Roasty Toasty

Coffee beans have to be cooked before they can be in your morning cup of joe. But did you know that there are different levels of coffee that all taste different? There is actually about 12 different roast levels and each of them come with their own distinct flavors.

I'm going to only focus on the three typical roast levels that are popular.

1. Light/Cinnamon
2. Medium/City
3. Dark/Italian/French

Credit - http://www.roberttimms.com/PurelyCoffee/
FromBeantoCup/tabid/89/Default.aspx

The photo above also includes the first stage that is not roasted, green level beans.

1. Light/Cinnamon roast coffee is the first stage of roasting. The flavor is very light but also very acidic as the acids haven't been cooked out of the beans yet. It also is still very hard, so it has a grain like flavor.

2. Medium/City roast coffee is the singular most popular roast in the US. Most coffee sold in packages in the grocery store. It's also known as a house roast. Still slightly acidic, but not overly so.

3. Dark/Italian/French roast is a darker roast. It is the lowest in acidic flavor and because it's a dark roast, there is a bittersweet taste. This is the second most popular roast in the US. French and Italian roasts are the most famous types of this bean.

Once a bean surpasses the dark level, it moves into espresso which is what you would get in lattes and the Pumpkin Spice Latte.