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Author:
Jordan Ashley
Light roasts Coffee Beans. They pack a caffeine punch. They’re naturally fruity and floral. They’re easy to add flavor to (if that’s your jam!).
What’s not to love about the Light Roasts?
We’ll give you an insider look at 20 brands and why they’re worthy of joining your morning coffee ritual. Stick around to the end for some FAQ on all things light roasts coffee beans.
Hola! It’s me, your new favorite light roasts blend!
If you’re ready to wake up feeling wild and spirited, pop these grounds into your automatic drip coffee maker. (Or whatever your preferred coffee brewing system is.)
These organic beans from Central & South America were roasted in the Rocky Mountains. Kicking Horse wins best choice on our review list today because Hola is an ethical choice that provides big, bold flavor for an affordable price.
This coffee hails from Seattle, Washington. This city is regarded as the world center of coffee roasting and supply chain management.
It has a simple name that gets the point across — this coffee is Real Good! Their breakfast blend is a light roast with tasting notes of brisk citrus, milk chocolate, and cream.
Now that’s a cup of joe we’d love to wake up to, what about you?
I bet it pairs well with a flaky croissant breakfast sandwich… but that’s a little off-topic! Back to the beans. They are available in whole bean form, so you can grind them fresh for your morning mug of brew.
If you’re looking for the most bean for your buck, it’s this one. New England’s Donut Shop blend is a smooth, mellow light roast that fits every budget.
Just because it’s the best value, doesn’t mean they sacrificed on quality. This bag of coffee is made of 100% Arabica beans sourced sustainably from Africa, Central America, and South America.
Save money, drink more coffee. It’s a win-win!
Another great option for your bean budget — Don Pablo’s Subtle Earth coffee. It’s rich, smooth, and charmingly low in acidity.
Sourced and organically grown in Honduras, these beans are part of the sharing certified program. The small-batch roasting process leaves this light roast deliciously caramelly. It’s a wonderful pick-me-up if you feel yourself flagging!
Pour a cup of sunshine for your mouth with this Daybreak light roast from Caribou Coffee!
We love when high-quality beans meet socially-responsible sourcing practices. And that’s what you get when you buy Caribou blends.
Daybreak is sweet and smooth. Sip and smile over the cherry floral overtones with a nutty, caramel finish.
This single-origin Malabar Monsooned blend comes from the mountains of Mysore, India. It boasts a mild body with a creamy mouthful.
You can feel extra warm and fuzzy about grinding up a cup of this sundried, sustainably-sourced product!
Don’t sleep on this single-origin Colombian coffee by Peerless! But in all seriousness, you need to experience the taste of rich honey and cane sugar on your tongue. With a bright finish of milk chocolaty-goodness, this will be a popular blend in your household.
As the name suggests, this coffee company was started by two brothers. The Coffee Bros are on a mission to provide fresh beans coffee lovers!
They’re committed to freshness, each batch is packaged within minutes of roasting. Sealed in an airtight bag with a degassing valve.
We think their signature blend light roast is about to become your favorite breakfast cup!
Experience better taste and less waste with Cameron’s single-serving coffee pods.
Just because it comes from a single-serving brewer, doesn’t mean it has to be lower-quality coffee. Cameron is committed to fairly sourcing their beans.
The coffee pods may be single-use, but they are compostable — no plastic cup!
If you want to support an American veteran-owned and operated business, Black Rifle Coffee Company is an excellent choice.
They describe their Silencer Smooth light roast as a quiet professional. Brew up a mug before quietly settling into your work routine for a successful day.
Ever tried a coffee that made you want to reach for the moon? No?
Then get ready for Copper Moon’s Guatemalan light roast blend. You’ll be starry-eyed from the first smooth cocoa sip to the last lingering citrus finish.
Smooth, light, and no bitterness. That’s what people love most about Cafespresso’s Morning Blend.
Grind these whole beans up fresh for a pot of French press, automatic drip, or even a nice pour-over.
Larry’s Coffee understands that things like organic and fair trade are important to coffee drinkers. Their two-pound bag of whole bean light roast is both of those things!
So, what’s the Bolivia Pro Agro like?
Smooth. Mellow. Creamy. Medium-bodied. Yeah, we all want a cup of that.
Green mountain believes in having an adventurous spirit. Brew up a fresh mug of their breakfast blend to kick off your own adventure day. It’ll open your eyes up to a new dawn — any time of the day!
With balanced sweetness and a silky mouthfeel, you’ll fall head over heels for this clean and bright light roast.
If you’re anything like us, you get really excited when a coffee has natural flavors of blueberry. This Ambrosia blend from Coffea Farms was responsibly-sourced from Ethiopia and Honduras.
