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

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FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Coffee Roasting Levels

We need to start with the beans themselves - choosing good beans is very important. When we talk about choosing good beans here, it's not just about the quality of the beans, but also their roasting level. This is something many friends aren't quite clear about, not knowing how to select the right roasting level for beans. Well, today let's talk about coffee bean roasting levels, so that next time you choose beans, you'll have a more targeted approach. Currently, we understand there are eight roasting 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 of all roasting stages, coffee beans show a faint cinnamon color, with insufficient taste and aroma, almost like raw beans. This state is nearly undrinkable. It's generally used for cupping and rarely for tasting. Not suitable for making coffee and basically unavailable on the market.

2. Light Roast

An extremely light roast level, appearing cinnamon-colored in appearance. The raw bean taste is basically gone, and the aroma varies greatly depending on the bean type, with extremely high acidity.

3. Medium-Light Roast

A slightly medium roast, with heat similar to light roast and similar color. Basically, it cannot be distinguished by color alone. Besides acidity, bitterness also appears, with 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 coffee taste has bitterness within acidity, with excellent aroma and flavor. Most commonly favored by Japanese and Central European people.

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's 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, which many Chinese people like, is very suitable for roasting to this level. Similar to medium-dark roast, basically all brewing methods can showcase its flavor well.

7. French Roast

Belonging to dark roast, showing dark tea color with black tones. Acidity is no longer perceptible. It's particularly popular in France and throughout Europe. Because fats have penetrated to the surface, it carries a unique aroma. In Europe, many use beans at this roast level to make coffee mixed with alcohol. Some of Starbucks' beans are roasted to this level. Roasted too dark, it can only extract 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 and unique Sumatra has endowed Mandheling coffee, combined with a medium-dark roast level, adding rich aroma, full body, and strong flavor. It uniquely carries hints of chocolate and syrup.

Knowledge Point

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

In summary: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research house, happy to share knowledge about coffee with everyone. We share without reservation only to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Moreover, there are three coffee discount events every month, because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends drink the best coffee at the lowest price. This has also been FrontStreet Coffee's principle for the past 6 years!

Important Notice :

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