The Art of Coffee Roasting

What different kinds of roasts are there and why?
Now, here’s a topic that cries out for clarification. Many misconceptions about grades of coffee roasting have almost taken on the status of urban legends.

A professional coffee roaster will tell you that there are three basic shades of roast: light, medium and dark. Many of the terms used to describe the in-between shades such as “Full City” and “Vienna” are trendy terms that have recently turned up in the coffee vernacular. Understanding a few simple facts about the shades will go a long way in helping you decipher the implied characteristics of the roast.

First and foremost, aroma and the degrees of bitter and acid tastes vary in accordance with the roasting temperature. The hotter the roast, the more bitter (and less acidic) the coffee. Conversely, lightly roasted coffees display more acidic and less bitter tastes than darker roasts.

Remember, in evaluating coffee, acidity is a very complex characteristic. It covers a wide range of tastes, particularly among Arabica beans.

Many people are under the misconception that “dark roasts” are preferable because they produce a “stronger cup.” This is incorrect. In fact, huge production facilities do not dark roast expressly to produce beans for stronger coffee. Rather, dark roasting helps produce and maintain consistency in taste; it can even out variations among very different beans. Thus, it’s important to realize that dark roasting does not refer to any specific variety of coffee or any type of bean. Any coffee can achieve the basic flavor characteristics of a dark roasted coffee. More tellingly, dark roasting is often used to mask the tastes of inferior beans.