Roast Preferences

Taste preferences determine a “good” roast and “dark” roast should not be equated in and of itself with “good.”

Our coffees are profile roasted. This means we seek to highlight the best flavor characteristics of each bean. Roast coffee too dark and the flavorful oils disappear and and you begin to taste the char of the roast and not the flavor of the bean. Cup sampling of many coffees with our importer helps determine the roast level that brings out the best in any bean.

Consider that regional preferences for roast levels range from very dark (black and oily) in Southern Italy to a medium roast (milk chocolate in color) in Northern Italy. In the U.S., a West Coast style emphasizes darker roasts for drip coffee. Traditionally New England residents prefer a lighter roast (hence the “light city” description).

Popular roast descriptions include:

• Light city (New England) light cinnamon, light brown sour.
• City (American) medium brown sweet, slight sour.
• Full city high brown, shiny full-bodied, tangy.
• Viennese dark dark brown, shiny toasty, bittersweet.
• French heavy very dark brown, oily, bittersweet.
• Italian (Ice) very heavy extremely dark brown to very burnt, black, shiny, oily.