Understanding the Roast Levels of Our Coffees
When coffee is roasted, the roasting process can be carefully controlled to influence three key aspects of how the coffee will taste: acidity, sweetness and bitterness.
At Coffee-Direct, we categorise our coffees into four roast levels: Medium, Dark, Espresso and Continental.
Medium Roast
Our lighter, medium roasts generally make coffees of lower strength than our darker roasts and are often sweet, with bright flavours that can include notes of fruit, nut or chocolate.
Kenya Blue Mountain – From £17.99
Our medium roasted Kenya Blue Mountain is grown from seeds originally from Jamaica, which produce a coffee that has the natural sweetness of Blue Mountain Jamaica, but has also taken on the rich aromatic flavours and intensity that is typical of Kenyan coffee.
Dark roasted beans tend to be roasted for longer than lighter, medium roasts, which results in a coffee with a fuller body. The flavours of dark roasted coffees can reveal bitter chocolate and sometimes spicy notes.
Blue Sumatra – From £15.99
Our dark roasted Blue Sumatra is smooth and aromatic, with a well-balanced spiciness that is typical of Sumatran coffees, while a full body and a little acidity provides a delightful hint of intensity, making this a pleasure to drink from a cafetiere, filter, or as an espresso.
Espresso Roast
This strong, deep roast is rich in flavours and aromas and is, as expected, perfect for espressos. However, although the full body and powerful flavours are very well-suited to a smaller coffee, our Espresso roasts can still be enjoyed when prepared as a filter coffee or using a cafetiere.
Monsoon Malabar – From £14.99
Our espresso roasted Monsoon Malabar is a wonderful variety from our Asian coffee range. It is picked in the Malabar region of India, one of the wettest regions of southern India, before undergoing an especially unique process to bring out the beans' fullest flavours.
Continental Roast
Our darkest roasted coffee, Continental roast offers heady aromas and well-balanced, rich and robust flavours. The low acidity and strength of this roast make it ideal for intense espressos, although it also works well for rich filter coffees.
Old Brown Java – From £14.99
Our continental roasted Old Brown Java beans are aged as green beans for at least two years before being roasted, giving the coffee a heavier body and a powerful flavour but very little acidity. The process of ageing beans is popular among many Javanese coffee producers and can last for as long as three years, during which time green beans may be 'monsooned' by being exposed to the warm, moist air of the rainy seasons.