Light vs. Dark Roast Coffee: Which is better?

Michael at Atlas Coffee Club sent this email to their subscribers on January 09, 2025.

Hi friend!

Okay, the truth is, no roast level is "better" than another—it all comes down to what you enjoy the most!

So if you’re looking to understand more about why your coffee tastes a certain way, here are 3 key differences between light and dark roast coffee :)

Light roast coffee has slightly more caffeine than dark roast ⚡

Contrary to popular belief, light roast coffee has a little bit more caffeine than dark roast. That's because the caffeine gradually dissipates in the roasting process, so the darker the coffee is roasted, the more caffeine it loses.

But don't get *too* buzzed about it—the difference is pretty much negligible.

Light roast coffee is the best way to taste the full range of coffee flavors 🍊 🍫 🥜 ☕

Coffee has over 800 aromatic and flavor compounds (for comparison, wine has just 200!), and with a light roast you can experience all the tasting notes your coffee naturally provides.

That said, if you're a dark roast lover, you can still enjoy delicious tasting notes that are more on the nutty, chocolatey side — if you choose a high quality dark roast coffee. See #3 for why quality matters...

Dark roast coffee is often blended with cheap, low-quality beans 😕

Over-roasting coffee beans is a great way to mask unappealing coffee flavors and leave everything tasting uniformly burnt and bitter—so many companies cut corners by blending in poor-quality beans.

Thankfully, not all coffee companies do this! At Atlas, we like to dial in our dark roast coffees to offer our subscribers a cup full of that roasted flavor profile they crave paired with those exciting tasting notes unique to the coffee!

P.S. One element that has everything to do with roast level is oily beans! Oil on the beans comes from roasting them so long that they crack and release CO2, which interacts with oxygen and forms the oil.

WANT TO FIND YOUR PERFECT
ROAST LEVEL?

Whether you know exactly what you like or you’re just ready to learn more about how roast affects coffee flavor, check out this guide to help you find the roast you’ll love!

ROASTED TO YOUR PREFERENCE
DELIVERED FRESH TO YOUR DOOR

Start your Coffee World Tour and you'll be brewing a new coffee from a new country each month, starting with this exclusive batch coming to you from high in the mountains of Veracruz, Mexico

Always roasted to order, to your preference ☺️

TRY THE CLUB

Get 50% off your first order — pause, skip, or cancel anytime

Cheers! Your coffee tour guide,
Michael

Atlas Coffee Club
Travel The World Of Coffee, Each Month a New Country

.
Atlas Coffee Club | Austin, Texas

Text-only version of this email

https://atlascoffeeclub.com/collections/welcome-50-applied-coffee-subscription?ref_coupon=welcome50 [Shadow]Hi friend! Okay, the truth is, no roast level is "better" than another—it all comes down to what you enjoy the most! So if you’re looking to understand more about why your coffee tastes a certain way, here are 3 key differences between light and dark roast coffee :)Light roast coffee has slightly more caffeine than dark roast ⚡ Contrary to popular belief, light roast coffee has a little bit more caffeine than dark roast. That's because the caffeine gradually dissipates in the roasting process, so the darker the coffee is roasted, the more caffeine it loses. But don't get too buzzed about it—the difference is pretty much negligible.Light roast coffee has slightly more caffeine than dark roast ⚡Contrary to popular belief, light roast coffee has a little bit more caffeine than dark roast. That's because the caffeine gradually dissipates in the roasting process, so the darker the coffee is roasted, the more caffeine it loses. But don't get too buzzed about it—the difference is pretty much negligible.2. Light roast coffee is the best way to taste the full range of coffee flavors 🍊 🍫 🥜 ☕ Coffee has over 800 aromatic and flavor compounds (for comparison, wine has just 200!), and with a light roast you can experience all the tasting notes your coffee naturally provides. That said, if you're a dark roast lover, you can still enjoy delicious tasting notes that are more on the nutty, chocolatey side — if you choose a high quality dark roast coffee. See #3 for why quality matters... Light roast coffee is the best way to taste the full range of coffee flavors 🍊 🍫 🥜 ☕ Coffee has over 800 aromatic and flavor compounds (for comparison, wine has just 200!), and with a light roast you can experience all the tasting notes your coffee naturally provides. That said, if you're a dark roast lover, you can still enjoy delicious tasting notes that are more on the nutty, chocolatey side — if you choose a high quality dark roast coffee. See #3 for why quality matters...3. Dark roast coffee is often blended with cheap, low-quality beans 😕 Over-roasting coffee beans is a great way to mask unappealing coffee flavors and leave everything tasting uniformly burnt and bitter—so many companies cut corners by blending in poor-quality beans. Thankfully, not all coffee companies do this! At Atlas, we like to dial in our dark roast coffees to offer our subscribers a cup full of that roasted flavor profile they crave paired with those exciting tasting notes unique to the coffee! Dark roast coffee is often blended with cheap, low-quality beans 😕 Over-roasting coffee beans is a great way to mask unappealing coffee flavors and leave everything tasting uniformly burnt and bitter—so many companies cut corners by blending in poor-quality beans. Thankfully, not all coffee companies do this! At Atlas, we like to dial in our dark roast coffees to offer our subscribers a cup full of that roasted flavor profile they crave paired with those exciting tasting notes unique to the coffee!P.S. One element that has everything to do with roast level is oily beans! Oil on the beans comes from roasting them so long that they crack and release CO2, which interacts with oxygen and forms the oil.WANT TO FIND YOUR PERFECT ROAST LEVEL? WANT TO FIND YOUR PERFECT ROAST LEVEL? https://club.atlascoffeeclub.com/light-dark-roast-coffee-difference/Whether you know exactly what you like or you’re just ready to learn more about how roast affects coffee flavor, check out this guide to help you find the roast you’ll love! Whether you know exactly what you like or you’re just ready to learn more about how roast affects coffee flavor, check out this guide to help you find the roast you’ll love!ROASTED TO YOUR PREFERENCE DELIVERED FRESH TO YOUR DOOR ROASTED TO YOUR PREFERENCE DELIVERED FRESH TO YOUR DOOR https://atlascoffeeclub.com/collections/welcome-50-applied-coffee-subscription?ref_coupon=welcome50Start your Coffee World Tour and you'll be brewing a new coffee from a new country each month, starting with this exclusive batch coming to you from high in the mountains of Veracruz, Mexico Always roasted to order, to your preference ☺️TRY THE CLUB Get 50% off your first order — pause, skip, or cancel anytimeCheers! Your coffee tour guide, [Michael]Atlas Coffee Club Travel The World Of Coffee, Each Month a New Country No longer want to receive these emails? You can unsubscribe here. Atlas Coffee Club | Austin, Texas

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