Did you know that coffee went on long long long journey before it drips and it becomes the nectar of life? Imagine going through a morning without a cup of coffee…ughhh. Now today we would like to discuss one of the most important stage of coffee, roasting. Roasting affects almost all the wonderful aroma and taste that we taste in the cup. When we compare raw coffee and roasted coffee it’s like pure water and fruit juice. Very distinct one another, one is sweet, energizing while the other smells like grass, raw banana. In coffee industry, roasting is done with 3 basic roast level according to final colour, roast temperature, and roast time. A frequent glossary that we will hear when talking about roasting is crack. Crack happens when the internal pressure inside the beans is so high that it brokes the structure of the beans. When this happen, the beans will “Pop!” like popcorn and the size will become larger. As roasting progress crack can happen up to two times and it is called first crack and second crack.
Light roast
Light roast is the lightest roast level that is pulled from roasting machine. The appearance of the beans is light brown and without oil spots because the heat absorption and roast time is not that long. The end temperature of light roasted coffee is 180-205°C where at 205°C first crack happen. At that time coffee beans in the machine is dropped onto cooling table. In the cup, light roast has high acidity and can showcase the complexity of coffee like fruits, citrus, and buttery.
Medium roast
Medium roast is a little bit darker than light roast. It’s colour is brown or dark brown without patches of surface oil. Medium roast is pulled at 210-220°C from roasting machine. That temperature is where first crack is finished, but second crack hasn’t happened. This can be said the most balance, rounded taste because it still contains the complexity of single origin coffee with toned down acidity and some roasty aroma. A lot of demographic might perceived acidity in brewed coffee as unpleasant.
Dark roast
Dark roast is the highest roast level that is recommended because past dark roast can showcase negative flavour especially medicinal (in our opinion the smell is like iodine solution). The most distinctive character in dark roast is the colour which is very dark brown, have patches of oil in its surface, low acidity, and most likely bitter. The character of single origin is muted. Dark roast is done when second crack had passed or at temperature 240°C. If you like thick, oily, low acidic coffee we recommend dark roast coffee.
Finally, you have reach the end of the article! Roast level is preference, each person might have different favorite coffee like you might like a light roasted single origin Ethiopian Shakiso where another person like coffee that goes well with some milk and sugar because in the end it’s up to you.
Also if you want to get into the world of specialty coffee, where the coffee is most of the time aromatic and acidic, we have written rough guideline based on our experience. You can read it here.
Have a good coffee mate!
Kopirelo Coffee 