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The roast level of coffee largely determines the flavor direction of the coffee. When we buy coffee, the label will indicate what roast level it is, such as light roast and dark roast. These are relatively easy to understand, but some also indicate Cinnamon Roast and City Roast, which leaves people completely confused. In this issue, Front Street takes you through the knowledge of coffee roast levels.
 
There are many names for coffee roast levels, such as French Roast, Italian Roast, City Roast... Among them, French Roast,Italian Roastrefer to roast levels, not coffee origins.

 
The so-called French Roast usually refers to a relatively lighterespresso roast, while Italian Roast belongs to a darker roast level. But in the United States, the roast level called French Roast is usually shockingly dark, with a burnt and bitter coffee taste, a deep smoky flavor, and sometimes a feeling of drinking a cup of coal. Its strong bitterness and unique roasted aroma make it very suitable for making café au lait, Viennese coffee, and other European-style coffees.
 
City Roast originated in New York. The coffee beans are a shiny tea-brown color and have a rich, mellow aroma with a balance of bitterness and acidity. It is the roast level commonly drunk in ordinary cafés or at home. Italian Roast is the strongest roast level, with coffee beans almost charcoal black, allowing you to taste a powerful bitterness and thick mouthfeel, suitable forespressoand cappuccino.

Agtron color value #95: Light Roast
Drop time: the密集 of first crack is about to end
 
Agtron color value #85: Cinnamon Roast
Drop time: around the end of first crack
 
Agtron color value #75: Medium Roast
Drop time: after the end of first crack
 
Agtron color value #65: High Roast
Drop time: the quiet period between first crack and second crack
 
Agtron color value #55: City Roast
Drop time: the beginning of second crack
 
Agtron color value #45: Full City Roast
Drop time: before the密集 of second crack
 
Agtron color value #35: French Roast
Drop time: during the密集 of second crack
 
Agtron color value #25: Italian Roast
Drop time: oils begin to seep onto the bean surface

The above three roast levels can be summarized as "dark roast" coffee beans.Dark-roasted coffee beanscan provide a large amount of sweet, mellow flavor and aroma, because the longer the dark roasting time, the more caramelization reactions occur, and the more oils are formed, with obvious sweetness. This rich taste is sometimes deeper and more layered than light brown Cinnamon Roast, and sweetness can be used to balance acidity, fully displaying the delicious components in high-quality original beans of premium varieties. If you are a coffee friend who is just starting out, it is recommended that when buying coffee beans, you choose according to the coffee beans' flavor, origin, and brewing method. It is best to ask the shop directly and let them provide suggestions, which is the most appropriate way to get a delicious cup of coffee.
 
Front Street Blend Coffee Concept Sharing
At FrontStreet Coffee, you can find 4Front Street espresso blend coffee beans, namely Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun Blend, Front Street SpecialtyEspresso Blend Coffee, Front Street Commercial Espresso Blend Coffee, and Front Street Basic Espresso Blend Coffee. As Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun Blend is currently Front Street's most outstanding blended coffee bean, let's share how Front Street blends the Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun Blend coffee beans with rich chocolate, wine aroma, and vanilla flavors.
 
In this season of warm winter sun, Front Street plans to make a blend suitable for both pour-over coffee and espresso. In terms of mouthfeel, they want this blend to have an inviting, highly recognizable aroma on the first sip, a thick body with a touch of soft fruit acidity, and a medium-to-high sweetness in the finish.

After thinking it over and selecting, if they wanted something with a relatively obvious and prominent aroma and a relatively solid mouthfeel, would specially processed beans also be a good choice? Anaerobic? Barrel-fermented? Beans from the Ethiopian region have thousands of varieties, and their flavors are also relatively easy to explore. Washed beans have bright fruit acidity and a clean mouthfeel, while natural beans have richer tropical fruit notes, with a complex and thick mouthfeel. When they did not know where to start, they thought that the previously barrel-fermented beans and the natural Front Street Yirgacheffe beans had both been used to make SOE, and the extracted mouthfeel performed well, with fruit acidity in the aroma, and a balanced mouthfeel that was not monotonous and had enough sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee Roast Profile Analysis

For use in blended beans, it needs body, sufficient sweetness, and overall balance. Considering that blended beans may roast unevenly during the roasting process, a gradual reduction of heat is used during roasting so that the beans can develop more synchronously during the roasting process.
 
Charge when the drum temperature reaches 210°C, set the damper to 4, heat at 200, turning point at 1'30", 92°C; when the drum temperature reaches 140°C, open the damper to 6; at this time the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and it enters the dehydration stage. When the drum temperature reaches 180°C, adjust the heat to 10 and open the damper to the maximum of 10;

At 9'30", the bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and dark spots, and the toast smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this time, you need to listen clearly to the sound of the first crack. At 10'38" first crack begins. After first crack, develop for 3'40", and drop at 197.5°C.
 
After cupping, pour-over, and espresso extraction, this bean has a soft fruit acidity on the first sip, a long-lasting sweet aftertaste, sufficient sweetness, a rich chocolate aroma, vanilla, cream, an obvious wine note, a clean and smooth mouthfeel, and a medium body. It really matches the Front Street Warm Sun Blend beans I wanted.
 
FrontStreet Coffee Espresso Extraction Plan

Grind size on a Pegasus 600N grinder #1.8, dose 20g, extract 40g of coffee liquid, powder-to-liquid ratio 1:2, extraction time 28s.

 
Flavor: smooth mouthfeel, medium body, obvious fruit acidity on the first sip accompanied by a light berry aroma, wine aroma, rich chocolate flavor, and a noticeable sweet aftertaste.
 
Americano: the ratio of espresso liquid to water is 1:5, with the aroma of sherry and the flavor of vanilla cream, the slight buzz of sherry, and notes of cocoa and caramel.

Latte: the ratio of espresso liquid to milk is 1:6, rich chocolate milk, caramel, very high sweetness, smooth.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.