Roast Levels
A given coffee will have a very different taste depending on how dark the coffee is roasted. Below is a table that lists out the various trade-offs for each roast level from the lightest to the darkest.
| Name | Brightness | Body | Aroma | Varietal Character |
Sweetness |
Comment |
| New England | Peak | Medium | High | Peak | Low | East Coast Roast |
| City | High | High | High | High | Medium | Midwest Roast |
| Full City |
High | High | Peak | High | Medium | West Coast Roast |
| Vienna |
Medium | Peak | Peak | Medium | High | European Roast |
| Northern Italian |
Low | Peak | High | Low | Peak | Espresso Roast |
| Southern Italian |
Low | High | Medium | Low | High | Darker Espresso Roast |
| French | Very Low | Medium | Medium | Very Low | Medium | Burns away flaws |
With most coffee, the best drip is made with a City to Vienna roast. The best espresso (where you do not want the acidity) is made with a Northern or Southern Italian roast.
Different coffee cultures traditionally roasted their coffees to different levels. Americans traditionally bought the best coffee and roasted it very light. The Northern and Central Europeans bought lesser coffees and roasted them darker. The French, Spanish and Latin Americans used the worst coffee and roasted it very dark. This has changed completely since WWII with the Europeans and Japanese buying most of the premium coffees and the large American roasters using Robustas and the low quality Arabica beans.
Coffee Fresh, Inc. buys only the finest quality coffee and roasts it to your order.
Coffee Fresh, Inc., 2321 Davis St., Unit C, North Chicago, IL 60044 (847)578-0772