What is the difference between Nordic and Italian coffee roasting?

Before the concept of specialty coffee became widely known, the vast majority of coffee in the world was dominated by the bitter, charred flavors of dark roast! With the gradual popularization of specialty coffee in recent years, people have gradually come to appreciate the wonderful aspects of light roast coffee! However, it should be noted that the gears of history do not turn on their own. It is the emergence of new forces opposing the old establishment that provides the power to drive these gears!

What we now refer to as Japanese dark roast, Italian dark roast, French dark roast, etc., are all terms describing degrees of roasting, but at that time, they represented the most mainstream roasting philosophy! Each roasting degree corresponded to the country where it was popular—for example, Italian = Italy, French = France! Therefore, in the coffee world of that era, countries like Italy and France that emphasized dark roasting belonged to the old establishment. The relatively young, then-unconventional approach that emphasized light roasting came from the northern regions of Europe, collectively known as the Nordic countries! Because the Nordic countries were exposed to coffee later, they weren't as indoctrinated with the concept of bitter coffee. Thus, the "Nordic Roast" technique—considered very "rebellious" at the time but now very popular—was born!

Although the earliest Nordic roasts were much lighter than Italian roasts, they were still essentially medium roasts, not the light roasts we recognize today (in an era when specialty coffee hadn't yet flourished)! However, for people in other countries at that time, it was still considered a rather unconventional roasting degree! At that time, Nordic roasting was viewed by roasters from other countries in this way: "The beans aren't properly roasted, they're sharp, acidic, and irritating. Can this even be drunk?" But in reality, these perceptions were simply due to technical and cognitive limitations!

Therefore, roasters from Nordic countries prefer not to use terms like "light roast" or "extremely light roast" to describe their beans' roasting degree. The reason is quite simple: these terms can easily evoke negative associations such as underdeveloped, insufficient flavor development, excessive astringency, and dominant herbal notes! They prefer to describe their roasting degree as: "The Nordic Approach," "Scandinavian style," or "Nordic style."

The earliest Nordic roasting adopted the crude "high-heat stir-fry" method common in European and American countries. When loading the beans, the airflow damper and heat would be turned to maximum, then turned off when approaching the first crack! The subsequent roasting process was completed using the heat generated by the first crack and the residual temperature accumulated in the drum. The advantage was simple operation—turn on the heat, turn off the heat! The disadvantage was the tendency to carry burnt, smoky flavors. Then, as times evolved, roasters from renowned Norwegian coffee shops changed their roasting approach: when loading beans, only the airflow damper was fully open, while the heat was controlled within a high-temperature range! Furthermore, it would be gradually reduced as the roasting process progressed. This roasting approach no longer covered both light and dark degrees but was specifically designed for light roasting!

In Mr. Han Huaizong's book "New Edition · Coffee Studies," the Nordic light roast coffee experience is described as follows: the strong acidity only remains for a second when entering the mouth, then instantly disappears, followed by multi-layered, rich floral and fruit flavors, as if swallowing a "fruit bomb." The mouth-watering sensation on both sides of the tongue triggers a sweet aftertaste, as if this "bomb" has been detonated in the mouth, with colorful flavors bursting forth! This is completely different from people's impression of extremely light roast coffee that only has dead, sharp acidity, is dull and lifeless, and is difficult to drink due to its sour astringency! That's right—this is exactly the light roast coffee we experience today!

It was precisely such flavors that deeply attracted people, which in turn drove the gears of history. The coffee dynasty where dark roasting held sovereignty no longer exists, replaced by light roasting dominated by acidity! And "Nordic Roast," just like Italian and French roasts, which once belonged to roasting degrees popular in certain countries, has now become a synonymous term for a roasting degree!

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