Craft coffee can be hard to get at first. Light, medium, dark.
But coffee’s coffee right? It tastes good and it gives you an energy boost!
This is true, but learning the basics could help you enjoy coffee so much more!
From telling tasting notes apart, to knowing which roast is your favorite, understanding what’s what will make every cup more enjoyable.
You don’t need to be a professional barista to enjoy the awesomeness of coffee to the fullest.
We’re here to help! Allow us to be your guide into the wonderful world of coffee, starting with what the heck a ‘roast’ even is.
We're getting roasted
Let’s start with the basics. In the world of coffee, there are three types of roasts: light, medium, and dark. Each one has a different flavor and color based on how long the coffee beans were ‘cooked’ before they were packed up.
Light tends to be a mild brown hue and normally keeps more of the original coffee bean flavor. It was roasted for less time, so it’s been processed less. It has a mild, fruity/floral flavor and is pretty acidic.
Medium and dark are…well, darker. While both have hints of chocolate, nuts, or caramel, dark roasts are more bitter and smokier. They taste much less acidic too, with medium roasts being pretty 50/50 and dark roasts barely being acidic at all.
Don't make coffee in the microwave.
Just kidding. We know you’re better than that!
Step two in learning to get roasted the right way is understanding how coffee can be brewed. It will mostly depend on the type of roast you choose.
Here are a few of the most common techniques to brew coffee:
Aeropress
It’s a little device with two main parts: a chamber and a plunger with a rubber seal. To use it, you put ground coffee into the chamber that you then fill with hot water. You stir it and put a filter on the bottom of the chamber and the plunger on top. When you press down on the plunger, the pressure forces the brewed coffee through the filter and into your cup. Great for light and medium roasts, like our Mornin’ Glory or Golden Hour.
Pour Over
This method involves pouring hot water over coffee grounds you put in a filter. It’s great because it gives you tons of control over the brewing process, which means a clean and flavorful cup of joe. You put the filter in a pour-over dripper, then you put the coffee grounds in. On top of that you pour hot water slowly and in a circular motion. Doing it that way helps the water extract all the coffee flavor. Perfect for light and medium roasts, like our Mornin’ Glory or Golden Hour.
French Press
You might have heard of a press or plunger pot - that’s a French press. It’s a cylindrical glass container with a plunger and a mesh filter. You add coarse ground coffee and hot water and let it steep for a few minutes. Then you slowly push the plunger down to separate the grounds from the brewed coffee. Because the Fresh press lets you leave the coffee steep for longer than other brewing methods, it gives you a much stronger cup of coffee. That means it’s great for medium or dark roasts, like our Twilight or Midnight Oil.
Cold Brew
When it’s too hot for a pot of coffee, you make a Cold Brew. To make it, steep coarsely ground coffee beans in cold water for around 12 to 24 hours. It’s a slow process that gives you a rich and concentrated coffee serum. You then take that liquid and mix it with water, ice *clink clink*, and your favorite syrup. It's mellow, chocolatey, nutty, and very low in acidity. Cold Brew your medium or dark roasts like our Twilight or Midnight Oil.
Your ToTM roast based on your zodiac
Just kidding, but we can help you find your perfect Top of The Mornin’ coffee, depending on what you’re looking for. That’s the last step in learning to get roasted.
To help out, we ranked every one of our roasts from ‘Sunrise’ to ‘Who turned off the lights??’ for your tasting pleasure:
Mornin' glory
We like to say it’s so bright, it’s practically neon. Our lightest roast is fruity, citrusy, and oh, so refreshing. It’s great for those who like lighter flavor profiles.
Golden Hour
This medium roast is late-night radio levels of mellow. Expect a sweet, black tea type flavor with a touch of praline. Perfect for those already into coffee.
Twilight
No, not the movie (although we’ll always be Team Jacob). Another of our medium roasts it’s brown sugar sweet, molasses levels of chill, and deeply moody with an edge.
Best Seller
$22.00
Midnight oil
So dark you’ll need a flashlight. Our OG coffee is beans roasted to the edge of awesome. Taste the chocolate, nuttiness, and toffee in one energizing cup. This one is master levels of coffee, so choose it wisely.
You’re the barista now
Yup, you can now more confidently say “I’m a coffee person. I can help.”
Start practicing your newfound knowledge by picking up a bag of some of our absurdly good coffee!
Give your favorite new roast a brew and let us know how it went.