DunnBros

Although the Specialty Coffee Association of America has adopted the use of the Agtron Color Classification System for classifying a roasted coffee bean's color, using a number scale from 0 (dark) to 100 (light), this system isimpractical for the average coffee drinker. But, in a broad sense, it's a simple idea: The lighter the roast, the more of the bean you taste. The darker the roast, the more of the bean's natural characteristics get "hidden" under the flavor of the roast. The trick then, is to determine which roasting level is right for each bean variety. And that takes experience (and a lot of coffee drinking).

At Dunn Bros Coffee, we find that we get the best results with three different roasts: Full City, Vienna and French.

	Full City Roast A Full City Roast brings the beans to a medium roast level by industry standards, but it is Dunn Bros Coffee's lightest roast. It accentuates a coffee's natural characteristics (acidity, fruit, spice and floral quality) without masking them. We consider a Full City to be an optimal roast level—a balanced taste experience that allows the bean's natural flavors to shine in each cup.
	Vienna Roast Slightly darker than a Full City Roast, a Vienna Roast falls somewhere in the middle ground between a dark roast and a light roast. But it's not necessarily a medium roast. Rather, the Vienna adds a slight accentuating touch of smoky dark roast and, because of it's more caramelized sugars, slightly sweetens the bean's natural flavors. We use the Vienna Roast to bring out a little more character in selected coffees.
	French Roast Our darkest roast. Marked by a lingering smoky finish and dark chocolate richness. French Roasted beans are roasted a little longer and a little hotter than all the rest. This gives the beans a smoky, chocolaty flavor. While a French Roast does narrow a bean's natural flavor spectrum, it produces a smooth, bold coffee with reduced acidity levels. Just in case you were wondering, caffeine content actually remains relatively stable throughout the roast process. Though "technically" in very dark roasts there may be higher than usual organic losses associated with the high degree of roast temperature. This may cause minimal losses of caffeine content. So while it's often assumed darker roasts have more caffeine, in fact the opposite is actually true (though the difference is, frankly, marginal).