In your cup, a velvety body and tropical fruit flavors meet a hint of rose. This unique whole bean blend will delight your senses and tickle your tastebuds.
Caffe Umbria’s fresh roasted Leone blend is a light roast, but also it’s more than that.
It’s a modern take on Italian espresso. If you consider yourself a contemporary coffee drinker (pinkies out!), you’ll love indulging in these bean’s flavor profile.
Just imagine — smooth vanilla, sweet brown sugar, apricots, and huckleberries. All swirling around together playfully in your mouth. Now that’s a nice cup of coffee.
This Ethiopian Bright, from Cooper’s Coffee Co, is so wicked-good that they back it with a full refund guarantee. Just let them know within 30 days if you aren’t in love with their light roast.
The vibrant taste profile boasts flavors like lemon tart, raw honey, and floral nectar. No wonder they’re so confident!
High-quality, expertly picked and sorted whole coffee beans. Flavors of milk chocolate and orange. That’s what you get when you pick up a bag of Bulletproof Coffee’s Luminate light roast blend.
It’s keto-friendly, organic, pesticide-free — everything you want it to be!
Elevate your drinking game, your coffee drinking game that is! With Basecamp Coffee’s gourmet Honduran whole bean light roast blend.
For a cup of coffee as adventurous as you are, grind up these earthy, fruity, chocolaty beans to start your day off right.
Know someone who’s really into the great outdoors?
A bag of this coffee would make a great gift!
Light roast refers to beans that are only roasted until the “first crack.” This allows the natural flavors in the bean to come out, without adding any smoky or burnt taste.
They tend to be bright and floral flavored with hints of milk chocolate. Light roasts are the blends used for flavored coffees as well.
But we think they come perfectly-flavored — naturally!
The roast of a coffee is the second most important part of its flavor and intensity factor. The first being, of course, the type of beans themselves!
Raw, unroasted coffee beans are green (and have a grassy smell!). Before roasting, the beans have little to no flavor. The roasting process brings it out of them, hence why it is so important.
Expert roasters use the correct amounts of time and temperature to produce the coffee bean blends we know and love.
Light Roast: Roasted until the first crack, this option retains most of the natural flavors of the bean. Meaning you can taste the elements of where the coffee was sourced from. They have little oil on their surfaces and possibly a higher caffeine content. Pretty neat!
Medium Roast: Medium roasts are a solid middle ground and very popular. They won’t be as pronounced in floral tones as the lighter roasts, because they are roasted until right around the second crack. They tend to have more body than a light roast.
Medium-Dark Roast: Roasted beyond that second crack, a medium-dark roast is nice for those who prefer a heavier body. The aroma, flavor, and acidity won’t be as balanced as you’d find in a straight medium roast.
Dark Roast: Once you get to this level of the roast, expect the flavor to turn a bit smoky and sometimes even burnt. They are lower in acidity, however. If you like a dark, dark chocolate, this might be the roast for you!
When talking about all things coffee, roast refers to the color of the beans.
Light roasts are light brown. The longer you roast the beans the darker they become. Dark roasts end up so dark brown they almost look black.
The key differences to note between light and dark roast coffees are:
There you have it!
Generally speaking — yes. You will often find light roasts to be brighter and less bitter than their fellow dark roasts.
For some scientific speculation, check out this article from the New York Times.
Light roast coffee is considered to be stronger than dark roast coffee because it retains the flavor profiles of the coffee beans and the caffeine content better than darker roasts as these have not been burnt off in the roasting process. Ultimately, the strength of a cup of coffee comes down to coffee to water ratio and brew time.
Light roast and dark roast coffees contain virtually the same amount of caffeine, but the difference comes into whether you are brewing by scoops or weight. Dark roasted beans are larger but weigh less than their light roast counterparts. This means that a light roast coffee made by scoops will have more caffeine than a dark roast but one made with weight will have less caffeine than a dark roast.
On average, an 8-ounce cup of coffee made from a light roast will contain between 95-100mg of caffeine. The difference between light and dark roast coffee during the brewing process comes down to the different densities: light roasts are denser and therefore need fewer scoops to brew a “strong” cup of coffee when compared to a darker roast.
Coffee
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/coffee/
Bitter Fate of Coffee Beans
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/09/science/coffee-beans-bitterness.html
How Much Caffeine Does Tea Have Compared With Coffee?
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/caffeine-in-tea-vs-coffee#caffeine-concerns
Is Coffee Good for You?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/13/style/self-care/coffee-benefits.html
Which Has More Caffeine: Light or Dark Roast? – https://scribblerscoffee.com/blogs/news/which-has-more-caffeine-light-or-dark-roast
Light vs. Dark Roast Coffee: What’s the Difference? – https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/light-vs-dark-roast-coffee#basics
