Walk down any coffee aisle and you'll see the same three words over and over: light, medium, and dark. But what do they actually mean, and which one should you buy?
Here's a simple guide.
What roasting does to coffee
Coffee beans start out green, dense, and grassy-smelling. Roasting heats them until they turn brown and develop the flavors and aromas we know as coffee. Sugars caramelize, the bean expands, and moisture cooks off.
Partway through roasting, the beans make a popping sound called first crack, a bit like popcorn. Roast level is mostly about how long the roaster keeps going after that point. Stop soon after and you have a light roast. Keep going much longer and you head into dark roast territory.
Light roast
- Looks like: light brown, dry surface, no oil
- Tastes like: bright, crisp, often fruity or floral, with more acidity and a lighter body
- Best for: people who want to taste where a coffee comes from
Light roasts keep the most of a coffee's original character. The tradeoff is that some people find them too tangy if they're used to classic coffee.
Medium roast
- Looks like: medium brown, mostly dry surface
- Tastes like: balanced and sweet, with notes like caramel, chocolate, and nuts, and a fuller body than light roasts
- Best for: almost everyone
Medium roast is the sweet spot for many coffee drinkers. You still taste the origin, but with more sweetness and body. Our Colombia and Mexico Chiapas are both medium roasts.
Medium/dark roast
- Looks like: rich brown, sometimes a light sheen
- Tastes like: deep chocolate, toasted nuts, a heavier body, and just a touch of roastiness
- Best for: people who love a classic, full-bodied cup but don't want burnt flavors
Our Single Origin Brazil is a medium/dark roast. It's our comfort cup.
Dark roast
- Looks like: very dark brown to nearly black, often oily
- Tastes like: smoky and roasty, sometimes ashy or bitter, with a heavy body
- Best for: people who like bold, smoky coffee or drink it with plenty of milk
The longer coffee roasts, the more roast flavor replaces the bean's own flavor. By the time you reach a very dark roast, most coffees taste fairly similar, no matter where they came from.
Which roast has the most caffeine?
This one surprises people. Dark roast tastes stronger, so many assume it has more caffeine. It doesn't. Caffeine changes very little during roasting.
The real difference is density. Lighter roasted beans are denser, so a scoop of light roast holds slightly more coffee, and slightly more caffeine, than the same scoop of dark roast. If you weigh your coffee, the difference is small either way. (We cover this and other myths in Relearn Coffee.)
How to choose your roast
- You love chocolatey, classic coffee: start with a medium/dark roast.
- You want sweet and balanced: go medium.
- You're curious about fruity, bright flavors: try a light roast black.
- Your coffee always tastes bitter: step one roast level lighter and see if you notice more sweetness.
Roast method matters too
Roast level isn't the only thing that shapes your cup. How the coffee is roasted matters as well. We air roast every bean in Jacksonville, Florida, which helps avoid the scorched, ashy flavors that can creep into darker roasts. That's why even our medium/dark Brazil tastes smooth instead of burnt.
Not sure where to start? Browse our single origin coffees, all with the roast level listed.