What's the Difference Between Dark Roast and Medium Roast - Which One Tastes Better?

What's the Difference Between Dark Roast and Medium Roast?

The renowned Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) promotes using caramelization analysis values, measured by infrared and known as the Agtron number, to determine roast degree. The scale runs from 0 to 100. Higher numbers indicate lower caramelization, a grayish-white color, and a lighter roast. Lower numbers represent higher caramelization, a dark, shiny color, and a deeper roast.

For example, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe Wolka is a light roast, while FrontStreet Coffee's Golden Mandheling is a dark roast. In other words, lightness and darkness come down to how far the sugars in the bean are caramelized during roasting, and that single variable shapes how bright or how deep the cup tastes.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To taste where a light roast lands on that Agtron scale, FrontStreet's Washed Yirgacheffe is a clear example. Kept light, it shows white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like finish, with none of the caramelized depth that a darker roast would bring.

If you want to compare a second, fruitier expression at a similar roast level, FrontStreet's Sun-Dried Red Cherry uses a full red-cherry natural process and only fully ripe fruit. It layers the classic Yirgacheffe profile with tropical fruit from the natural method: citrus-like acidity, berry juice, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy smoothness.