What Do Coffee Roast Levels Mean Under the Coffee Association of America Standard?

Light, medium, and dark roast labels lack cross-country comparability because growing regions ship green beans elsewhere to be roasted. The Coffee Association of America, working with Agtron, set a common reference: an infrared caramelization device measures bean color and divides it into eight levels, each with a standard color plate for the industry.

Roasters drop beans at different points within that range. Light-medium lots continue caramelizing about one to three minutes after first crack, improving layering while lowering acidity and adding body. Medium roast is dropped close to the second crack. Names like Cinnamon, City, French, and Italian describe positions on this roasting process scale.

What standards determine the light, medium, and dark roast labels on coffee bean packaging? What flavor directions do different roast levels correspond to? Starting from the SCAA's Agtron color value system, this article systematically sorts out the division logic of eight roast levels and the timing of bean drop, and combines Front Street Coffee's roasting curves and brewing plans to specifically demonstrate the complete process of two beans—Yirgacheffe Gedingding and PWN Golden Mandheling—from charging into the roaster to the final cup, helping enthusiasts build a coherent understanding from roasting to extraction.

The flavor a coffee bean ultimately presents is often critically influenced by the roast level. When buying single-origin beans, words like light, medium, and dark can often be seen on packaging labels, and sometimes names such as Cinnamon, City, French, and Italian also appear, leaving people new to coffee quite confused. In this article, Front Street will sort out how coffee bean roast levels are distinguished.

Originally, was there no unified standard for coffee roasting?

Coffee-growing regions are concentrated between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, and green beans usually must be shipped to consuming regions before roasting. Different countries and places do not have the same understanding of light, medium, and dark roast, and they lack comparability with one another. So that everyone could communicate about roasting experience within the same language system, the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), together with the Agtron company, used the Agtron value of coffee as a common reference.

SCAA roasting standards

SCAA uses the infrared caramelization measuring device (Agtron) to measure the color of coffee beans, judging the roast degree accordingly, and divides the color from light to dark into eight levels, producing eight standard color plates for industry comparison. The beans currently roasted by Front Street Coffee basically fall between Cinnamon Roast and Medium Roast. After first crack, Front Street's light-medium roasted beans continue caramelizing for about 1 to 3 minutes according to the bean's characteristics, enhancing layering while reducing acidity and increasing body; and what Front Street calls medium-dark roast is actually Medium Roast, with the beans dropped close to second crack.

Agtron color value #95: Light Roast

Drop time: near the end of密集 first crack

Agtron color value #85: Cinnamon Roast

Drop time: around the end of first crack

Agtron color value #75: Medium Roast

Drop time: after first crack ends

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 start of second crack

Agtron color value #45: Full City Roast

Drop time: before second crack becomes密集

Agtron color value #35: French Roast

Drop time: when second crack is密集

Agtron color value #25: Itatian Roast

Drop time: when oils begin to seep onto the bean surface

Flavor performance of coffee at different roast levels

The above content may seem a little abstract to friends just starting out, so Front Street here groups the eight levels into four categories to make it easier to intuitively grasp the flavor direction after brewing at different roast levels.

Light roast (including Light Roast and Cinnamon Roast): after brewing, fruit and floral aromas are prominent, acidity is clearly elevated, and the mouthfeel is clean and bright.

Medium roast (including Medium Roast and High Roast): after brewing, body is obvious, acidity is weakened, and the mouthfeel is full and solid.

Medium-dark roast (including City Roast and Full City Roast): after brewing, there is almost no acidity, the coffee is mellow, with a taste of sweetness after bitterness.

Dark roast (including French Roast and Itatian Roast): after brewing, it is very mellow, with no acidity, a heavy and solid mouthfeel, and rich oils.

So how does Front Street roast the Cinnamon Roast Yirgacheffe Gedingding Cooperative coffee beans and the Medium Roast Indonesian PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans?

Front Street Coffee — Yirgacheffe Gedingding Cooperative coffee beans

Region: Yirgacheffe Gedeo Zone

Altitude: 1900-2300m

Variety: Heirloom

Processing method: Washed

Grade: G1

For beans like Yirgacheffe, Front Street's roasters usually use a light roast to showcase their floral and fruity character. For this washed Gedingding, Front Street's roaster used low heat to extend the drying time.

