Dark Roast Coffee

Dark roast coffee, the epitome of the roasting process, produces a coffee bean which can be oily or dry and whose color is very dark brown, almost black. This type of roast produces a flavor which is robust and oily if the coffee bean is finished roasting at the beginning of the second crack stage, or thin bodied and light, if the coffee bean is finished roasting long after the second crack occurs. The vegetal and grassy flavors which are prominent in light roasts and present to some extent in medium roasts are nonexistent in dark roasted coffee. This level of roasting puts the flavor of the roast, not the coffee bean itself, at the forefront. Dark roast coffee is very low in acidity and lacks brightness and crispness. It is especially suited to using in brewing espresso coffee since the oils present in the coffee bean come to the forefront after roasting the coffee bean to this level. Origin characteristics are not prominent when coffee is roasted to this level. At the high end of dark roasting, one example of which is French roast, the coffee flavor present in the coffee bean becomes overwhelmed by the ashy smoky flavor of the roast. This type of roast produces a thin bodied final brew since all of the oils have been removed from the coffee bean via the process of a long roast.