10/16/2022
Lost in Translation-The language of Coffee Roasts
Medium roast, dark roast, French roast, Italian roast, Vienna roast, what does it all mean? It isn’t just that there are so many names but over time the basic definitions have changed with a generation who have grown up thinking Starbuck’s is the standard of excellence for brewed coffee!
When I was a child, most Americans drank Folger’s from a three pound can. I did and I liked it. Now the world is overpopulated with coffee bars and houses that range from expresso drinks that mask the taste of the coffee to expresso shots, the norm for coffee drinkers has changed. As a result, what is properly called medium roast (city to full-city+) is now thought of by a majority of coffee drinkers as light and French roast, which is the beginning of dark roasts, as medium. What by all coffee roasters standards are ‘burnt’ is what a majority of coffee drinkers think is desirable. The stronger a coffee tastes the better it is thought to be. What should be considered is how the coffee got strong. Was it by the characteristics of the plant and bean, the brewing method, or by over-roasting the beans to the point that all distinguishing characteristic of those beans have been burnt away?
The SCA specialty roast designations, with temperatures, is as follows: First crack; 405-412 degrees. City – 418 degrees; City 425; City + 432; Full City 438; Full City + 442; French 448; Burnt 455+. City to full city + roasts are generally considered ‘medium’. Any roast that goes more a few seconds into the second crack (which occurs between 440-445 degrees) will be burnt.
In my limited experience in marketing coffees I am finding that most people say they like a darker roast or stronger coffee than the medium roasts. People like what they like and have plenty of options for obtaining these darker roasts. We roast from city to the beginning of French and because these are the roasts that bring out the best in the particular notes and characteristics of the coffees we offer. You really can’t use the phrases light, medium, or dark to determine whether you will enjoy, love, or hate a coffee. Even people who love Starbuck’s may find they love what they call a light roast even more, if they will dare to venture beyond the limits of the drive through expresso cart.