What are the four types of coffee roasting?

When it comes to roasting coffee, there are many different styles. Each roaster has their own way of working, and each roasting machine has its own technological features, which will often vary.

For instance, a drum roaster will roast coffee differently from a hot air roaster. The outcome will be roasted coffee, but the taste will be different. But we know what you are thinking- at the end of the day, no matter how the coffee is roasted, it will always be a shade of brown and will always taste like coffee…

… This is true, but these shades of brown tell you something! This is your main hint about the roast style of that coffee. With four potential categories, each boasts a very different set of flavours. Today, we are going to explain the differences between coffee roasts, particularly, the differences in the four main types of coffee roasting: light & fruity, medium roast, medium/dark and dark.

 

What coffees do we offer at Two Chimps?

At Two Chimps Coffee, we roast our single-origin coffees individually to suit different brewing styles. Some of our coffees are considered a light roast, whilst others are towards a medium-dark roast.

When we roast, we make sure that we stay away from bitter, burnt and oily coffee. We want to keep the natural flavours within the beans rather than turn these into unpleasant notes. So, to cut to the chase, you won’t ever see pure dark roasts at Two Chimps. We can’t wrap our heads around why you would want to burn speciality coffee (shudder!).

But what are these different roast styles, and how are they different from each other? Keep reading to find out.

Light & Fruity

Let’s start by discussing lighter roasted coffees, our head chimp Andy’s favourite roast style! The easiest way to tell if a bean has been roasted lightly is by its colour. The beans will be light brown and have a matte finish. Lighter roasted coffees can have a balanced flavour and usually have a brighter acidity, similar to that found in fruit (get where the name comes from now!)

To get the most from a lighter roasted coffee, we recommend using either a paper filter brewing method, like a V60, or a Cafetiere, as these methods rely mostly on gravity to brew. This low pressure allows these coffees and their delicate flavours room to shine.

How to brew with a V60

How to brew with a Cafetiere

Medium

Medium-roasted coffees are often referred to as city or full city roasts. This roast level is the next step up from a light roast, allowing the natural sugars within the bean more time to develop.

As you can imagine, this results in a sugarcane, caramel, or toffee sweetness becoming present.

With this additional time given in the roaster, the brighter, acidic flavours can head over toward the dark side. For instance, a citrussy acidity could develop toward a dark fruit acidity instead.

Our brew device for medium roast coffee would be an espresso machine, Moka pot or Aeropress.

 

How to brew with a Moka Pot

How to brew with a AeroPress

Medium/Dark

Lastly, let’s talk about darker roasted coffees, often known as French, or Italian roasts. These beans will be a very dark, rich brown or almost black in colour, depending on the final level of roasting.

You will also notice they have a shiny finish due to the oils escaping from the coffee beans. Beans that are roasted darker will lose their original characteristics, and there will often be very little to distinguish between each origin after roasting.

The flavours left within the coffee will usually be burnt, bitter, smoky, with a hint of toffee or caramel (if you are lucky!) As coffee roasts, some of the caffeine is roasted out, too. The darker the roast, the more caffeine is lost as a rule. Don’t worry, however; this is barely noticeable.

On the subject of caffeine, if you need a coffee with no caffeine, we recommend our best selling, naturally decaffeinated coffee!

 

Check it out!

And so, there we have it, our guide to the difference in roasting levels. Next time you have a coffee, try to guess its roast level!

 

However, if you prefer not to guess, take a look at our top recommendations for each roast style!

 

Light & Fruity Coffee

Medium Roasted Coffee

Medium/Dark Roasted Coffee

Laura Shead

Meet the chimp behind this article!
Born in Ely, Laura has a BA Hons in Dance and Drama and founded Two Chimps Coffee alongside Andy in 2016. Self-proclaimed talkaholic, Laura enjoys meeting new people and loves interacting with our troop of coffee enthusiasts.

What Laura does outside of the treehouse:
Laura absolutely adores taking family trips, especially to her beloved beach, Mundsley, in Norfolk. She’s passionate about living a green lifestyle both at home and at work and loves teaching her kids about composting and eco-friendly practices.

Laura says…
“I love getting to chat with all of our incredible Two Chimps customers; I always remember the most random things and never forget a face.”

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