Light Roast
浅烘焙
Coffee BeansDefinition
A light roast is dropped early in the roast cycle, around first crack, before sugars caramelise deeply and oils migrate to the surface. The beans stay dense and matte, holding on to more of the acids and aromatics specific to their origin. The resulting cup is bright, fruity and tea-like, which is why high-grown specialty lots are frequently roasted light.
Etymology
Light roast is defined by milestones on the roast curve — first crack marks its upper boundary — rather than a fixed time or temperature, a vocabulary that grew out of modern drum roasting and the third-wave focus on origin flavour.
In use
Third-wave roasters label filter and single-origin bags "light roast" to promise a bright, acidic profile rather than a bitter, smoky one.