Updated October 2026 · roast names vs density
You've probably heard a few roast names. Some refer to the bean's appearance (Cinnamon), the region it's from (Viennese), or when it should be drunk (After Dinner).
There's little standardisation in roast names, so they're a poor guide to how to brew. Measure your beans' density instead: it tells you which of the 121 recipes to start with.
Why names mislead
Despite all these names, there's little naming standardisation. Some terms are used interchangeably, others can describe a range of roast levels, and the names don't always directly reference the coffee's flavours or aromas.
Cinnamon describes the colour of the beans.
Viennese, French and Italian describe a place, not a roast level.
After Dinner and Breakfast describe when to drink it.
Light to dark
← Lighter
Darker →
Light City
Half City
Cinnamon
New England
American
City
Full City
Vienna
French
Italian
Read more: Light, Cinnamon, City: What Do Coffee Roast Names Really Mean? – Perfect Daily Grind
Use density
You are much better off measuring the density to determine which of the 121 roast levels you have. It takes two minutes with a 100 ml cylinder and a 0.1 g scale, and it tells you which recipe to start with, whatever the bag says.
Measure your beansRoasters: the drop temperature page shows how each roast name lines up with the recipes in the series.
Keep reading
Find a starting recipe, then dig deeper into what drives extraction.
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