Roast Descriptions

• Light Roast (light city/cinnamon roast): Cinnamon color, intense aromatics, good body, lively acidity
• Medium (city) Roast: Brown in color, increased body, nutty aromatics, complex flavor. Most of the natural flavors of the coffee are experienced at this roast level.
• Medium Dark (full city) Roast: Deeper shade of brown, oils appear on surface of each bean. Slightly smoky, flavor is rich and full.
• Dark Roast: Darkest roast - also known as Espresso, Italian & French roasts depending on the Roaster: Beans are fully coated in oil and have a strong carbony flavor.

The Roast Process...

The way in which coffee is roasted undoubtedly affects the taste. If the coffee is roasted too quickly or at too high of a temperature the exterior of the bean will be scorched. If the coffee is roasted too slowly the flavor of the beans will be diminished. Individual roasters develop a range of methods to deal with these challenges, all with the same objective: To transfer heat to the coffee bean, initiating a series of chemical reactions that prepare it for consumption. Most roasting methods include the following six phases:

1.	Drying Cycle: This is the first phase of the roasting process, when the temperature of the beans rises to 100 degrees centigrade. Also in this phase, the beans change from a bright green color to a pale yellow.
2.	First Crack: When the beans reach 160 degrees centigrade, complex chemical reactions begin to occur causing a cracking sound.
3.	Roast Initiation: The beans swell to 140 - 160% of their initial size. Elements within the beans begin to caramelize, giving the beans their brown color.
4.	Pause: In this phase, the audible cracking ceases, but the reactions continue. The time of this silence will depend on the amount of heat applied by the roaster.
5.	Second Crack: The progressive dehydration of the beans has made them brittle. As a result, more cracking can be heard. It is at this stage that elements in the bean begin to carbonize, producing the burnt characteristics of extremely dark roasts.
6.	Stopping the Roast Once the optimal amount of roasting time has elapsed, the beans must be cooled quickly. This is usually accomplished by introducing large amounts of cool air or water.

What makes a Bean a "Specialty Bean"?

Like a diamond, coffee comes in "quality" classes. There are 5 of them and they relate to the number of "defects" in a 350 gram sample. Each of these classes has a different price premium and are separated as follows:
CLASS 1 - Specialty coffee: 0-5 defects
CLASS 2 - Premium grade: 6-8 defects
CLASS 3 - Exchange grade: 9-23 defects
CLASS 4 - Below Standard grade: 24-86 defects
CLASS 5 - Off grade: More than 86 defects

Class 1 is the grade you will find at Caffe-amante
Class 2 (along with class 1) demand premiums to class 3
Class 3 is the grade traded on the NYCE and bought for commodity price.
Class 4 & 5 is the typical coffee you purchase in your local grocery store and command a discount from grade3.