The roast scale
City, City+, Full City and the rest: what each level means, how to hear and see it, and how to read a seller's recommended range.
What the names mean
Home roasters describe roast level by where the roast stops relative to the two cracks: the sounds a bean makes as it heats. The names (City, Full City, Vienna, French) are old American coffee-trade terms, and green coffee sellers use them to say how far they'd take each coffee.
Most green coffees come with a recommended range, like "City+ to Full City". That range is the seller's cupping notes talking: below it the coffee tastes grassy or sour, above it the roast starts to cover what makes the coffee itself interesting. The green catalog shows every seller's range on the card and lets you filter by it.
First and second crack
First crack is loud and sounds like popcorn. Water inside the bean has turned to steam and the pressure splits it open. It starts a few minutes into the roast, runs for a minute or two, and marks the point where the coffee becomes drinkable. Everything from City to Full City happens between the end of first crack and the start of second.
Second crack is quieter and faster, like Rice Krispies in milk. The bean's structure itself is breaking down, and oil starts to come to the surface. Roasts that reach second crack taste more of the roast and less of the origin, and they smoke a lot more.
The levels
Light to dark, as green coffee sellers use them. Temperatures vary with the roaster and where its probe sits, so trust the cracks and the color more than a number.
- City
- Stopped just as first crack finishes. Light brown and dry, with the brightest acidity and the most origin character; underdone coffees taste grassy or like raw peanuts here. Green coffees for City
- City+
- A little past first crack. Still light and dry, but sweeter and rounder than City. The most common recommendation for washed African and high-grown Central American coffees. Green coffees for City+
- Full City
- Medium brown, stopped well before second crack. Balanced: sweetness and body come up, acidity softens. A safe default for most coffees and for drip. Green coffees for Full City
- Full City+
- Right at the first snaps of second crack. Bittersweet, heavier body, maybe a few spots of oil after a day or two. Popular for espresso. Green coffees for Full City+
- Vienna
- Into second crack. Dark brown with some oil on the surface; roast flavors (bittersweet chocolate, smoke) lead and origin character fades. Green coffees for Vienna
- French
- Well into second crack, very dark and oily. Mostly roast flavor. Few sellers recommend it, and it's where home roasts start to scorch and smoke heavily. Green coffees for French
Reading a seller's range
A range like "City+ to Full City+" means the coffee holds up across those levels and the seller liked it at each. Start in the middle of the range, then go a step lighter or darker next time and compare.
Wide ranges usually mean a forgiving coffee. Narrow, light ranges ("City to City+") are common for bright Kenyan, Ethiopian and Gesha lots, where the point is the fruit and florals. Darker ranges show up on Sumatra, Brazil and blends meant for espresso.
On the green catalog, the Roast filter matches a coffee when its range covers the level you pick, so choosing Full City also finds a "City+ to Vienna" coffee.
| Level | Where it stops | Looks | Tastes |
|---|---|---|---|
| City | End of first crack | Light brown, dry | Bright, origin-forward |
| City+ | Just past first crack | Light-medium, dry | Bright and sweeter |
| Full City | Before second crack | Medium brown, dry | Balanced, more body |
| Full City+ | First snaps of second | Medium-dark, a little oil | Bittersweet, heavy |
| Vienna | Into second crack | Dark, some oil | Roast-forward |
| French | Well into second | Very dark, oily | Mostly roast |
Sellers don't all draw the lines in the same place, and some add lighter names (Cinnamon, New England) that few recommend.
Hitting the level you want
Beans keep roasting for a little while after the heat is off, so stop a touch before your target and cool them fast: dump them into a metal colander and stir or shake until they're cool to the touch, ideally within a few minutes.
Write down the time first crack started and the time you stopped. Repeating a level comes down to those two numbers more than anything else.
Color on the outside can fool you, especially with naturals and decafs, which look darker than they are. Breaking a bean open and comparing the inside to the outside tells you how even the roast was.