What does it really mean?

From the roasters lips...er finger tips, I'll tell you what it doesn't mean. It doesn't mean a strong cup of coffee. We have gone over Dissolved Solids in the cup. Just as a refresher, you have learned that a strong cup of coffee is determined by the amount of dissolved solids in the cup itself. The more dissolved solids the stronger the cup will be.

Why do dark roast coffees taste strong then? Well, let's examine what you mean by strong. If you mean that the flavor is bitter and difficult to drink we can say that that cup of coffee is nearly burned and below my standards as a coffee drinker myself. It should never be bitter. If by strong you mean that you get a caffeine buzz from it then you'd be correct. A dark roast however does not increase the amount of caffeine in your cup.

Much like wine the flavors of coffees change season to season field to field. There is no way to ensure the same cup of coffee from the same field year to year. One way major roasters over come this problem is by roasting out those flavors and replacing them with near burned flavor that is easy to get with enough heat. So, if the flavor from this field has changed it will be nearly undetectable since they have replaced those flavors of the origin of the coffee with burned flavors from over roasting. This is quite a common practice, and for any major name that has to distribute thousands of pounds of roasted beans, this makes complete sense to practice if you want the same flavor in Orlando as you do in Los Angeles.

Like wine though, there are tons of flavors to be tasted in coffees from different origins of the world. It is a fruit afterall. And like any fruit it's flavor changes from where it is grown.

A roaster with high quality, freshness and high standards is going to try and find those characteristics of the coffee that stand out the most. Floral notes, citrus notes, chocolates and caramels are all very comon. You simply do not taste those characteristics if the coffee is roasted to the point of being nearly charcoal.

What does a dark roast really mean? It means that the roaster has bypassed those other flavors and gone straight to nearly burned. It means you have missed out on a lot of flavor.

There is more but we'll leave that for another time. Till then ponder what flavors you seek in your cup of coffee. Stay tuned to learn more.