QandAs: Food

What is a Dark Roast Coffee?

Answer:
Dark roast coffee is the result of an extended

roasting session with raw green coffee beans. The beans are heated in a high temperature coffee roaster until they are perilously close to burning and then removed to cool slowly. The result is a very dark and oily coffee bean with exceptionally strong flavor.

Coffee roasting in general can be more art than science, and many home microroasters consider the creation of a good dark roast to be a litmus test of their skills. Certain varieties of raw coffee beans are better suited to the dark roasting process than others, but most beans can be roasted to a very dark stage with careful monitoring. Roasted coffee beans go from a green color through a yellow stage and finally into various degrees of tan, brown or black. The worst possible scenario is a completely charred pan of unpalatable charcoal beans. In order to achieve a perfect dark roast coffee, the beans often go through two separate cracking stages. The "first crack" releases the moisture inside the beans, but doesn't necessarily affect the flavor or strength. As the beans continue to roast, they will take on a very dark color and have a distinctly oily appearance. At some point, there may be a "second crack", which may occur too late for roasters looking for a medium-dark roast.

It is these oils and a pleasant burnt undertone which gives a dark roast coffee its appeal with coffee drinkers. While the actual amount of caffeine is relatively the same for light or dark-roasted coffees, dark roasted coffee is often viewed as a much stronger blend considered ideal as a morning wake-up. A quality dark roast coffee also contains more of the natural oils excreted by the coffee beans as they roast. Creating a very dark roast coffee can prove to be a challenge for home roasters, especially when using less-regulated methods such as oven roasting or a hot-air corn popper. The difference between a dark roast coffee and a burnt pile of coffee beans can be very subtle indeed. Home roasters who wish to attempt creating a dark roast coffee may want to practice with less expensive raw beans before using the gourmet varieties.


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