How Many Levels of Coffee Bean Roasting Are There? How to Define Light, Medium, and Dark Roasts? How Are Coffee Beans Roasted?

Understanding Coffee Roast Levels: A Complete Guide

The roast level of coffee beans determines the direction of coffee flavor. Many coffee shops label the roast level on the coffee beans they sell, such as light roast, medium roast, cinnamon roast, etc., which can be confusing for beginners. In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will help everyone understand coffee roast levels and flavor profiles, and how to identify what roast level the coffee beans in your hands are when the packaging doesn't indicate the roast level, as well as what grind size, water temperature, and brewing method will make them taste better.

How Do We Define Roast Levels?

Initially, each country had its own school of thought for coffee bean roasting, with no unified standard. What various countries and regions considered light, medium, or dark roast were not on the same page, lacking comparability. Therefore, as one of the authoritative representatives in the coffee world, the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) collaborated with Agtron Company to use coffee Agtron values as a standard, attempting to unify the standard for coffee roast levels, which later became one of the methods for testing roast levels.

SCAA Standard Coffee Roast Levels

The SCAA uses infrared caramelization measurement technology (Agtron) to measure the color of coffee beans to determine the coffee's roast level, and divides the color from light to dark into eight equal parts to create eight standard color blocks for the coffee industry to use as roasting recognition. (Note: The caramelization meter (Agtron) is an optical instrument that uses infrared wavelengths to measure coffee roast levels. This instrument can determine the degree of caramelization of sugars inside coffee beans and present it in a numerical way. The range shown on this chart from light roast to dark roast is 25-100, but according to the SCAA's Technical Standards Committee, the recognizable range of coffee flavor is actually 30-90.)

Light Roast (Rich fruit acidity and floral aromas)

Agtron color value #95: Light Roast: Drop time: When first crack becomes dense and is about to end

Agtron color value #85: Cinnamon Roast: Drop time: Around the end of first crack

Medium Roast (Obvious sweetness, balanced flavor)

Agtron color value #75: Medium Roast: Drop time: After first crack ends

Agtron color value #65: High Roast: Drop time: The quiet period between first and second crack

Medium-Dark Roast (Rich and sweet)

Agtron color value #55: City Roast: Drop time: When second crack begins

Agtron color value #45: Full City Roast: Drop time: Before second crack becomes dense

Dark Roast (Rich and intense)

Agtron color value #35: French Roast: Drop time: When second crack becomes dense

Agtron color value #25: Italian Roast: Drop time: When oil begins to seep to the bean surface

Determining Coffee Bean Roast Level from Flavor Descriptions

The packaging of coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee does not indicate roast levels, because FrontStreet Coffee's roasting is mostly between light-medium to medium-dark roast, but everyone can identify the bean's roast level from the flavor descriptions. For example, citrus, berry, and floral acidic aromas can be defined as light-medium roast (such as coffee beans from Ethiopia, Kenya and other African regions, or Panama Geisha coffee beans); nutty aromas can be classified as medium roast (such as coffee beans from Colombia, Costa Rica and other Central and South American regions); descriptions of nutty cocoa with low acidity can be classified as medium-dark roast (such as Brazil, Indonesia, Blue Mountain coffee beans, etc.).

How to Brew Coffee Beans with Different Roast Levels

Using FrontStreet Coffee's beans as an example, FrontStreet Coffee uses medium-fine grind size (Chinese standard 20-mesh screen pass rate approximately 75-80%) when brewing light-medium to medium roast coffee beans, with brewing water temperature of 90-92°C. Under this grind size and water temperature, sweet and sour substances can be fully extracted while not lacking body.

Medium-dark roast coffee beans use medium grind (Chinese standard 20-mesh screen pass rate approximately 65-70%), with brewing water temperature of 87-89°C. Under this grind size and water temperature, the coffee can exhibit rich, thick, and solid characteristics while not easily becoming bitter.