Brewing · 4 min · 14 March 2026
Why we roast light (mostly)
On clarity, sweetness, and resisting the temptation to roast through a coffee's interesting bits.
Jonas Aune
A lighter roast is not a position. It is a preference for clarity over comfort, for the coffee's own voice over the roaster's. We say mostly because some coffees ask to be taken further — the Santa Rosa, for example, opens up around the edge of second crack and refuses to before then.
Roast development is mostly about heat application, not time at temperature. We roast in small drums precisely because we can change our minds slowly and our heat quickly. A 250g sample roast tells you almost everything you need to know about a 12kg production roast, if you have the patience to do both.
If your home brew tastes a little hollow, try a coarser grind and a slower pour before you blame the coffee. If it tastes bitter or papery, the opposite. The coffee is almost never the problem.
