Light roast, hmm... medium roast, or maybe a dark roast? Many of you are probably asking yourself a few questions about what degree of coffee roast do I actually need for my preparation method? What exactly is the difference, or is there actually a difference in the degree of coffee roast? Can't I just use any degree of coffee roast and any degree of grind for all preparations?
Coffee roasting level – the answer to the question!
The answer is no, it is not quite as easy as many of you might think. Making coffee is more like a science - there is much more to it than just tearing open the coffee packet, adding coffee grounds to the filter with a teaspoon and pouring water on top.
Coffee requires a lot of attention and a lot of passion. If you put a little heart into the whole thing, you will be rewarded with a wonderful and delicious cup of coffee. The degree of roasting of the coffee therefore plays a big role in the end result in your cup.
Let's start from the very beginning. In our roastery we basically differentiate between the degree of roasting of coffee : light , medium and dark .
With every roast, it always depends on the size of the beans, the processing, which country the coffee comes from and also whether it is a blend, a so-called mixture of different types of coffee, or whether it is a single-origin coffee. We always have to keep an eye on these four factors and take them into account in our daily roasts.
Coffee roasting level - light roasts
But what exactly does "light, medium or dark" mean, or what is the degree of roasting of coffee? It's very simple: we generally refer to filter coffee varieties as light roasts , which means that the green coffee is gently roasted in our Loring roaster at a lower heat and for a shorter time .
Note: We only roast around 15kg of green coffee for our light roasts - this allows us to better control the quality and maintain it. And which preparation methods are these types of coffee suitable for? For the hand filter , as well as filter machine, AeroPress , Chemex , French Press and all other filter coffee methods.
Coffee roasting level - Dark roasts
The opposite of our light roasts are the dark roasts . Here we roast for significantly longer, at a higher heat and also with more green coffee: 25kg per roast.
We generally refer to our espresso varieties as dark roasts , such as our Bergsonne , Hausepresso , Wilderer and also our Wildsau . Our dark roasts are suitable for preparation with a portafilter , stovetop kettle and also with fully automatic machines.
Coffee roasting level - the golden mean
The golden mean are our medium roasts , here we are exactly between the light and the dark roast in terms of roasting time and temperature, but the number of kilos of our green coffee remains the same as with the dark roasts: 25! The following of our varieties are included here: Ethiopia Guji , Brazil Capim Branco , Decaffeinated , Guatemala , Colombia and our Wild Mild .
Because of the medium roast, these types of coffee are, as we like to say, "all-rounders"; they can be used for any preparation method. Especially if you want to give coffee as a gift, we recommend choosing a medium roast. Because with an all-rounder, you can hardly ever go wrong.
Brief summary of coffee roasting
In order to capture the whole thing and present it better, we have created a short summary for you and we remember with regard to the degree of roasting of coffee:
Light roasts
approx. 10 – 11 minutes
approx. 208° – 213° degrees
15kg green coffee
Note: Varies depending on country, bean and processing
Medium roasts
approx. 12 – 13 minutes
approx. 216° – 219° degrees
25kg green coffee
Note: Varies depending on country, bean and processing
Dark roast
approx. 14 – 15 minutes
approx. 220° – 223° degrees
25kg green coffee
Note: Varies depending on country, bean and processing
Roasting level of coffee & the right grinding level
Now to the grinding level - there are of course differences here too. Each preparation method has its own grinding level and it is also important to know that each grinder produces different ground coffee. A little tip for you: If you buy coffee from our roastery, the grinding level for filter coffee is, for example, level 9, but in another roastery the grinding level may be level 7. So remember, don't just always say the grinding level , but also which preparation method you would like the coffee ground for.
But why is it so important that the coffee has the right grind for my preparation? It's simple: coffee is very sensitive , and even the smallest difference in the grind can lead to a different taste of the coffee in the cup. But it is much more important to prevent the coffee from being over- or under-extracted . To illustrate the whole thing, here is an example for you:
You want to make a hand filter, but your coffee is ground far too finely for that. What's the problem? Imagine how the water finds its way down through lots of small pebbles. It's a long way, isn't it? If the stones are larger, the path is much shorter. You can imagine the same thing with coffee that is ground too finely. The longer the path, the more bitter substances and tannins are dissolved , which of course nobody wants in their coffee. If the coffee grounds are ground too coarsely, the substances in the coffee are extracted far too briefly, resulting in a very thin, flat and underdeveloped taste.
Unfortunately, there is no specific rule that you can follow when setting the right grinding level with your grinder. However, we would like to write a blog entry about this to make the whole thing as easy as possible for you. In any case, you can be excited and curious at the same time.
Roasting level of coffee & preparations at a glance
Finally, we have listed the most important preparation methods from fine to coarse for you: portafilter – stovetop pot – hand filter – Chemex – French press
By the way! On Instagram, on our page @wildkaffee, you can discover the different profiles of the different types of coffee and their different roasting levels.
