A Brief Introduction to Coffee Bean Roast Level Differences - Do Light Roast Coffee Beans Have Obvious Floral and Fruity Aromas?

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Coffee Bean Roast Degrees

Roasting is, at heart, the process of heating and scorching green coffee beans, but that's only the surface of it. The real goal is to draw out each green bean's unique character through the right roast degree, then stop the heat at precisely the right moment. That is how you give a coffee its best possible quality.

Dividing Roast Degrees into 8 Stages

As noted earlier, roast degrees can be broken down into anywhere from 4 to 32 stages, but under normal circumstances they fall into the following 8 main stages:

1. Light Roast/Cinnamon Roast (equivalent to Light Roast)

2. Medium Roast/High Roast (equivalent to Medium Roast)

3. City Roast/Deep City Roast (equivalent to Medium-Dark Roast)

4. French Roast/Italian Roast (equivalent to Dark Roast)

A note for beginners: there are generally two "cracks" during roasting. A "crack" is the sound of the beans expanding and splitting as they heat up. Because of these cracks, the beans swell in size.

1. At light roast levels, light roast means the beans are roasted to just before first crack begins; cinnamon roast means roasting during first crack itself.

2. At medium roast levels, medium roast means the beans are roasted to the end of first crack; high roast means roasting until the beans' wrinkles begin to smooth out and the aroma shifts.

3. At medium-dark roast levels, city roast means the beans are roasted to the start of second crack, while deep city roast means roasting to the end of second crack.

4. At dark roast levels, French roast means roasting until the beans are black but still retain some brown color, while Italian roast means roasting until the brown disappears and the beans turn completely black.

Knowledge Point: The intensity of acidity and bitterness is not inherently predetermined. It is only after roasting at a certain degree that coffee develops its specific "flavor profile."

In short: FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research institute dedicated to sharing coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation simply to help more people fall in love with coffee. We also hold three high-discount coffee events each month, because FrontStreet Coffee wants to bring the best coffee at the lowest possible price to more people—this has been our mission for the past six years.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Once you understand how roast level shapes a cup, the medium roasts become the sweet spot for many drinkers—balanced between the brightness of a light roast and the depth of a dark one. FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen's Estate is a textbook medium roast: a yellow Bourbon from the world's largest coffee-producing country, it delivers creamy peanut, chocolate, toasted bread, and sugarcane sweetness with a clean, gentle body.

If you prefer your medium roast on the sweeter, more fruit-driven side, FrontStreet's Strawberry Candy Gesha blend combines a honey-processed Costa Rican coffee with a washed Panamanian Gesha, roasted medium so that orange-blossom honey and rounded sweetness come through. Both work equally well as pour-over, moka pot, or espresso.