Coffee culture

The Importance of Coffee Roasting: What Characterizes Light, Medium, and Dark Roast Coffee Beans?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee
Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style). Among the factors affecting the flavor of a cup of coffee, green beans account for 60%, roasting accounts for 30%, and extraction accounts for 10%. Good roasting can bring out the unique characteristics of green beans to the fullest while minimizing the appearance of defective flavors. Conversely, improper roasting can completely ruin good beans.
Coffee beans illustration

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

The Art of Coffee Roasting

Among the factors that influence the taste of a cup of coffee, green beans account for 60%, roasting accounts for 30%, and extraction accounts for 10%. Good roasting can maximize the unique characteristics of green beans while minimizing the appearance of defective flavors. Conversely, improper roasting can completely ruin good beans. Since controlling heat, time, and temperature during the roasting process is extremely challenging, roasting technology is a very complex skill, making the importance of roasting even more prominent.

Coffee Flavor Profiles by Roast Level

FrontStreet Coffee would like to share today what flavor characteristics coffee beans have when they are light roast, medium roast, and dark roast?

Generally, light roast beans tend to highlight bright, refreshing flavors, with very rich flavor expressions. Floral notes, fruity acidity, and certain tea-like characteristics are typical flavor expressions of this type of bean. Medium roast, on the other hand, offers a more balanced performance, combining refreshing flavors with a rich body. Dark roast beans tend to emphasize their body more, with typically intense flavors such as smoky, chocolate, and woody notes being characteristic of this type of bean. These are also accompanied by a heavy, full-bodied texture.

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