What Does the Black Coffee Definition Say About Roast Levels?

Roast level is not judged by taste alone; the industry uses the Agtron color value, a caramelization analysis number, to place beans on a scale of eight levels. Higher numbers mean lighter roasts. Light Roast sits at 95, dropped during dense first crack, while lower values move toward darker profiles such as City Roast and Italian roast.

Under the black coffee definition, the practical divide is sourness versus bitterness. Beans dropped early after first crack keep bright acidity, which is the bright acidity meaning in the cup; beans taken past second crack lose it and turn bitter. Flavor descriptions and package notes let drinkers place a coffee without any printed roast label.

Many coffee enthusiasts are used to judging roast level by the rule "sour means light roast, bitter means dark roast," but the industry has a more precise standard—the Agtron color value. From the perspective of Front Street Coffee, this article systematically sorts out the eight levels from light roast to Italian roast, combines the dropping timing of first crack and second crack, explains the flavor direction and sour-bitter changes at each stage, and clarifies the meaning of terms such as City Roast. At the same time, Front Street also shares how flavor descriptions can help consumers judge roast degree more intuitively, and gives brewing parameter suggestions corresponding to medium-light and medium-dark roasts, so you no longer have to be troubled by technical terms.

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Some friends have asked us why the roast level is not marked on the packaging of Front Street coffee beans. In response to this question, Front Street would like to use this article to talk with everyone about the knowledge behind coffee roast levels.

Most people's understanding of roast level basically stays at the level of "sour means light roast, bitter means dark roast." In the professional field, however, such a rough way of classification is certainly not used. At present, the relatively recognized practice in the industry is to use the Agtron color value (caramelization analysis number) to determine the roast degree of coffee beans.

During roasting, the critical point at which coffee beans are considered "fully roasted" is usually set at "first crack." Any point after first crack can be chosen for dropping; the earlier the drop, the lighter the roast; the later the drop, the darker the roast. With the help of the Agtron color value, roast degree can be divided into eight levels. The larger the number, the lighter the roast; conversely, the darker it is.

The lightest of the eight levels is called Light Roast, with an Agtron color value of 95. The dropping time is roughly at the stage of dense first crack (when the beans are still crackling as they are poured out). This type of coffee usually presents a bright, elevated acidity.

The level corresponding to an Agtron color value of 85 is Cinnamon Roast, and the dropping time is around just before or after first crack ends (when the cracking sound has just stopped, or only a few scattered sounds remain). The flavor of beans at this degree is mainly acidic, with a sweet and fragrant aroma at the same time.

An Agtron color value of 75 is called Medium Roast, and the dropping time is roughly after first crack has completely ended (when the cracking sound has completely disappeared). The coffee flavor at this stage is dominated by sweetness, mixed with a little fruity acidity.

An Agtron color value of 65 is called High Roast, and the dropping time is roughly after first crack ends and before second crack begins (about a 1 to 2 minute quiet period). In terms of flavor, it presents nutty and caramel notes, is balanced overall, and has almost no acidity.

An Agtron color value of 55 is called City Roast, and the dropping time is roughly at the very beginning of second crack (after a period of quiet, one or two faint cracking sounds appear). At this point, the flavor leans more toward bitterness, and the caramel aroma is also heavier.

An Agtron color value of 45 is called Full City Roast, and the dropping time is roughly before second crack becomes密集 (before the crackling sound is heard). At this degree, the coffee is already quite dark, and the taste becomes more burnt, bitter, and intense.

An Agtron color value of 35 is called French Roast, and the dropping time is roughly during密集 second crack (when the crackling sound is heard again, but duller than the first). At this point, oil has already begun to seep onto the surface of the coffee beans.

An Agtron color value of 25 is called Italian Roast, and the dropping time is roughly at the end of second crack (after the密集 sounds). At this point, the coffee beans are jet-black and shiny, and the oil has already penetrated to the bean surface.

In fact, among these eight roast levels, coffees after a color value of 65 are basically dominated by bitterness. But ordinary consumers may not necessarily encounter all of them. For example, coffee beans today are no longer roasted until oil appears as in the past, and the two levels French Roast and Italian Roast are already very difficult to find on the market.

If this set of industry roast-level classification standards were passed on to consumers unchanged, it would only increase everyone's learning burden. "What? High Roast isn't actually the darkest?" "I just want to drink coffee that isn't sour. Why are you telling me about High Roast, City Roast, and Full City Roast? I don't understand it either." Indeed, if some terms are not understood in depth, there is no way to know what they mean, and labeling them this way would only confuse consumers more.

But if this standard is not followed, and instead each shop defines light roast and dark roast according to its own understanding, uniformity cannot be achieved either. For example, if Shop A's definition of light roast differs from Shop B's, then the light roast labeled by these two shops actually has no basis for comparison.

Front Street believes that the simplest way to distinguish roast level is to classify it according to the degree of sourness, sweetness, and bitterness in the coffee, so that consumers can more clearly know what kind of beans they actually need. Front Street classifies coffee with acidity as medium-light roast, and coffee dominated by bitterness as medium-dark roast. In this way, we can judge its roast degree through the flavor description on the coffee label.

For example, if the flavor notes say "lemon, citrus, berries" and other acidic fruits, it can be judged as a lighter bean within medium-light roast; if the flavor notes say "honeydew, grapes, slightly sour fruit" and other sweeter fruits, it can be judged as a medium bean within medium-light roast. If the flavor description is "sucrose, maple syrup, chocolate" and other obviously sweet flavors, it can be judged as a medium bean within medium-dark roast; if the flavor description is "nuts, dark chocolate, caramel" and other flavors that are bitter with sweetness, it can be judged as a darker bean within medium-dark roast.

This also matches the brewing parameters recommended by Front Street. For medium-light roast, it is recommended to use a water temperature of 90 to 93 degrees Celsius, with a grind size of 75% to 80% passing a No. 20 sieve. For acidic flavors, choose the higher water temperature and finer grind within this range; for sweeter flavors, choose the lower water temperature and coarser grind within this range. For medium-dark roast, it is recommended to use a water temperature of 86 to 89 degrees Celsius, with a grind size of 70% to 75% passing a No. 20 sieve. For bitter flavors, use the lower water temperature and coarser grind within this range.

So it is not that Front Street does not mark the roast level, but rather that it expresses the roast degree of this bean in a different way.

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