Roasting styles and methods is limited only by the number of different people who roast coffee. Most coffee consumers associate roasting with terms like dark, light, or bold. The problem is that none of these terms have any objective meaning. There is no accepted definition of what counts as a “dark” roast or a “French” roast. Even more meaningless is the commonly-used espresso roast” applied to coffee that is roasted very dark. Espresso is a preparation method, not a roast, so this term is utterly meaningless. Worse, it has sown confusion among the coffee-drinking public and caused people to associate espresso with dark roasting. The darker a coffee is roasted the more bitter it will taste. When coffee is roasted extremely dark, as with most so-called espresso roasts,” it will taste just like what it is: charred wood fibers. In reality, the best espresso is made using medium-roasted, or even lightly roasted beans. At lighter roast levels, more of the oils and sugars are preserved in the coffee and this leads to a sweeter and more balanced espresso with a pleasing syrupy body.
