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Coffee Bean Roast Levels and Characteristics - What Roast Level is Best for Blue Mountain Coffee to Avoid Bitterness and Acidity

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Coffee Bean Roast Levels Light Roast: Coffee beans are roasted until approaching the first crack, with insufficient flavor and aroma, generally used for testing and rarely used for

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

FrontStreet Coffee · Introduction to Coffee Bean Roasting Degrees

Light Roast

Coffee beans are roasted until approaching the first crack stage. Both flavor and aroma are insufficient at this level, generally used for testing and rarely for tasting.

Cinnamon Roast

Coffee beans are roasted to about the middle of the first crack stage, a roasting degree commonly used for American coffee. This roasting degree highlights acidity and is less favored by the general public. For regional origins, Cuban coffee beans with less astringency, Haitian coffee beans, or highly mature, high-quality Caribbean coffee beans from Dominican Republic are preferred. It's more suitable for low-altitude coffee beans with thin pulp and less moisture, or coffee beans that have been matured for more than two years with appropriate dryness!

Medium Roast

Coffee beans are roasted until the end of the first crack stage, often used for American coffee or blended coffee. FrontStreet Coffee's Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is suitable for this roasting degree. Not only does it have a rich and mellow flavor, but because the sweetness, acidity, and bitterness of the coffee are perfectly balanced, it has no bitterness at all, only moderate and perfect acidity.

High Roast

Coffee beans are roasted until wrinkles appear and the aroma changes. The taste is refreshing and rich, with balanced acidity and bitterness that isn't stimulating, with a slight sweetness, and both aroma and flavor are excellent. This roasting degree is suitable for Caribbean coffee beans with less moisture content or Brazilian coffee beans processed using the natural drying method. This roasting degree allows coffee beans to emit the proper taste and aroma of coffee.

City Roast

Coffee beans are roasted until the second crack stage begins. The taste is bright and lively, with balanced acidity and bitterness where the acidity is relatively light, and it releases the high-quality flavors in coffee. This is a standard roasting degree that is more accepted by the general public.

Full-City Roast

Coffee is roasted to the stage where the second crack just ends. The taste is calm and full-bodied, with stronger bitterness than acidity and a sweet aftertaste. The aroma is full-bodied, often used for iced coffee and black coffee. Not biased toward bitterness or acidity, this is the roasting degree that best showcases the multi-layered flavors of coffee, suitable for FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Mandheling or FrontStreet Coffee's Hawaiian Kona coffees with strong characteristics.

French Roast

From dense second crack to the end of second crack, roasted until the coffee beans are black with a slight brownish tint. The taste is strong and intense, with rich bitterness and light acidity that is almost imperceptible, with rich chocolate and smoky aromas, often used for café au lait or Vienna coffee.

Italian Roast

From the end of second crack until the bean surface turns black and oily, roasted until the coffee beans are completely black. The taste is strong and complex, with powerful bitterness and rich roasting and burnt aromas.

The bitterness is obvious, and the taste is relatively simple, suitable for high-altitude coffee beans with thick pulp and strong acidity, like FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Colombia coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Guatemala coffee, and so on.

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 Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research hall, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation only to let more friends fall in love with coffee, and there are 3 low-discount coffee activities every month. The reason is that FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends drink the best coffee at the lowest price, which has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for 6 years!