Coffee in its raw state is light yellow to light blue-green in color, depending upon processing and growing region, but is most often a light green in appearance. It has a smell something like hay or split peas. Roasting changes not only coffee's color and smell but also its size. During roasting coffee beans change from green, to yellow, to brown. Between yellow and brown the beans pop like popcorn ("first crack") and double in size, this is quite audible. From this point on the coffee becomes palatable. If you go beyond a light roast coffee will begin to pop again ("second crack") this is the point when the "roast" flavor will begin to develop and can, if let go long enough or not cooled fast enough, take over the flavor of the bean. At "second crack" the woody structure of the bean begins to break down and burn and the oils within the bean begin to surface quickly.
Coffee flavor has two sources (if you don't count the water!), the flavor of the bean and the flavor of the roast. The taste difference between different origin coffees is most apparent at a light or medium roast. At darker roasts the flavor of the roast begins to dominate, acidity is lost, body increases and flavor is generally stronger. Very dark roasts are even stronger and tend to have a caramel-like stickiness.
Each of our coffees are roasted to a level which will achieve their origin character not a distinct roast flavor either as an origin coffee, decaffeinated, or blend. If you prefer a roast flavored coffee such as French Roast, we offer blends in which beans are chosen for both their flavor and ability to withstand such a roast style.
Many roasting terms can be misleading, terms such as Viennese, French, Full City, or Italian vary from roaster to roaster. What one roaster might call French another might call it Italian roast or Full City. At Java-Roasters we prefer to use color characteristics to define our degree of Roasting. Degree or darkness of roast dramatically affects a coffee's flavor profile, as does how the coffee has been brought to a given roast. Coffee can be roasted quickly with high temperature or slowly with low and degrees in between. Coffee roasted too quickly will not have developed its flavor nuances while coffee roasted too slowly will have a baked bread or grain taste. Coffee roasted too lightly will also taste bread-like or grain-like, too dark and the coffee will taste charred and light bodied.
Java-Roasters City Roast:
Color: Medium Brown
Acidity: Natural acidic qualities of the origin come through
Body: Nicely developed
Surface: Generally dry or very little oil on bean surface.
Java-Roasters Full City Roast:
Color: Rich full brown
Acidity: Slightly (to not) diminished from medium roast.
Body: Heavier more pronounced.
Surface: Oil droplets may appear depending upon origin and hardness of bean.
Java-Roasters French Roast:
Color: Very dark brown to blackish in color
Acidity: Mostly muted.
Surface: Oily with a high sheen
Java-Roasters Italian Roast
Color: Blackish
Acidity: Fully muted.
Surface: Covered in oil
