RULE 9

Darker is not stronger.

No one seems to agree on how to define the strength of brewed coffee in the first place.

Blame marketing again, but that French roast coffee, long-roasted and dark, isn’t stronger than coffee that has a lighter roast. It’s not going to bench-press more than medium-roast coffee. This myth is particularly tricky, because no one seems to agree on how to define the “strength” of brewed coffee in the first place. Does strength indicate bitterness or strong flavor? Or does strength refer to complexity of taste? Is strength caffeine content? Or is it simply the ratio of coffee to water, dependent on the amount of coffee we put in the basket?

Are we talking about bitterness in the cup? If this is the case, dark roast will most certainly win. If it’s bitterness you’re after, the darker the roast the better. If it’s strength of flavor complexity, we’ve got to award our friend the medium roast with the strongest brew award. Medium roast coffees will exhibit flavors found in the coffee itself (and not from the roasting drum). Medium roast coffee lifts up complex flavors. Darker roasts, on the other hand, will bring out bitterness.

Caffeine content? That’s going to be a mixed bag, as it will vary from cup to cup. Caffeine content depends more on the coffee itself and less on the roast. Recent research that indicates light-roast coffees contain more caffeine than dark-roast coffees hasn’t been fully vetted, and the truth is, the jury is still out on how much caffeine degrades during the roasting process.

Or is strength simply the concentration of the brew, determined by the amount of coffee you place in the basket? If that’s the case, then it doesn’t matter which roast you choose. A higher coffee-to-water ratio will be a more concentrated extraction (which also, regardless of how your beans were roasted, will result in a more caffeinated cup).

There may be times when one of these definitions matters more to you than the others. Have an early meeting? Maybe you want more caffeine. Or maybe you just like bitter-tasting coffee! But rather than getting caught up in debates about terminology, we think everyone should pay more attention to how the coffee tastes, and the story behind it. A little bit of brain over brawn might do this world good.