Coffee Roasting | What Are Roasted Coffee Beans

FrontStreet Coffee Shares Coffee Roasting Knowledge

Welcome to our coffee knowledge exchange. This article is part of an ongoing series on coffee beans, origins, and brewing.

Coffee bean roasting refers to the series of physical and chemical reactions that take place inside and outside the beans when raw coffee is heated. During roasting the beans expand in volume, growing about one-third larger than the raw bean.

Through the heat of the roast, the aroma of the coffee is released, drawing out each bean's character and bringing its acidity, sweetness, and bitterness to the fullest extent — from bland raw beans to a mellow aroma and an endless aftertaste in the cup.

Roasting is the most important stop on every coffee bean's long journey, where its character is outlined and its aroma is nurtured.

The roasting process is as fragrant and joyful as popping popcorn, full of pleasant cracking sounds. From raw bean to light, medium, and dark roast, moisture is released time and again, weight decreases, yet volume slowly expands and swells. The color of the coffee beans deepens, aromatic oils are gradually released, and the texture becomes crisp.

Raw beans contain large amounts of chlorogenic acid. As roasting progresses, chlorogenic acid gradually disappears, releasing familiar and pleasant fruit acids such as the acetic acid, citric acid, and malic acid found in wine. Roasted just right, these wonderful acids are nicely expressed; roasted too much, they are completely masked.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Now that you understand how roasting shapes acidity, sweetness, and bitterness, the easiest way to taste the difference is to compare a few medium roasts side by side. FrontStreet Coffee's medium-roast lineup is built around balance: the FrontStreet Queen's Estate, a Yellow Bourbon from Brazil, offers cream, peanut, chocolate, toast, and sugarcane notes whether you brew it as pour-over, moka pot, or espresso.

If you prefer a sweeter, fruitier roast, the FrontStreet Strawberry Candy Geisha Blend pairs a Costa Rican honey-process lot with a washed Panama Geisha and, at medium roast, shows both orange-blossom honey and a rounded sweetness. And for a classic example of how a medium roast tames a famous Typica, the FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 brings chocolate, roasted nuts, cream, and caramel together in a remarkably elegant, balanced cup.