In general, and in layman’s terms which I am guessing is what you are wanting, I can simply describe 3 types of roasts, light, medium, and dark. This is strictly for a novice because there are many complexities and variables (like coffee origin, the way it is processed, species of coffee, etc., etc.) that people with more experienced and refined palates would describe differently using different terms.
For the novice:
- Light Roast – more sour tasting
- Medium Roast – balance between sour and bitter
- Dark Roast – more bitter tasting
This is presuming you are using fresh roasted coffee. Coffee that is weeks or months old from when it was roasted becomes more bitter as time goes on. This is because the sour tastes decompose and disappear. So contrary to popular opinion, bitter coffee is not stronger coffee but is actually weaker coffee and less potent.
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