WHAT IS BLONDE ROAST COFFEE?
Starbucks and other brands sell blonde roasted coffee beans. It’s a roast type that’s becoming more and more popular in coffee land. What exactly is blonde roast coffee? We at Golden Sin will cover this subject more in-depth for you! We will start with the roasting.
ROAST LEVELS OR GRADATIONS
Before talking more about the blonde roast, we must talk more about the roasting process. There are about 3 to 4 roast levels. Why do I say 3 or 4? It depends on your definition. We’re sure of light, medium, and dark. There’s a lot of space between medium and dark and that’s why we have medium-dark.
Generally, the color of the bean indicates the level of roasting. The roasting process starts with a raw green bean, we heat them at 200 ° C ( 392 ° F) or higher. This results in a browner color, gradually over time. The sugars in the bean will caramelize. Mostly, roasting time is between 2 and 15 minutes (in most cases) and can be done with mostly 2 types: hot air roasting and drum-roasting, fuelled by gas or electricity. In industrial settings, this process can be sped up because of the higher temperatures the equipment can handle.
#1. LIGHT ROAST
As the name tells us, it has a light color. We will roast light if we want to keep the tastes and aroma of the coffee beans. There’s no oil effect yet on the beans, because of the very short time of the roasting process. The beans will be roasted until the first crack.
These beans have very high acidity. Terms like a cinnamon roast, half, or light city describe this light level of roasting.
#2. MEDIUM ROAST
Medium is beyond the first crack. Not all of the flavor and aromas are there from now on. They are drier and still don’t have an oily surface. The heat is between 204°C (400° F) and 221°C (430° F). The beans are roasted until you can see the second crack appear.
The acidity is thus lower and they have fuller bodies. Terms like a regular roast, city roast, American roast, breakfast roast describe this light level of roasting.
#3. MEDIUM-DARK ROAST
This level starts when you’re noticing the oilier surface and the darker color of the bean. The taste is more bitter. The beans are roasted around a temperature of about 232 °C (450 ° F). Of course, there are specialty roasts that have different temperatures. The beans will be roasted between the second and third crack.
At this level, the original tastes from the bean will start to blend with the tastes as a result of the longer roasting process at higher temperatures. They’re spicier and have a heavier body.
Terms like a full-city roast, Vienna roast, After Dinner roast describe this level of roasting.
#4. DARK ROAST
Now we enter the dark side. At this stage, a lot (if not all) of the original tastes, aromas are gone. This is replaced by a more nutty, burned, or smokier taste. The beans look dark and very oily.
They’re heated up to a temperature of about 246 ° C (475 ° F). The beans are roasted until the second crack and even beyond that. You have some specialty coffees and brands that take this to another level.
This level is described with terms like French roast, Italian roast, Espresso roast. At this level, the bean has lower acidity.
BLONDE ROAST?
Blonde roast is located before even light roast and is described as a very light roast. Starbucks was one of the brands that introduced this brand to the United States (more on that later). But there’s no such thing as a roast scale when it comes to coffee. There are a lot of variances as we say, definitions of blonde can be mixed up and you can think you talk about the same thing but actually, you don’t (don’t blame you).
The thing is, the lighter the roast, the more acidity there will be. This roast isn’t for everyone. The taste is very intense and more fruity and floral tastes. You won’t have the classic tastes of coffee (smokier, sweeter) because the roasting process didn’t take that long and was not at the highest temperatures. Milk is often used as a sweetener or to battle the bitter taste.
WHAT ABOUT THE ACIDITY?
Acidity isn’t for everyone. There are a lot of people out there who suffer from acid reflux and buy coffee that’s less acidic or uses coffee suited for a cold brew as a brewing method.
The darker your roast, the less acidity it will have. So blonde roasts have a lot of it. Drinking your daily cup of blonde roasted coffee can give you health problems. Proceed with caution. We say that drinking a blonde roast is for special occasions or limited quantities. It can give you digestion troubles, more fatigue, muscle pains, headaches, and so on.
F.A.Q.
IS BLONDE ROAST STRONGER?
No! Since this is a lighter-than-light roast level, it doesn’t taste when compared to the darker roasts. It’s closer to the tastes of the original bean and has more floral and fruity notes.
IS BLONDE ROAST HIGH ON ACIDITY?
Yes, there’s a direct relationship between the acidity level and the roasting duration of the beans. The darker the beans are, the less acidity there will be in them. This is because of the higher temperatures. The darker the roast, the more bitter they will taste.
IS BLONDE ROAST THE SAME AS WHITE COFFEE?
No, surely not! White coffee is a specialty coffee. They start from the same green coffee bean. The beans aren’t roasted as long as normal roast levels and at a lower temperature. You must think of it as a very light roast, as most blonde roasts sold by brands like Starbucks will be closer to a medium roast level.
IS BLONDE ROAST ALWAYS LIGHT?
No, it depends on what you mean by “light”. A lot of brands, like Starbucks, sell blonde roasts. When you look at the beans, they’re not light at all, but darker.
CONCLUSION
When opting for a blonde roast, please look and decide for yourself. There’s no roast scale or exact standards to define. Starbucks blonde roasts are closer to medium roast levels than light roasts. Know that this coffee will have a higher acidic concentration and this can cause side effects. We at Golden Sin think that you should try these tastes because you should try them all in your life.
Enjoy your coffee!