Coffee roasting varies from light to medium to dark. This variation affects the coffee's flavor, acidity, and caffeine content. The preference for one type over another is up to each individual. Some people prefer light roasted coffee, while others prefer dark roasted coffee.
What is coffee roasting?
Coffee roasting can be defined as a process or procedure through which the coffee crop, or green coffee, is transformed into blonde or dark coffee by exposing it to intense heat. When coffee beans are exposed to high temperatures, physical and chemical changes occur, giving the coffee a different acidity and a distinctive flavor.
The importance of roasting coffee beans
Roasting coffee beans provides many advantages and benefits to coffee, including the following:
- Coffee roasting degrees give it a unique flavor, as roasting helps extract natural flavors and oils.
- Roasting helps reduce the acidity of green coffee beans and increases their caffeine content.
- Roasting plays an important role in preserving coffee from spoilage, so green coffee is always susceptible to spoilage.
- Roasting speeds up the solubility of coffee beans and makes the coffee preparation process faster and easier.
Health benefits of roasting coffee beans
One of the most distinctive features of coffee is its high antioxidant content. These antioxidants help protect cells from damage and also prevent diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and cancer. Different types of coffee roasting affect the antioxidant content, with higher levels in light roasted coffee, balanced levels in medium roasted coffee, and lower levels in dark roasted coffee.
Coffee roasting degrees
Coffee roasting degrees are divided into 3 basic types, which are as follows:
light roast
In this type of roasting, coffee beans are exposed to a slightly lower temperature, ranging from 180 to 205 degrees Celsius, until the sound of the beans cracking is heard due to their expansion.
This type of roasting gives coffee a distinctive, natural flavor, high acidity, and low caffeine content, making it preferred by many natural coffee lovers.
medium roast
Medium roast coffee beans are exposed to temperatures ranging from 210 to 220 degrees Celsius, where they are neither light nor dark, but rather somewhere in between.
Medium roast coffee is balanced in color, acidity, and caffeine content, making it a good choice for those who enjoy moderate coffee.
dark roast
The temperature to which coffee is exposed in the dark roasting method ranges from 240 to 250 degrees Celsius, until the green coffee beans turn black.
This type of coffee is preferred by many people because it has a strong, rich flavor, low acidity, and a high caffeine content.
The difference between coffee roasting degrees
The difference between coffee roasting can be found in a simplified form, as the difference between light, medium, and dark roasting, through the following:
- Temperature : 180-205°C for light roasting, 210-220°C for medium roasting, and 240-250°C for dark roasting.
- Color : Light roast is light blonde, which is the method of roasting green coffee . Medium roast is between light and dark, while dark roast is dark black.
- Acidity : High in light roast, balanced in medium roast, and low in dark roast.
- Caffeine content : Low in light roast, medium in medium roast, and high in dark roast.
- Flavor : Natural in light roast, balanced in medium roast, and rich and strong in dark roast.
Arabic coffee roasting degrees
Arabic coffee is one of the many types of coffee. Therefore, the roasting time for Arabic coffee varies between light, medium, and dark degrees. However, the difference lies in its prevalence from one country to another, such as the following:
- Saudi Arabia: Blonde or light coffee is becoming increasingly popular in the Kingdom, where it is consumed by a large number of people, along with other types, but they are less common.
- Egypt: Egypt is known for consuming large quantities of dark coffee, which has been roasted heavily, as well as other types, but in smaller quantities.
- Yemen: All types of coffee are grown in Yemen, including light, medium, and dark, as it is the home of coffee beans, and various types are grown there.
Coffee Roasting Secrets
Coffee roasting degrees affect its flavor and taste, so here are a set of coffee roasting secrets to enjoy distinctive coffee, as follows:
- High-quality, modern tools must be used to complete the drying and roasting processes.
- It is important to purchase high-quality, fresh coffee beans that can withstand different roasting temperatures.
- Mastering the various stages of coffee roasting, from drying the beans and placing them at the appropriate temperature, to expanding and crushing.
- Relying on a suitable roasting method and constantly monitoring the coffee beans when placing them at a specific roasting temperature will ensure you get a great result.
- Take care of the coffee beans after removing them from the roasting equipment, then cool them and leave them for 24 hours to rest.
- Coffee beans often lose their distinctive flavor after grinding, so it is important to buy fresh coffee beans that are properly ground.
Coffee roasting steps
There are many ways to roast coffee, but there are basic steps to complete the roasting process properly, as follows:
- First, you need to purchase roasting equipment, such as a roaster, a timer, and green coffee beans.
- The grinder is heated according to the desired coffee roasting degree, whether light, dark, or medium.
- Add the coffee beans gradually to the roaster, adding small amounts at first.
- Start moving the beans around inside the roaster regularly, monitoring their color and smell.
- The beans are removed after they reach the desired degree of roasting.
- The coffee is cooled and set for a suitable period of time, up to 24 hours.
- Start grinding the coffee properly, then prepare it.
Best Coffee Shop in Saudi Arabia
Now that we've covered roasting degrees, you can get the best coffee products from Thana, one of the best coffee and tea shops in Saudi Arabia . The store offers a variety of the finest coffee products, such as Saudi coffee with cardamom and Saudi blonde coffee , in addition to Saudi coffee capsules with saffron and Saudi coffee capsules with cloves, as well as Saudi coffee capsules with cardamom and medium blonde coffee capsules.
The store offers a range of special offers on tea and coffee, such as the following:
- Samra and Cardamom Package: Includes 4 teas (2 northern teas + 2 coal teas) + 1 cardamom coffee bag as a gift.
- Morning Coffee Package: Includes 4 coffee capsules with various flavors (Saudi coffee with cardamom - Saudi coffee with cloves - Saudi coffee with saffron - moderate blonde coffee) + a free gift of Northern tea.
- Fah Al Majlis Package: Includes 4 capsules (Saudi coffee with cardamom - Saudi coffee with cloves - Saudi coffee with saffron - moderate blonde coffee) + 2 coffee bags (Saudi coffee with cardamom - Saudi blonde coffee) + 2 free teas (Northern tea - Jamr tea).
Shop for the finest coffee products in Saudi Arabia , along with a selection of the best tea products, at Thana Store, at great prices and high quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the roasting degree of Saudi coffee?
All types of coffee are available in Saudi Arabia, ranging from light, medium, and dark roasts. However, the most popular is blonde coffee, which is roasted to a temperature of 180 to 205 degrees Celsius.
What is the right temperature to roast coffee?
Depending on the type of coffee you want, dark, medium, and light, dark coffee reaches a temperature of 250 degrees Celsius, medium coffee 220, and light coffee 205.
Read also: Everything you need to know about coffee: its history, types, and benefits.