The Purpose of Roasting: Finding the Optimal Roast Level | Which is Better: Light or Dark Roast?

The Journey from Bean to Cup: Understanding Coffee Roasting

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How do coffee beans transform from green beans to roasted beans? Why do coffee flavors vary so widely? Let's explore what role roasting actually plays in coffee's journey from seed to cup!

The Purpose of Roasting: Finding the Perfect Roast Level

"Things that must be roasted before consumption include cocoa beans, peanuts, almonds, ginkgo, and soybeans. Among these, coffee roasting is very special. Sometimes it's even roasted until completely black. The temperature ranges from 190 to 250°C. Besides coffee, nothing else is roasted at such high temperatures. Nuts are only around 150°C. In fact, without high-temperature roasting, coffee wouldn't taste good. High-temperature roasting was influenced by Arabia, where Muslims discovered the rich world of dark roasting." Mr. Tanabe explains the uniqueness of coffee roasting in this way.

As mentioned before, coffee cherries have a sweet, fruity aroma, but the coffee beans as seeds are quite bland. The seeds themselves cannot be eaten whether pan-fried or grilled. Saying they're inedible might be an exaggeration—while not poisonous, they're definitely not palatable. If roasted, sprinkled with sugar, or made into pudding, they become quite delicious. However, eating them raw would be unappealing.

However, once roasted, the components in green beans undergo chemical changes and emit an indescribable aroma. Then, we learned from our ancestors the technique of grinding roasted beans and extracting their essence.

Light and dark roasts produce completely different coffees. There's no good or bad between light and dark roasts! Everything depends on what kind of coffee you want to drink!

The Roasting Process: Three Major Steps

The roasting process is divided into three major steps. First, the beans are dehydrated to remove natural moisture.

All coffee beans contain 9.5% to 12% moisture, and we must remove some of this moisture before other roasting reactions can begin. Once moisture is reduced, the beans start to change color.

The second stage is called the Maillard reaction, which is the process of browning, developing aroma, and flavor. As sugars and amino acids decrease, hundreds of different aromatic and color components are produced.

In the final stage of browning, the beans begin to expand and crack.

This is called the "first crack," followed by the third and final development stage. The beans continue to crack as roasting progresses, and the resulting exothermic reaction affects the density and depth of the roast.

Appearance

Light roast is stopped immediately after the first crack, so it retains more moisture. As a result, the beans are denser, appear more brown than reddish-brown, and feel smooth and dry. The coffee is lighter in color and has a lighter mouthfeel on the tongue. Think of it more like toast rather than roast.

In contrast, dark roast coffee beans are nearly black in color and have an oily surface texture. The oils are visibly apparent in the cup, and they are heavier and more intense than light roast beans.

Flavor

Light roast coffee tends to produce more delicate, complex aromas.

Dark roast coffee is richer, less acidic, relatively more bitter, and has chocolate notes. If you enjoy bold Cabernet or heavy barrel-aged beers, dark roast is exactly what you're looking for.

Freshness

Whether light or dark roast, try to buy coffee beans roasted within two weeks. Because after that, coffee will gradually lose its flavor.

Caffeine

When it comes to caffeine content, the truth is that extraction method has a greater impact on caffeine levels than roasting method.

For example, dark roast coffee contains relatively less natural caffeine. However, dark roast coffee is less dense than light roast, so when you brew coffee, you might use more beans. Then the caffeine content difference becomes negligible.

Honestly, FrontStreet Coffee believes that whether dark or light roast, it's really a matter of personal preference. Some people love the rich body and intense chocolate flavor of dark roasts; others prefer the floral and fruity notes and unique acidity of light roast coffees. So which roast level is best? FrontStreet Coffee thinks it all comes down to personal preference!

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473