How Does the Coffee Association Define Roast Levels?

Roast level labels such as light, medium and cinnamon roast confuse many newcomers, and the confusion has a real cause: countries historically developed their own roast schools with no shared standard, so their light, medium and dark were not comparable. The Specialty Coffee Association of America, working with Agtron, used infrared caramelization measurement to divide roast levels into eight grades from light to dark, giving the industry a common reference.

Each grade carries its own Agtron color value, drop time and flavor direction, from bright and acidic at the light end to bittersweet and smoky at the dark end. When packaging omits the roast level, flavor description is the practical clue. Grind size and water temperature should follow the roast: lighter roasts generally need finer grinding and hotter water, darker roasts coarser grinding and cooler water.

On coffee bean packaging, labels such as light roast, medium roast, and cinnamon roast often confuse beginners. The degree of roasting directly determines the direction of coffee flavor. Historically, different countries and regions have had their own schools of thought for defining roast levels, lacking a unified standard. The Specialty Coffee Association of America, together with the Agtron company, used infrared caramelization measurement values as a basis to divide roast levels from light to dark into eight grades, which has become an important industry reference. In this article, Front Street Coffee will systematically introduce the Agtron color values, drop times, and flavor characteristics of each roast level, and share how to determine roast level through flavor descriptions, as well as the grind size and water temperature parameters that should be used for different roast levels.

The roast level of coffee beans is a key factor determining flavor direction. Many coffee shops label the roast level on the coffee bean packaging they sell, such as light roast, medium roast, cinnamon roast, and so on, leaving those new to coffee completely bewildered. Today, Front Street Coffee will walk everyone through the ways coffee roast levels are classified and the corresponding flavor trends, and also discuss how to identify the roast depth of the beans in your hands when the packaging does not indicate roast level, and what grind size and water temperature to use for brewing to make it more pleasant.

How do definitions of roast level differ among countries?

In the early days, each country developed its own school of coffee bean roasting, and there was no unified standard. What different countries and regions understood as light roast, medium roast, and dark roast were not on the same page, and lacked comparability with one another. Therefore, as one of the authoritative representatives in the coffee world, the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), together with the Agtron company, used the Agtron value of coffee as a standard and attempted to unify the definition of coffee roast levels. Later, this also became one of the methods for verifying roast level.

Coffee roast level standards established by the SCAA

The SCAA uses infrared caramelization measurement device technology (Agtron) to measure the color of coffee beans, and based on this determines the coffee's roast level. It divides colors from light to dark into eight equal parts, producing eight standard color chips for the coffee industry to use as a reference for roast identification. (Note: The caramelization measuring device Agtron is an optical instrument that uses infrared wavelengths to measure coffee roast level. This instrument can determine the degree of caramelization of sugars inside coffee beans and present it in numerical form. The range shown on this table from light roast to heavy roast is 25 to 100, but according to the determination of the SCAA Technical Standards Committee, the actually identifiable range of coffee flavor is 30 to 90.)

Light roast (rich fruity acidity and floral and fruity aromas)

Agtron color value #95: Light Roast: drop time is when the first crack is about to finish densely; recommended: Front Street Coffee Red Cherry;

Agtron color value #85: Cinnamon Roast: drop time is around the end of the first crack; recommended: Front Street Coffee Mozart;

Medium roast (obvious sweetness, balanced flavor)

Agtron color value #75: Medium Roast: drop time is after the end of the first crack; Front Street Coffee Paradise Bird;

Agtron color value #65: High Roast: drop time is the quiet period between the first crack and the second crack; Front Street Coffee Golden Mandheling

Medium-dark roast (mellow and sweet)

Agtron color value #55: City Roast: drop time is the beginning of the second crack

Agtron color value #45: Full City Roast: drop time is before the dense second crack

Dark roast (mellow and intense)

Agtron color value #35: French Roast: drop time is during the dense second crack

Agtron color value #25: Italian Roast: drop time is when oils begin to seep onto the bean surface

Determining coffee bean roast level through flavor descriptions

The coffee bean packaging sold by Front Street Coffee does not indicate roast level because Front Street Coffee's roasting mostly falls between medium-light and medium-dark roast. However, everyone can identify the roast level of the beans from the flavor description.

For example, if citrus, berry, or floral acidic aromas appear in the flavor, it can be judged as medium-light roast (such as Front Street Coffee Ethiopia Huakui, Front Street Coffee Kenya Little Tomato coffee beans and other coffee beans from African regions, or Front Street Coffee Panama Geisha coffee beans); those with nutty aromas can be classified as medium roast (such as Front Street Coffee Colombia Sidra coffee beans, Front Street Coffee Costa Rica Tarrazu coffee and other coffee beans from Central and South American regions); those with descriptions of nutty cocoa and low acidity can be classified as medium-dark roast (such as Front Street Coffee Brazil Red Bourbon, Front Street Coffee Indonesia Mandheling, Front Street Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee beans, etc.).

How to brew coffee beans of different roast levels

Taking Front Street Coffee's coffee beans as an example, when brewing medium-light to medium roast coffee beans, Front Street Coffee uses a medium-fine grind size (about 75-80% passing rate on the Chinese standard No. 20 sieve), with a brewing water temperature of 90-92°C. Under such grind size and water temperature, the sweet and sour substances can be fully extracted, while the body will not be lacking.

For medium-dark roast coffee beans, a medium grind is used (about 65-70% passing rate on the Chinese standard No. 20 sieve), with a brewing water temperature of 87-89°C. Under such grind size and water temperature, the coffee can present a rich, mellow, and solid mouthfeel, while bitterness is not likely to appear.

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