What's the Difference Between Medium and Dark Roast Coffee? Introduction to Geisha Coffee Flavor Profile

FrontStreet Coffee: A Brief Introduction to Coffee Roasting Levels and Geisha Coffee Flavor Characteristics

Professional coffee knowledge exchange, more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Since many people are not very familiar with general roasting level terms, such as Cinnamon, City, etc., and standards vary among different roasters, for convenience, we will classify roasting levels from light to dark as A, B, B+, C, C+, D, E, etc., for easy memory. The arrangement of English letters in alphabetical order is mainly to facilitate the distinction of depth levels by their sequence, while the + sign represents smaller differences. The earlier the letter, the lighter the roast level and color, and vice versa for darker roasts. Among these, C approximately represents what is generally considered a medium roast, while most consumers are accustomed to roasting levels C, C+, and D. Beyond these levels, coffee tends to be too sour or too bitter, with fewer people accustomed to such extremes.

Medium Roast

Just at the beginning of the second crack - Full City roast. Brownish-red color with expanded, smooth surface. Slightly acidic, slightly bitter, with moderate sweetness. Balanced roasting aroma with floral and fruit notes. Suitable for black coffee.

Medium-Dark Roast (Early to Mid-Second Crack)

Full City+ - Light brownish-black, chestnut shell color. The surface is relatively shiny. Acidity nearly disappears, bitterness slightly stronger. Caramel sweetness is prominent with strong aftertaste. Best expresses coffee texture and depth.

Medium-Dark Roast (Mid to Late Second Crack)

Vienna roast - Brownish-black, chocolate color. Surface shows slight oil spotting. No acidity, enhanced bitterness, with rich mouthfeel and strong aroma. Suitable for adding milk.

Light Roast

Roasted beans that haven't entered the second crack have less damaged cell walls, with most oils still preserved within the bean's cell walls. The carbonization level is not deep, preserving the bean's original aroma and acidity (special terroir/region-specific flavors). Specialty coffee beans, when optimally roasted, can reveal fruit aromas/acidity such as apple, lemon, and orange. For those accustomed to dark roast beans and not used to acidity, it takes time to appreciate these flavors.

Geisha Coffee

The Geisha coffee tree variety was discovered in Ethiopia and later spread through Kenya's coffee research institute to many African countries such as Uganda and Tanzania, where it remained unappreciated and was used only for research purposes. Geisha is actually a coffee bean variety, a derivative of Typica. It features bright citrus and lime acidity, with distinct jasmine and chamomile floral notes, finishing with creamy, sugarcane sweetness and green tea aromas.

Later, when someone introduced Geisha to Costa Rica, it was brought to Panama through the connections of Don Pachi Estate. Many estates could be seen with some Geisha trees, as they were used as windbreaks for coffee trees - yes, you read that correctly, windbreaks. Moreover, Geisha tree yields were not stable, often mixed with regular coffee beans rather than being featured as a main coffee product. Until around the year 2000, some estates discovered that Geisha's flavor was exceptionally delicious. Despite their excitement, they weren't certain whether this flavor profile would appeal to discerning coffee enthusiasts.

Knowledge Extension

Comparing Panamanian Geisha with Ethiopian Geisha: they have different flavors. In fact, even lightly roasted Caturra from the same origin, such as from Tolima and Nariño regions in Colombia, may still taste different.

Conclusion

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a specialty coffee research center, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. Our unconditional sharing aims to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, we hold three low-discount coffee events because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest possible price - this has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past 6 years!

END

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473