What Is Blonde Coffee Roast?
Blonde Coffee Roast:
In this method, the coffee beans are made to be even lighter than in a light brew (roasted for less time) compared to the more common darker roasted coffee beans. The light roast is emitting the different ray of flavors of the brew, creating a more natural flavor. It also gives the coffee a more mellow taste, almost as if the coffee beans were just picked.
For what was once known as ‘Cinnamon Roast' (because of its light color), the Blonde Coffee Roast serves as an alternative to a dark brew. The light flavors give off a more fruity and flowery taste, rather than the strong bitterness that is often found with darker brews.
The term was originated when roasters, working on new roasting methods, removed the beans from the oven right at the start of the first crack of the beans. The removal from the oven at that point left the beans with little signs of roasting and a bright color.
OTHER NAMES AND CAFFEINE LEVELS
Other names for the Blonde Coffee Roast include: Half City, Light City, and New England Roast. Blonde Coffee Roast is the newest and most common name for this lighter than light brew. The roasted bean color of the Blonde Coffee Roast is typically very light, where the beans tend to be very dry when cracked (because the remaining water has evaporated and there is no oil remaining on the beans). In terms of acidity levels, light roasts are considered to be very acidic.
The Blonde Coffee Roast may seem like it has less caffeine levels since it is much lighter than the typical dark one, but this roast has an equal amount of caffeine as any other coffee roast would, if not even more. It all depends on how you measure your coffee: By a scoop size or a scoop weight. Blonde Roast beans are roasted for less time and hence they are denser and have more mass (lose less water). If you measure your coffee by weight, then light roast will have less caffeine compared to dark roast as it has larger mass (less beans included than in the darker roast). If you measure your coffee by the size of the spoon, then you will have more caffeine in the light roast as it is denser (more coffee per scoop).
HOW IS IT MADE?
The Blonde Roast has a distinct flavor because certain physical changes have not taken place in the beans that otherwise would have taken place further along in the roasting process as with darker roasts.
Darker roasts experience more of the Maillard Reaction, which is the concept where the temperature that the beans are roasted in contribute to the coffee flavor. The fruity, flowery taste that is found in the Blonde Coffee Roast is a result of the sugars that are being caramelized when they react to the amino acids in this chemical reaction.
Typically roasted at a temperature of 150-200° Celsius, the coffee bean coloring contributes to the aroma-filled coffee taste that we all love. When the temperature reaches 205° Celsius, the water that exists inside the coffee bean naturally starts to expand and burst, causing the coffee bean to crack. Once the bean is cracked, the roasting process ends and the Blonde Coffee Roast is formed. For darker and more stronger brews, a second crack would be necessary as they require longer periods of roasting time.
HOW IS IT DRUNK?
The most common way of drinking a Blonde Coffee Roast is in an espresso. This lighter option allows room for flavor inside the cup instead of the bold taste that we are accustomed to in some espresso varieties. An espresso made with Blonde Coffee Roast still gives you the same kick that a typical espresso would offer, but with a lighter more gentle taste.
IS BLONDE COFFEE ROAST HEALTHY?
In a study published by the Journal of Medicinal Food, coffee roasts were compared one against each other (Light, Medium, City, and French roast). The study tested whether or not the caffeine and antioxidant levels varied based on roasting level. Specifically, they were testing the chloric acid in the coffee beans, which is an important antioxidant that is found in coffee. They then exposed the contents to human cell cultures and monitored the levels of antioxidants and caffeine that have entered them.
The results of this study showed that all roasts had pretty much the same level of caffeine within them. But "total chlorogenic acid contents were higher in light roasted coffee extract than other roasted groups. In addition, light roasted coffee extract had the highest antioxidant activity in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay." This acid helps prevent inflammation and oxidation (cell damage) and can be found in larger quantities in lighter roasted coffees, such as the Blonde Roast.