Charge when the drum temperature rises to 175°C, set the damper to 3, heat to 120; the turning point is 1'32", and when the drum temperature is 140°C keep the heat unchanged and open the damper to 4; at this point the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and the drying phase begins. At 166°C lower the heat to 100, and at 176°C lower it to 80, keeping the damper unchanged. At 8'28" wrinkles and dark streaks appear on the bean surface, and the toasted bread smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be regarded as the prelude to first crack. At this time you need to listen clearly for the sound of the first crack point. First crack begins at 9'38"; adjust the damper to 5 (adjusting the heat must be done very carefully, and must not be so low that there is no crack sound). After first crack, develop for 1'30" and drop at 193.5°C.

How does Front Street Coffee brew Yirgacheffe Gedingding Cooperative coffee beans?

To better present this bean's rich floral and fruity aromas and layering, Front Street chose the V60 dripper for brewing. The V60's spiral rib design not only extends the contact time between coffee grounds and water, but also allows the water flow to gather along the spiral ridges toward the center of the dripper, squeezing the coffee grounds through the gravity of the falling water and creating a higher sense of layering.

Water temperature: 91–92°C

Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: medium-fine grind (80% passing through a No. 20 sieve)

This time a staged pouring method is used. First pour 30g of water and bloom for 30s; at this point the coffee expands into a "hamburger" shape. In the second stage, pour 125g of water in a small circle from the center, with a pouring height of 4cm, gently, minimizing agitation of the coffee bed, at a flow rate of about 4g per second. When the water level drops to 1/2 of the coffee bed, begin the third stage, also gently circling from the center outward, until pouring reaches 225g and ends. Finish extraction after all the coffee liquid in the dripper has dripped through; the time is 2'01". After extraction is complete, gently swirl, and taste once the coffee liquid is fully uniform.

Brewed flavor of Yirgacheffe Gedingding Cooperative coffee beans: citrus and black tea on entry, with cream, caramel, and almond notes emerging as the temperature changes, a clear sweet aftertaste, and a clean, sweet mouthfeel.

Front Street Coffee — PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans

Region: Sumatra, Aceh, Mount Gayo

Altitude: 1100-1600m

Variety: Ateng

Processing method: Wet-hulled

PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans use a sun-dried processing method, with moisture content between 12% and 15%, making them green beans with relatively high moisture. There is a fairly large moisture difference compared with sun-dried beans, so extra care is needed during drying. For green beans with high moisture content, you can close the damper immediately after charging, steam for 30 seconds, then open it to 3, and only when the green bean color turns light green or white open the damper to 4, and after first crack open it to 5 (maximum).

Charge when the drum temperature reaches 200°C, set the damper to 3, after 1 minute adjust the heat to 160°C, keep the damper unchanged, and roast until 5'40" at 148°C, when the bean surface turns yellow, the grassy smell completely disappears, and drying is complete; adjust the heat to 140°C and change the damper to 4. At 9'40", wrinkles and dark streaks appear on the bean surface, and the toasted bread smell clearly turns into coffee aroma, which can be regarded as the prelude to first crack. At this time you need to listen clearly for the sound of the first crack point. First crack begins at 9'54"; lower the heat to 60°C, open the damper fully (adjusting the heat must be done very carefully, and must not be so low that there is no crack sound), and drop at 204.5°C.

How does Front Street Coffee brew Indonesian PWN Golden Mandheling coffee beans?

To highlight the mellow, clean, and aromatic characteristics of PWN Golden Mandheling, Front Street uses the KONO Meimon dripper for brewing. The "ribs" of the KONO Meimon dripper extend to the bottom of the outlet where the coffee liquid flows out. Because the ribs are at the bottom and are relatively short, they fit closely with the filter paper, and the flow rate is slower than the V60, making it suitable for brewing coffee that needs to express body.

Water temperature: 86–88°C

Dose: 15g

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: medium-coarse grind (65% passing through a No. 20 sieve)

After rinsing the filter paper, pour in the ground coffee and gently level the coffee bed; the coffee dose is 15 grams. In the first stage, pour 30 grams of 89°C hot water to bloom for 30 seconds; after blooming, pour the second stage until the total water reaches 125 grams, using a gentle circular pour to avoid collapsing the coffee bed, and after pouring let the water slowly filter and extract on its own; when the liquid level drops to one third, pour the final stage until the total water reaches 225 grams, finishing the pour at about 1 minute 32 seconds, then finish extraction at about 2 minutes and remove the dripper.

Brewed flavor of PWN Golden Mandheling: sweet herbs, cinnamon-like spices, orange and pomelo peel notes, mellow and rich sweetness, creamy walnut chocolate. The fruit acidity is restrained and soft, the aroma carries a strong melon sweetness, and as the temperature drops the herbal aroma spreads out, with faint spices and a mellow herbal note with rich sweetness.

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