KEYSTONE COFFEE COMPANY
(408)998 - 2221
Types of Keystone Coffee
Trying to take the mystery out of roast types is not easy but the following should be a reasonable guideline. As you roast your own coffee, roast types will become more understandable.
Most of us who enjoy good coffee seem to lean toward a darker roast of coffee but there are some drawbacks to those dark roast beans. The darker the bean is roasted the more the flavor of the bean can become masked. Some commercial roasters will dark-roast inferior beans. The consumer will in turn taste the burnt flavor of the bean and not realize the higher price paid for a so called superior bean is in reality an inferior bean over- roasted. The other problem with dark roasted beans is that the time between a medium roast, dark roast, and just a burnt bean is not that great-just a matter of minutes. As you experiment with roasting you will discover that it is very important to keep a log of roasting times as well as a sample of what a roast looks like so you may obtain that optimum roast time after time.
Here is a guideline for types of roasts. You may find some different names for certain roasts because of local jargon.
- Light/Cinnamon: Light brown in color, taste usually nutty. Higher acidity.
- American/Medium/Regular: Medium brown in color. Most restaurant and office coffee. A generally pleasing taste.
- City/Vienna: A dark brown color. Noticeably darker than American/Medium roast. May have some oil on bean, taste bittersweet. Enjoyed by most gourmet bean drinkers.
- Dark/French: Very dark and oily bean. Bitter tasting, sometimes used for espresso.
- Italian/Espresso: The darkest of dark. Heavy oil on bean. A charcoal to burn taste.
