Coffee. Light, Medium, vs Dark.

There are many people who like dark roast because they consider it a “stronger” coffee. But what does “stronger” really mean?

Dark roasts are dark because those coffee beans are roasted longer. As the beans are roasted for longer, oil gets extracted from the beans making the final coffee more acidic. Additionally, the inherent flavors of the beans are roasted out and become a more toasted flavor, which is why dark roasts taste more similar.

Meanwhile, roasting coffee lightly brings out the tasty and unique flavors in those beans. You may taste stronger fruity, nutty, or earthy notes in a light roast. Also, light roasts contain more caffeine than dark. This is because the longer the beans roast, the more caffeine is roasted out.

Medium roasts are somewhere in between these two. Not too strong of a fruity or nutty flavor, but with the toasted flavor that comes with roasting. That’s why we roast most of our coffees as medium roasts — it creates a very balanced coffee.

Josh creating a medium roast blend

So the next time you go into a cafe for a cup of coffee, consider what it is you’re looking for — something roasty like a dark roast, or experiencing the nuanced flavors offered in light and medium roasts.