How to choose the roasting degree of coffee beans? Detailed explanation of the taste and flavor of coffee bean roasting degree

How to choose a coffee that suits you is like an interesting game of hide-and-seek.

Many people often criticize dark roasted beans, believing that the shiny dark roasted beans are using carbonization to cover up the smell of rotten beans, such as tire smell, debris smell, rotten smell and earthy smell. So, is dark roasted coffee really useless? Is it better to roast coffee beans darkly or lightly?

Factors that affect the flavor of a bean include variety, growing conditions, processing method, and roasting degree. The roasting degree of a bean has largely determined the direction of the flavor of the bean. Roasting can be simply divided into three degrees: light roasting, medium roasting, and medium-deep/deep roasting.

Light Roast/ Cinnamon Roast

Time to bean: from the first crack to the dense

Flavor: The bean surface is cinnamon-colored, and the grassy smell has been removed. It has a strong acidity and a slight aroma. It is often used to brew American coffee.

Medium Roast

Time to place beans: from the first crack to the end

Flavor: The bean surface is chestnut-colored, with a light, sour and bitter taste.

It has a moderate aroma and retains the original flavor of the coffee beans. It is often used to make American coffee or blended coffee.

Medium Dark Roast/ City Roast

Time to place beans: After the first crack, i.e. between the first and second cracks

Flavor: The bean surface is light brown, the taste is bright and lively, the acidity is light and the sourness is balanced between sourness and bitterness, and it releases the high-quality flavor of the coffee. It is the standard roasting degree and the most popular roasting degree.

Dark Roast/ Italian Roast

Also known as "Italian baking"

Time to put beans: from the end of the second crack to the time when the beans turn black and oil is produced

Flavor: The bean surface is black and shiny. Before the coffee bean fibers are carbonized, the taste is strong and complex, with a strong bitterness and a strong roasted and caramelized aroma. It is mainly popular in Italy and is mostly used to make Italian espresso.

Light roast

Light roasting refers to the period from the beginning of the first crack to the intensive first crack of the coffee beans.

In the early stages of enzyme and Mena reaction, the organic acids in coffee beans have not been completely broken down, so the sour taste will be more eye-catching and the bitterness will be so light that it will not be noticeable.

Generally speaking, coffee with this roasting degree can retain a certain floral and fruity aroma and bright fruity acidity.

Therefore, if you like coffee with floral and fruity aromas and acidity, light roasting is more suitable, for example:

[Kenya], with a rich berry aroma, the sour aroma of plum juice and grapefruit, and the sweetness of sugarcane

Yirgacheffe has a distinct fruity aroma with citrus and berry flavors.

[Panama], unlike the previous two, the lightly roasted Panama beans have some fresh floral scents, such as jasmine and rose, and taste with some bright but soft citrus acid.

Medium Roast

Medium roasting refers to the period from the intensive first crack to the end of the first crack.

At this point in the roasting process, the sugars caramelize and react more with the Mentha spicata. Although it still has a sour aroma, it is significantly weaker than light roasting.

The sourness and bitterness are more neutral at this time, so the sweet flavor is more prominent and very smooth, with caramel, chocolate, etc. as the main flavor.

This is generally regarded as the roasting degree that allows specialty coffee to release its best characteristics, and it is also the roasting degree we most commonly use!

If you want a cup of coffee with a balanced sweetness and sourness, you can try medium roast.

[Colombia] has a balanced flavor and a relatively smooth taste. It has a delicate sour and berry aroma, some caramel aroma, and is full of sweetness.

[Guatemala] has the sour notes of plums and prunes; due to the soil, most of the coffee grown here has a hint of smoky flavor.

Medium/dark roast

Medium-dark roast refers to the intense crackle from the end of the first crack to the beginning of the second crack, while dark roast refers to the crackle until the beginning of the second crack. There is not much difference in the flavor between the two.

At this time, the baking process has been mostly completed, leaving only the product of the terminal drying and cracking, so it is mainly composed of resin, alcohol, and burnt aroma. The bright sour taste almost disappears, the bitterness becomes stronger, and the flavor becomes sweeter.

If you want a cup of coffee with a mellow taste and a prominent chocolate and nutty flavor, medium-dark/deep roasting is your best choice.

[Mandheling] has a mellow taste with a hint of herbs, a stronger caramel sweetness, and a more elegant fruit acidity with a wild spice flavor.

[Jamaica Blue Mountain] It has delicate acidity, a perfect balance between body and aroma, a mellow and smooth taste, and a prominent chocolate sweetness.

Each caffeine variety and origin has different personalities, and the flavors such as sourness, bitterness, sweetness, aroma, and mellowness all have subtle differences. As a roaster, the choice of coffee roasting degree should not only be based on the roaster's personal interests and hobbies, but should be based on the needs of the audience. Therefore, light roasting has its own reasons, and deep roasting has its own reasons. There is no difference between the two. If your customers pursue flavor and the local characteristics of the coffee's origin, then light roasting can allow your customers to more clearly perceive what they need.

On the contrary, if your guests like mellow, full-bodied and sweet coffee, medium or even deep roasting is more appropriate. But Uncle Dou wants to say something for the roasters of deep roasted coffee. Many roasters of light roasting style believe that in the deep roasted state, there is no other taste in the coffee except bitterness, and the flavor of coffee is lost in deep roasting. This statement is not objective. A roaster who is good at deep roasting coffee not only has no smoky smell in his coffee, but also the guests can perceive the flavor of the coffee. In other words, someone who only roasts coffee until it is black and oily, and the smoky smell is extremely strong, he is not a roaster, but a charcoal burner.

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