Dark Roast Coffee

Dark roast coffee is used to make espresso and other types of darker coffee. The roasting process releases aroma and acids, and largely determines which type of coffee you make from it. Lighter roasts tend to have a sweeter flavor, while darker roasts have less acidity.

You will notice that espresso beans have a very dark brown, oily color. This is because they have been roasted for a longer period than their lightly colored counterparts. Coffee beans are roasted at about 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and allowed to crack or pop twice. Dark roast coffee will be less sweet due to caramelization of the sugars in the coffee.

Coffee beans must be roasted enough so that the bitter flavors are removed. If they are too light, the bitter components will not thoroughly degrade. To maximize sweetness, however, the beans cannot be roasted too long either.

Dark Roast Coffee Flavors

At lighter roasts, the beans retain more of the flavors created by the soil and weather conditions where it was grown. Coffee from regions like Java and Kenya are roasted lightly so their original flavors are maintained. With dark roast coffee, there is more of a roast flavor, making it difficult to tell the origin of the beans used.