How cooked is your coffee?

Hi, Succinct. Thanks for the question!

Coffee is a seed that is roasted before being enjoyed. It develops different characteristics during the roasting process and roast levels are a general reference to those characteristics.

Coffee can be an artistic affair, so it’s not uncommon for folks to tie themselves up in eloquent knots in an attempt to describe how cooked their coffee is. “Partial Township… Dusky Dumptruck…” Sounds intriguing – perhaps even mysterious. It’s fancy, but not very informative.

For the sake of simplicity, I usually describe coffee roast levels in terms of light, medium, medium-dark, and dark.

Here are some basic notes that should help to explain the different roast levels:

• Not roasted yet.
• Definitely not tasty.

• Roasted a little bit.
• Pronounced floral, fruit, and roasted grain tastes.
• Usually has very little body (the coffee’s texture in your mouth).
• Has a high acid content (the tangy/crisp SNAP that punches you in the mouth).
• Some compare it to drinking tea.

• Roasted a little bit longer than light roasted coffee.
• Bright floral and fruit tastes with hints of caramelized sweetness.
• Light body (the coffee’s texture in your mouth).
• Notable acid content (the tangy/crisp SNAP that punches you in the mouth).
• Popular with the drip-coffee and French Press crowd.

• Roasted a little bit longer than medium roasted coffee.
• Caramelized sweet and bittersweet tastes with possible hints of fruit.
• Medium body (more texture to the coffee in your mouth).
• Lower acid content (the tangy/crisp SNAP doesn’t punch you in the mouth very hard).
• Popular with drip-coffee, French Press, and espresso enthusiasts.

• Roasted a little bit longer than medium-dark roasted coffee.
• Prominent bitter, burnt tire/charcoal tastes.
• Very little body (negligible texture to the coffee in your mouth).
• Very little acid (no tangy/crisp SNAP).
• Popular with folks who like to wait in line for fancy espresso drinks.

Please keep in mind that the use of roast levels to describe a particular coffee is a just starting point. Find out what kind of roast you typically prefer, find some interesting coffee, and put it in your mouth. Repeat.

I’m off to enjoy a Stygian Solstice roasted Sumatra – earthy with hints of exquisite.