How to Choose the Right Coffee Roast Level

Ask a customer what they like and the most common answer is "something strong." Ask what strong means, and you'll get three different answers. Roast level is part of the story, but only part.

Roast level is one of the biggest factors in how your coffee tastes. Here's what each level does, which of our coffees sit where, and how to choose.

What roasting does

Green coffee is grassy, hard and undrinkable. Roasting transforms it:

• Drying. Moisture is driven out and the bean starts to expand.
• Browning. From around 150°C, the Maillard reaction gets under way. Sugars and amino acids combine to create hundreds of flavour compounds: nutty, toasty and caramel notes.
• First crack, at around 196°C. Steam and gas burst through the bean with a crack like popcorn. This marks the start of light roast territory.
• Development. Sugars continue to caramelise, building sweetness and body.
• Second crack, at around 224°C. Oils start to surface and roast flavours begin to dominate.

These temperatures are textbook figures. Every roaster reads them a little differently, depending on the machine, the temperature probe and the heat source. On our Diedrich, second crack arrives earlier than the textbook says. What matters is when the roaster chooses to stop.

Light roast: bright, fruity and origin-led

Light roasts finish soon after first crack. They keep the most origin character: vibrant acidity, floral and fruity notes and a tea-like delicacy.

Our light roasts:

• Blend 1, Fruity & Sweet
• Our Ethiopian single origins, Yirgacheffe and Guji Natural

Best for: pour-over, filter, AeroPress and black coffee. In espresso they need careful dialling in, or they can taste sour.

Medium roast: balanced and versatile

Medium roasts finish well between first and second crack. They balance origin character with developed sweetness and body. The acidity softens, and the complexity stays.

Our medium roasts:

• Blend 2, Berries & Toasted Almonds, our five-origin, award-winning blend
• Blend 3, Café Crema
• Sumatra Blue Bianca
• Organic East Timor Maubisse

Best for: everything, especially espresso and milk drinks. The sweetness holds up well with milk.

Medium to dark: body and richness

Pushed further, roast character starts to come forward while some origin character remains. Expect fuller body, chocolate, nuts and dried fruit.

Our medium to dark roast:

• Blend Zero, High Key Caffeination, with Brazilian and Nicaraguan arabica plus Sumatran robusta for extra kick

Best for: espresso, milk drinks and anyone who likes a bolder cup.

Dark roast: bold and bittersweet

Taken to or past second crack, dark roasts are low in acidity, with dark chocolate, caramelised sugar and a long, bittersweet finish. It's the classic European style.

Our dark roast:

• Blend 4, European Dark Roast: Peru, Guatemala, Papua New Guinea and Java

Best for: short blacks, strong lattes, espresso martinis and tiramisu.

"I just like strong coffee"

When someone says "strong," they usually mean one of three things:

• Bold flavour. That's roast level. Go darker: Blend 4.
• More concentrated. That's brewing, not roasting. Use more coffee, less water, or a double shot.
• More caffeine. That's the bean. Robusta has roughly twice the caffeine of arabica. Choose Blend Zero.

The caffeine myth

Dark roasts don't have more caffeine. Caffeine barely changes during roasting. By weight, light and dark roasts are almost identical. If you want more kick, look for robusta in the blend, not a darker roast.

How to choose

• Brew method: filter and pour-over suit lighter roasts. Espresso and plunger suit medium to dark.
• Milk or black: black coffee shows off lighter roasts. Milk needs medium or darker to hold its flavour.
• Flavour: fruity and floral means light. Chocolate and nutty means medium to dark. Bold and bittersweet means dark.
• Caffeine: look for robusta.

Still not sure? Try our bean finder quiz. Every order ships free across Australia, so it's easy to try a few. Many of our customers end up with two favourites, one for weekday mornings and one for slow weekends.