What Are the Different Coffee Roasts and What Do They Mean?

Wake up and Smell the Coffee! We’re Answering Questions About Different Roasts

Every first-time coffee drinker has a moment of confusion when they stare up at the menu and see a billion kinds of drink options. There’s macchiatos and cold brews and too many flavor syrup combinations to keep track of -- figuring out your order requires a learning curve. But to celebrate all things caffeine, we’re going back to the basics and delving in to coffee roasts. You know -- light, medium, dark and every one in between. Feel free to conduct your own taste tests after reading.

by Brigitte Carreiro

Sep 29, 2018

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Where do we start?

First of all, is everyone aware of how coffee is made? Because I wasn’t entirely, if we’re all being honest here. There are over 100 different kinds of coffee beans, and if that sounds overwhelming, that’s because it is.

You start with coffee beans, the two most common of which are arabica and robusta, which are harvested from all corners of the world (with Brazil growing the most). The coffee beans are roasted to varying degrees (more on that later), and then ground for brewing. Hot water is poured over the grinds and voila! Your happy cup of joe.

Wake up and Smell the Coffee! We’re Answering Questions About Different Roasts

Where do we start?

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