Coffee roasting
How coffee is roasted
Roasting applies heat to green coffee, producing the physical and chemical changes that create the roasted bean's colour, aroma and many flavour compounds.
Image placeholder: coffee roasterSuggested image: green beans entering a commercial roaster or roasted beans cooling.
The roasting sequence
Green coffee
Drying
Browning
First crack
Development & cooling
Roast levels
| Common label | Typical appearance | Important caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Lighter brown | Often retains more origin character and acidity, but “light” is not a universal numerical boundary. |
| Medium | Medium brown | A broad category whose definition varies between roasters and markets. |
| Dark | Dark brown, sometimes oily | Roasting character tends to become more prominent; the label still lacks one universal cutoff. |