In the world of mainstream coffee, there seems to be a strange obsession with dark roast coffee.
Possibly because Starbucks made the decision to dark roast all their coffee to make it taste more similar across the board?
Hard to say, but while dark roasting gives you a heavy intense flavor it can lose out on a lot of the subtleties that you can taste in a cup of coffee if it’s not done correctly.
That’s why I wanted to share the love for light roast coffee today, for the people who enjoy a fruitier taste in their cup and want to experience a new taste sensation.
Without further ado let’s begin with some of the best coffee roasters that you can order from online.
1. Door County Coffee – Sunrise Roast
- 10 oz bag
- Small batch Roasts
- Great in the morning
Some people want to be dragged into the day with the brutality of an extra dark Italian roast.
Others, like myself, prefer a gentler coffee experience to start the day. This Sunrise roast from Door County offers just that, a delicious and balanced coffee with plenty of bright flavors.
It’s also very reasonably priced while still being made from high-quality beans and roasted to exacting standards.
This is the lightest roast they offer and is truly a light roast. Some roosters only go down to a medium-light so I love that you can get a fully light roast.
As it says on the packet, Drink Coffee, be happy and get ready to find yourself subscribing to this fantastic coffee.
2. PT’s Coffee – Full Range Available
- Single origin Coffees
- Direct Trade Partners
- Began in 1993
- Truly high quality
PT’s coffee are a prime example of a specialty coffee roaster who are doing everything right.
80% of their coffee comes from direct trade partners which means both better quality coffee for them and better prices for their farmers.
They offer full disclosure of every part of the process so you know what the coffee is, how it’s been treated, and how it’s been roasted.
Plus, they’ve got the exact mantra you want from a coffee roaster “Is our coffee the best it can be?”
As for their light roast coffee, it is superb, they’ve got a selection of single-origin coffees from all over the world and 4 new coffees at the time of writing this.
All are suitable for Aeropress, Chemex, and Pour over and all are completely delicious, you won’t be disappointed.
3. Agora Downtown – Peru Hardbean
- Family Run
- Sells as 1lb bags
- Roasted in a Transformed House
I’m a sucker for a good family-run business, and the Agora Downtown is exactly that.
Two sisters, Angi and MJ, co-own and run this coffee shop and roasters having transformed one of the oldest houses in Fredericksburg into a cafe, roasters, used bookshop, and bakery. 11 months of struggle into a quaint, friendly, neighborhood local.
And they make some excellent coffee that you can buy online! They’ve got a range of roasts available but of course, the one we’re here for is the Peruvian light roast.
Delicious coffee, excellent to have in any coffee machine or pour over device, and a cafe well worth checking out if you ever find yourself in the area (if you can try the macaroons!).
4. Barnie’s Coffee – Tucano Espresso
- Brazillian Coffee
- Roasted in small batches
- 40 years of experience
Barnies have been making coffee for a long time, 40 years in fact, and with that much experience of course you’re going to get top quality.
Running from their flagship store in Florida you can find Barnie’s in grocery stores all over the South East, or of course, you can find them online.
And online is where you’ll find their delicious light roasted Tucano Espresso with it’s creamy flavors and hints of caramel.
This single origin coffee comes straight from the largest coffee farm in the world and is roasted to perfection.
5. Java Love – Light Roast Ethiopia Sidamo
- Fair trade organic
- Works hard to select the best coffee beans
- Makes sustainable coffee
- Fruity flavor with milk chocolate finish
Java Love are making great coffee, not only that, they are the only organic light roast coffee on the list and the only work with coffee farmers who are Fair Trade certified as well as being members of the Rainforest Alliance.
This is the kind of coffee roasting I can get on board with. Roasters who care about the people they work with and about the people they sell to.
I also loved that because they’re situated so close to the docks in New York and New Jersey they can get real access to the coffee as it comes in allowing them to choose only the best bags of coffee beans.
And this love and care follows through to their light roast coffee which offers a bright finish with berry notes and a milk chocolate finish. Delicious single-origin coffee from Sidamo, Ethiopia.
Light Roast vs Dark Roast Coffee
Taste Differences
Light roast coffee tastes lighter, dark roast coffee tastes darker. Done.
I joke, of course, taste differences vary across the coffee being roasted but some general characteristics tend to be true.
Light roast coffee tends to have more fruity notes, often berries, as well as being a brighter flavor. It’s also got less body so the consistency will be more similar to a strong tea compared to a big bold dark roast coffee.
Dark roast, however, tends to have less of these subtle flavors and complexities and more sweeping flavors, often nuts, or caramel.
But really, no better way than to try both yourself and see how you like them!
Caffeine Content
There’s a long-standing myth that dark roast coffee has more caffeine in it, well I’m here to tell you that is completely false.
The caffeine content is the same, at least it’s so similar that it makes no difference what roast you choose. If you’re after extra caffeine then you’re going to want to look for Robusta beans instead of arabica beans. These are usually in cheaper coffees because they don’t taste as nice, but they do have around double the caffeine!
The only difference you might find is that light roast beans are denser, so if you use a scoop rather than weigh out your coffee then you’ll have more coffee in your scoop which could lead to higher caffeine.
Will it be a noticeable difference? Probably, not but I thought it was interesting!
Final Thoughts
To a point, this is just the tip of the iceberg, there are so many great roasters producing light roast coffee that it can be hard to feature them all.
But if you know of, or even are a coffee roaster with a superb light roast coffee then please get in touch in the comments or via the email address on the contact page and we can discuss adding it to the list.
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