Coffee culture

Differences in Mandheling Coffee Roasting Levels: Flavor Characteristics of Dark Roast Mandheling

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee
Last Updated: 2026/01/27, For professional coffee knowledge and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - Yirgacheffe Roasting Level Introduction. First, we simply divide coffee into three roasting levels: light, medium, and dark. Under each roasting level, the coffee will have different flavors
FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Guide

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

FrontStreet Coffee - Yirgacheffe Roasting Level Introduction

First, let's simply classify coffee into three roasting levels: light, medium, and dark. The taste of coffee varies at each roasting level.

Simply put, friends who want to drink acidic coffee can try light roasts, while those who prefer body and bitter coffee can explore dark roasts.

So what does each coffee roasting level mean?

Light roast refers to the range from the first crack (first crack: the cracking reaction that occurs when coffee beans reach a temperature of 190-200°C during the roasting process) to the end of the first crack. Coffee in this range is dominated by acidity and flavor. If not roasted properly, it may have astringency and harshness, while the coffee's body and aftertaste feel relatively low.

Medium roast refers to the range from the end of the first crack to the beginning of the second crack. During this period, we can judge coffee beans by three degrees: medium-light (coffee beans still have obvious wrinkles), medium (coffee bean wrinkles are flattened), and medium-dark (coffee bean color has already changed to deeper, volume begins to increase).

The taste of medium-roasted coffee has already begun to transform acidity and flavor into body and balance. As the roasting level deepens, the acidity becomes increasingly lighter.

Dark roast refers to the range from the beginning of the second crack (second crack: the cracking reaction that occurs when coffee beans reach a temperature of around 230°C during the roasting process, with cracking sounds smaller and denser than the first crack) to deeper roasting levels, potentially extending for some time after the second crack ends.

Under dark roasting levels, the taste of coffee becomes more intense, with almost no acidity, replaced by bitterness and body. For large and soft coffee beans (such as many elephant beans and Mandheling), we choose medium-dark roasting to pursue balance and the nutty flavors developed after coffee roasting.

Representative origins for this roasting level: India, Kenya, Brazil, Indonesia (Mandheling), Papua New Guinea, Bolivia, etc.

Knowledge Point: Good Coffee

Good coffee — quality green beans with defective beans removed, properly roasted, and correctly extracted when fresh.

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research workshop, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation just to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, there are three low-discount coffee activities because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends drink the best coffee at the lowest price. This has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for 6 years!

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