What Is Blonde Roast Coffee?
If you’ve stuck around our website or coffee lovers for enough time, then you have probably heard of blonde roast coffee before. However, you might not be sure what this is or what the real difference is between standard coffee. Don’t worry. This is quite confusing for a lot of people. Luckily, we are making it our mission to ease the confusion by explaining blonde roast coffee as simply as we can.
Another way to recognize a blonde roast is an extra light roast. This helps associate with the other common coffee roasts: dark, medium-dark, medium, and light. As you might assume, the lighter you go, the less intense or dark the roast time will be.
Roasts Explained
So let’s talk about how coffee beans get roasted, first and foremost. We’ll go over each roast individually to give you the best understanding of the process.
Light Roast
At the lowest roasting temperature, light roast starts at 356-401 degrees Fahrenheit. It has high acidity, meaning that it typically has a bitter taste to it. The bean is removed from the roaster before or right after the first crack of the bean. This makes for a dry and thin bean.
Medium Roast
Coming in at 410-428 degrees Fahrenheit, the medium roast has a bit more cook. It has a fuller body and mid-level acidity. These are removed after the first crack but before the second. This is one of the most common roasts for a typical cup of coffee. Think light, but with a kick.
Medium-Dark Roast
This is where the brews start to get extra oomph. Medium-Dark comes in at 437-446 degrees Fahrenheit. It has a lot of substance and flavor, but can be a bit heavy for those used to drinking multiple cups of joe in the morning. Think of this as a dinner beverage to give your night the perfect ending.
Dark Roast
Last but not least, the dark roast is in the most heat at 482 degrees Fahrenheit. It is extremely low in acidity and has a sweetness to it. Don’t get it mixed up with the same flavor as cold brew sweetness, however. This is in the bean itself rather than the method of brewing. There are loads of variety in this style, so it really is up in the air for flavor.
Blonde Roast
Now that we have a bit of context of the other roasts, we can dive into the blonde roast. At the lightest of all, this bean style is the highest in acidity and has a very unique flavor attached. One might assume that the lightest roast will also have a light flavor, but this is not the case. Many hate or love this option, so give it a try and see which side of the spectrum you end up on.
Be careful with high acidity, however. It can be bad for your health if not drunk in moderation. This is the pH scale acidity we are talking about after all. This is where coffee gets a bad reputation of messing up your digestion system or causing migraines. Monitor yourself and your body’s reaction if you fall in love with blonde roasts.
However, there is a bit of a silver lining, as there are studies showing that blonde roasts have higher levels of antioxidants than darker options, evening out the health concerns just a tad.
Many companies have a bit of false advertising when it comes to the style of roasts. True blonde roasts are going to taste quite more intense than your blonde espresso at the local cafe. Your best bet to give this a shot is to go to the store and search for it yourself, rather than trying to order a blonde coffee in a coffee shop. It can also be called cinnamon or half city if you aren’t having any luck.
If you are a roaster yourself, try giving this a shot. Keep the roaster at a lower temperature, and remove the bean before the first crack. This will take some practice to perfect, and be sure to do your research on the type of bean that you are using to create a blonde roast properly.
Whether you are feeling adventurous to make your own or want to go buy premade beans, it is worth giving a try next time you are in need of a change of pace.
