Roast level
What is roast level in coffee?
Roast level describes how long and how hot coffee beans were roasted, usually labelled light, medium or dark. Light roasts keep more fruity, floral acidity and are denser, so they need hotter water. Dark roasts taste more bitter, roasty and chocolatey, and extract easily, so slightly cooler water often suits them.
There is no single standard for roast names, so one roaster’s “medium” can be another’s “light”. Taste and the roaster’s brewing notes are better guides than the label.