If you are new to the specialty coffee game and just completely baffled by the number of choices, different roast types, then this is a simplified guide to which coffee may suit you.
Essentially, coffee is roasted under three main categories, light, medium and dark roasts. All of which taste very different and bring different flavours to the table. You may even find you prefer different roast types throughout the day, that dark roast packing a punch to wake you up in the morning followed by a lighter roast later in the day to hit the spot.
Light roast
Light roasted coffee is pale brown in colour and will have no oils around the beans surface. Often the beans used for this roast level are of high quality as they don’t need to be roasted to a darker level to mask some potential unwanted flavours, this is not always the case of course. A light roast will bring out the best in the coffees natural flavours and highlights the beans natural acidity, mellow body, floral and fruity notes. This level of roast really brings out the coffees origin, quality and unique characteristics.
If you are looking for a unique coffee to really highlight the beans origin and full complexity of tasting notes it has to offer then, maybe, the lighter roast is for you. Our Noble Nemba is our lightest roast we have to offer, give it a go.
Medium Roast
As you might of guessed, a medium roast will be slight darker brown in colour compared to the light roast, again no oils should be present on the surface. The “medium roast” is the most commonly used roast in the UK due to it’s adaptability to fit most brewing types while retaining flavour and the origins characteristics. The medium roast will still have a level of acidity and delicate flavours but these become less significant and the heavier body, richness and caramelisation of the bean start to come through making it generally easy drinking with balanced flavours. These coffees will generally be sweeter with slighter more bitterness, more typical of the traditional coffee flavour with tasting notes of fruits, chocolates, nuts and caramels.
If you are looking for that all rounder coffee then maybe a medium roast is for you, offering the best of light and dark roasted coffee in a single cup, pulling components from both the roasting process as well as the bean itself, also works perfectly with the addition of milk. Why not try our Robust Rwanda.
Dark Roast
Dark Roasts is what it says on the tin, it’s dark. Often known as Full City+, French roast or Italian roast. The are dark brown to black in colour and often have an oily surface on the bean where the oils of the bean have been roasted out. Often lower quality beans are used for dark roasts as this level of roast will burn out most of the beans original flavours so it can mask out some unwanted tasting notes. The darker the roast the deeper tasting notes often result in a bold bodied coffee with no acidity. People often think a dark roast is the strongest coffee giving you a real wake up but actually that’s not the case, while a dark roast will give you the strongest taste, it actually has the least amount of caffeine in because the roast has basically burnt it all out, so light roasts will actually give you that caffeine fix you’re looking for.
This roast is perfect for someone looking for a strong tasting, full bodied coffee with tasting notes of bittersweet chocolate and brown sugar, perfect with cream or milk. Our Sweet Sumatra is our darkest roast but it is not a true dark as the bean is of high quality and we didn’t want to burn out all those fantastic flavours!
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