Know Your Beans, Know Your Roast
Roasting is an art! Each type of coffee bean reaches its optimum flavor at a particular stage in the roasting process. The different size, shape, color and density of each type requires a specific application of heat and timing to unleash the full potential of a bean’s flavor. We like to slowly roast our beans to coax out unique flavors of our single origins and blends.
It’s the difference between a chef cooking your food and a machine cooking your food. A machine is going to repeat the same thing every time. Hand roasting by a master roaster emphasizes the individual characteristics unique to each coffee.
At Charleston Coffee Roasters, we use five roast categories to develop the perfect roast for each specific bean: light, medium, dark, bold and French. Beans are roasted at temperatures between 375 and 450 degrees to develop the flavor in the hard, raw green bean. We do this with exacting care; even the best beans in the world can be ruined, if they are over or under roasted.
Light ROAST
Our light roast coffees are light and bright. We use this roast for specific types of coffees so that you can actually taste the beautiful flavor profiles that they offer which would be less perceptible if they were roasted too long. Discover the magic of a lightly roasted coffee by trying single origin Costa Rican, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Guatemalan El Injertal, and the fabulous round Tanzanian Peaberry coffee.
MEDIUM ROAST
Our medium roast is smooth and delicate but also has heartier overtones. We find many beans are most flavorful when roasted this way. We like medium roast coffees best without milk products. Try our poplular medium roast coffees like Charleston Organic, Breakfast Blend, Aquarium Blend, The Citadel Battalion Blend, Organic Espresso Medium, and some of our single origins such as El Salvador, Honduran, and Peruvian.
DARK ROAST
We use a dark roast selectively. It is a medium to dark roast that results in a full-bodied (but never bitter) cup of coffee. It is an excellent roast for many blends, and exceptional single origins such as our Kiawah Organic, Rainforest Blend, Swiss Water Process decaf, Organic Colombian, and The Citadel Bulldog Blend.
Bold ROAST
Our bold roast coffees are in between dark and French. They are more complex and have a full body and lovely richness to them. Discover some of our bold roasts such as our James Island Blend, Holiday Blend and our very popular single origin Sumatra.
FRENCH ROAST
Our French roast coffees are usually a rich, dark brown. This roast creates a strong, complex and a bittersweet edge. Because dark French beans are roasted at a higher temperature, the aromatic oils within the bean are drawn to the surface of the bean where they caramelize and turn a deep, rich brown. Only a few coffees lend themselves well to this degree of roast, but when they do, it is a splendid effect. Try our Beach House Blend, Organic Colombian French, Ed’s Blend or our Organic Espresso Dark which are all French roasted to perfection!
So sit back and enjoy our coffees, just the way you like. No matter which roast you prefer, every cup is smooth and never bitter and offers you a taste of Charleston in every sip!