coffee beans.

Light roast coffee beans generally reach an internal temperature of 180°C to 205°C (356°F to 401°F). At or around 205°C, the beans pop or crack and expand in size. This is known as the "first crack" (for "second crack," see below). Therefore, light roast coffee beans generally mean a coffee that has not been roasted beyond the first crack.

Some common names for light roast coffee beans include: Light City, Half City, Cinnamon Roast (roasted before first crack), and New England Roast (a popular roast in the northeastern United States, roasted to the end of the first crack).

Medium Roasts

Medium roast coffee beans are brown in color. Like light roasts, they have no oil on the surface of the beans.

However, they lack the grainy taste of light roasts and exhibit a more balanced flavor, aroma, and acidity. The caffeine content is somewhat reduced but still higher than in dark roasts.

Medium roasts reach an internal temperature between 210°C (410°F) and 220°C (428°F)—at the end of the first crack and just before the beginning of the second crack.

Common roast names for medium roast level include Regular Roast, American Roast (a traditional roast in the eastern United States, roasted to the end of the first crack), City Roast (medium brown, a typical roast throughout the United States), and Breakfast Roast.

Medium-Dark Roasts

Medium-dark roast coffee is richer and darker in color, with some oil on the surface of the beans.

Medium-dark roasts have a heavier body compared to light or medium roasts.

The beans are roasted to the beginning or middle of the second crack—at about 225°C (437°F) or 230°C (446°F). The roasting process flavors and aromas become apparent, and the taste of the coffee may be somewhat spicy.

The most common medium-dark roast names are: Full-City Roast (roasted to the beginning of the second crack), After Dinner Roast, and Vienna Roast (roasted to the middle of the second crack, sometimes characterized as a dark roast).

Dark Roasts

Dark roast coffee is dark brown, like chocolate, and sometimes almost black.

They have an oily sheen on the surface, which is usually evident in the cup when dark roast coffee is brewed.

The roasting process flavors dominate the coffee's origin flavors.

The coffee often has a bitter, or even burnt, taste. The caffeine content is significantly reduced.

To achieve a dark roast level, coffee beans are roasted to an internal temperature of 240°C (464°F)—about the end of the second crack—or beyond. They are rarely roasted to temperatures above 250°C (482°F), at which point the beans' body is thin and the flavor characteristics are dominated by tar and charcoal tastes.

Dark roast coffee has many names. As a result, buying a dark roast can be confusing.

Some popular names for dark roasts include French Roast, Italian Roast, Espresso Roast, Continental Roast, New Orleans Roast, and Spanish Roast. Many dark roasts are used for espresso blends.

Summary

So there you have it—a brief guide to common coffee roasts from light to dark. To summarize the differences beyond color levels:

• As coffee roasts get darker, they lose the origin flavor of the beans and take on more flavor from the roasting process.
• The body of the coffee gets heavier until the second crack, at which point the body becomes thinner again.
• Lighter roasts have more acidity than darker roasts.
• Light roast beans are dry, while dark roasts develop oil on the bean surface.
• The caffeine content decreases as roasts get darker.

Finally, it's all about taste, flavor, and aroma. You might prefer a light roast coffee in the morning (more caffeine) and a dark roast later in the day. Coffee, including the optimal roast level, is a personal preference. What's yours?

FrontStreet Coffee: A Guangzhou-based coffee roastery with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

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