How Significant is the Impact of Roast Level on Coffee: Mandheling Medium vs Dark Roast - Which Flavor is More Wild?

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Coffee Roasting Levels

We need to start with the beans themselves - choosing good beans matters. When we say "good beans" here, we don't mean only bean quality but also roast level, something many people aren't quite clear on and struggle to match to a bean. So today let's talk through coffee bean roast levels, so next time you choose beans you'll have a more targeted approach. As we understand it, there are currently eight roast levels: extremely light roast, light roast, medium-light roast, medium roast, medium-dark roast, dark roast, French roast, and Italian roast.

1. Extremely Light Roast

The lightest roasting stage, the beans show a faint cinnamon color with insufficient taste and aroma, almost like raw beans. This state is nearly undrinkable. It is generally used for cupping and rarely for tasting, is not suitable for making coffee, and is basically unavailable on the market.

2. Light Roast

An extremely light roast level that appears cinnamon-colored. The raw bean taste is basically gone, and the aroma varies greatly by bean type, with extremely high acidity.

3. Medium-Light Roast

A slightly medium roast, with heat similar to light roast and a similar color - basically impossible to distinguish by color alone. Besides acidity, bitterness appears, with a good mouthfeel. Aroma and body are moderate, with relatively strong acidity. The well-known Yirgacheffe is very suitable for this roast level.

4. Medium Roast

Belonging to the medium-dark roast category, slightly stronger than medium-light roast, with some dark-tea color appearing on the surface and bitterness becoming stronger. The taste has bitterness within the acidity, with excellent aroma and flavor. Most favored by Japanese and Central European drinkers.

5. Medium-Dark Roast

The most standard roast level, where aroma, bitterness, and acidity all reach balance. Most beans show excellent flavor characteristics at this level, and it is also one of the most suitable roast levels for making espresso.

6. Dark Roast

Slightly stronger than medium-dark roast, with a considerably darker color and very strong bitterness. Acidity gradually disappears, making it extremely suitable for preparing various iced coffees. The Sumatra Mandheling that many drinkers love is very well suited to this level. Like medium-dark roast, it lets basically all brewing methods showcase its flavor well.

7. French Roast

Belonging to dark roast, it shows a dark-tea color with black tones. Acidity is no longer perceptible. It is particularly popular in France and throughout Europe. Because fats have penetrated to the surface, it carries a unique aroma. In Europe, many people use beans at this roast level to make coffee mixed with alcohol, and some of Starbucks' beans are roasted to this level. Roasted too dark, it can only release its flavor through immersion methods.

8. Italian Roast

The deepest roast level, roasted just before carbonization, with a serious burnt taste. The caffeine concentration is extremely high, and most people simply cannot accept it. A coffee called DeathWish is roasted to this level.

Sumatra Mandheling is a rare Arabica variety. These trees are planted on mountain slopes between 750 and 1500 meters above sea level. The mysterious, unique Sumatra character, combined with a medium-dark roast level, endows Mandheling coffee with a rich aroma, full body, and strong flavor, uniquely carrying hints of chocolate and syrup.

Knowledge Point

The source of coffee's aroma and flavor is highly volatile. The longer coffee beans are stored, therefore, the more aroma and flavor they lose.

In summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research house, happy to share knowledge about coffee with everyone. We share without reservation simply to help more friends fall in love with coffee. We also hold three coffee discount events every month, because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more people drink the best coffee at the lowest price. This has also been FrontStreet Coffee's principle for the past six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Different beans reward different roast levels, and if you want to explore the lighter end, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe is a textbook medium-light roast. Known for white jasmine and bright citrus and lemon acidity, it is the classic first specialty bean for many drinkers, with a clean, tea-like body and a light, elegant sweetness - exactly what this roast level is meant to reveal.

For a fruitier take on a light-to-medium profile, FrontStreet Coffee's Sun-dried Cherry is a full red-cherry natural from the Yirgacheffe region. Only fully ripe, sound cherries are selected, dried on raised beds for three to five weeks, and turned regularly, so the cup pairs the typical Yirgacheffe character with tropical fruit sweetness - citrus acidity, berry juice, honeyed sweetness, and a creamy smoothness.

When brewing these lighter, high-grown beans, FrontStreet suggests a V60 with water at 90-91°C: 15g of coffee at a fine, granulated-sugar grind (about 80% through a #20 sieve on an EK43s at setting 10) and a 1:15 ratio. Bloom with 30g of water for 30 seconds, pour 95g (to about 125g on the scale) over roughly a minute, then add the remaining 100g (to about 225g) once the bed drops to about two-thirds, finishing the pour by about 1:35 and completing the drip in 2 to 2 minutes 10 seconds.