Coffee roast styles (thing)

A roaster's and drinker's guide to coffee roast levels.

"What even does "City Roast" really mean?"
—every coffee drinker, probably.

After the choice of bean, nothing affects the taste of a coffee more than the roasting process. Over time we've become accustomed to seeing coffees advertised at least in part by their roast levels ("light", "medium" or "dark"). occasionally you'll see labels such as "City roast", "Vienna" or "Espresso". There's really no good way to classify roast levels absent an Agtron meter or colour tiles. Words can only do so much work in this regard. Additionally, one person's "medium" may well be a "dark" to others. Specialty roasters tend to avoid darker roast styles, as the volatiles that make up the character are either driven off or chemically changed at later roast stages. Here is my attempt to demystify these labels and include some useful information about the variety of roasting styles you may see in the wild. Be aware that there is a distinct difference in how different roasters describe the roast level, or "roast style" as I have taken to calling it. Industrial-scale roasters seem to have a different scale from specialty coffee roasters, too. The likes of Starbucks tend to have a narrower range of what constitutes a "light" style, for example, and many speciality roasters seem to draw the "dark" line way lower than industrial roasters.

First and second crack

You will hear these terms when discussing the roasting process, and they give a hint to the state of play of the roast process. First crack happens at temperatures around 200°C, sounds like sharp popcorn cracks, and is caused by a rapid expansion of water contained in the bean. It marks the end of the drying phase and the beginning of colour development (as the beans move from green through yellow and into brown). From this point, the beans will have expanded a little, becoming rounder and smoother. The aroma will be somewhat vegetal and grassy, and the beans are considered to be in the early light roast phase.

Second crack (around the 225°-230° mark) is driven by the sudden release of CO₂ as the beans fracture under the pressure. The crack is quieter than first crack (more like the Rice Krispies crackle, and yet causes more physical change to the bean, which will be much more porous and less dense. This represents the onset of "dark roast" and is usually accompanied by an increase in oils being forced to the surface of the bean, causing the glossy appearance of the classic darker roasts.

A word about style and flavours.

In general, the following is true of roast styles; the darker the roast, the more intense the bitterness and the less you will be able to pick out the terroir character; the volatiles that contribute fruit flavours tend to be driven out of the coffee at these higher temperatures, and the fruity acidity that would be present in a light-medium roast will vanish as the coffee is roasted more. In general, specialty coffees are roasted lighter for this very reason. My preference is a balance of fruity/floral flavours and the classic, more intense bitterness of the darker, possibly more traditional styles. Lighter styles generally have less perceived body, darker more perceived sweetness. Many roasters in Scandinavia will drop their coffee at much lower temperatures than say an Italian or North American roaster would. The matter of taste preference is not something I will focus on here, rather concentrating on the general naming conventions, and where possible, the final bean temperature. These are of course only guidelines; there are no hard-and-fast rules about these styles or their names. "Espresso" styles and labels vary from roaster to roaster, but I've seen it applied to coffees that fall very clearly into the "medium" style range.

Roast Level	Approx Final Temp (°C)	Description	Agtron Number
Light Roast	196–205	Light brown; no oils on surface; high acidity and origin clarity	80–95
Cinnamon Roast	196	Very light; just past first crack; grainy, toasted flavor	90–95
City Roast	204	Medium-light; completes first crack; balanced acidity and sweetness	75–85
Medium Roast	210–219	Medium brown; balanced body and acidity; more caramelization	65–75
Full City Roast	219–224	Darker brown; approaching second crack; richer, chocolatey	55–65
Dark Roast	225–230	Dark brown to almost black; low acidity, smoky flavors	45–55
French Roast	230–240	Very dark, shiny with oils; bitter, smoky, low origin character	30–45
Italian Roast	240+	Almost black; very bitter and smoky; minimal origin notes	<30
"Spanish" Roast	250+	Almost black, maybe even with some charring; very bitter and smoky; minimal origin notes. Anything past this will be charcoal, not coffee.	<30

I have heard lighter roast styles referred to as "Nordic roast". Certainly some Nordic roasters seem to prefer this style, like Tim Wendelboe. Personally, when roasting, I consider anything past second crack to be "dark" and anything before the end of first crack as generally too light. I rarely if ever roast to dark level, preferring to stick in the middle of "medium" style to enhance the body whilst keeping the character.

To somewhat confuse matters, it's hard to classify roasts soley by external colour, which is more dependent on the peak temperature. Professional roasters will also take the rate of rise, the delta, into account. the same coffee stopped at the same temperature, will have different qualities depending on how fast the temperature rose during the process.

Other descriptors for roast styles.

Roast Name	Roast Level	Crack Stage	Color	Surface Oil	Flavor Profile
Cinnamon Roast	Light	Just about at 1st crack	Light brown	Dry	Grassy, sour, high acidity
Light Roast	Light	End of 1st crack	Light-medium brown	Dry	Bright, fruity, high origin character
City Roast	Medium	After 1st crack	Medium brown	Dry	Balanced acidity, light sweetness
Full City Roast	Medium-dark	Just before 2nd crack	Rich brown	Slight sheen possible	Deeper sweetness, chocolate, reduced acidity
Vienna Roast	Medium-dark	Beginning of 2nd crack	Dark brown	Slight sheen	Bold, bittersweet, light smokiness
French Roast	Dark	Into 2nd crack	Very dark brown / black	Oily	Smoky, roasty, low acidity, bittersweet or burnt
Italian Roast	Very dark	End of 2nd crack or beyond	Nearly black	Very oily	Burnt sugar, heavy char, minimal origin flavor

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Much of this writeup's information is drawn from Kenneth Davids' excellent Home Coffee Roasting, iSBN,0-312-31219-9, which is a great read for anyone remotely interested in coffee roasting.

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