Roast levels
This coffee glossary explains the words printed on bags from Massachusetts roasters and on coffee menus everywhere. Terms with a longer page of their own link to it. Roaster examples come from their own pages, read on September 27, 2026.
Light roast
Coffee taken out of the roaster soon after first crack. The beans stay light brown and dry on the surface, and the cup keeps more of the flavors the coffee brought from the farm, with more acidity and a lighter body. Light roast, in full.
Medium roast
Roasted past first crack but stopped before second crack. Sugars caramelize further, acidity softens and the body fills out, so the cup tastes of chocolate, caramel and nuts as much as of fruit. Medium roast, in full.
Dark roast
Roasted into or beyond second crack, until the beans turn deep brown and oils reach the surface. Roast flavors such as bittersweet chocolate and smoke lead, and little of the origin's own character remains. Dark roast, in full.
Espresso roast
The roast a roaster picks for its espresso, not a fixed roast level. Espresso itself is a brewing method, so one espresso roast is a medium-dark blend and another a lighter single origin, each chosen to taste right under pressure and in milk. Espresso roast, in full.
Cinnamon roast
One of the lightest roast names, for beans pulled right at the start of first crack. The name comes from the color of the beans, not from any spice. Wikipedia's roast table describes the cup as grainy and sharply acidic, with its sweetness not yet developed.
City roast
A traditional American name for a medium roast: medium brown beans, carried through first crack and stopped well before second. Wikipedia's roast table calls it the level most specialty coffee is roasted to. City plus goes a little further toward dark.
Full city roast
A medium-dark roast stopped at the start of second crack, with at most a few spots of oil. Armeno in Northborough calls its House Blend a full city roast, and Mike Shea's in Bridgewater describes its Iron Bars Espresso the same way.
Vienna roast
A dark roast taken to the middle of second crack, with a light sheen of oil on the beans and a bittersweet, caramel cup. Also spelled Viennese. Indigo in Northampton roasts Sumatra and Sulawesi to this level, and Shelburne Falls sells a Viennese Roast.
French roast
A dark roast carried to the end of second crack, with shiny, oily beans and a cup where roast flavor dominates. Dean's Beans in Orange sells French roasts of several single origins, and Esselon in Hadley calls its French Roast the darkest it makes.
Italian roast
One of the darkest roast names: the beans come out nearly black and shiny, the acidity is close to gone and the body turns thin. Indigo in Northampton lists Italian as one of its roast levels, next to Viennese and French.
First crack
The popping sound beans make as moisture inside turns to steam and breaks the bean open, near 196 °C (385 °F). It marks the point where coffee becomes drinkable as a light roast. First crack, in full.
Second crack
A quieter, faster crackle later in the roast, near 224 °C (435 °F), as the bean's structure turns brittle and fractures. Roasts taken into second crack are dark roasts, and oil starts to show on the beans.
Coffee styles
Single origin
Coffee from one place: one country, one region, one farm or one lot, rather than a mix. It shows what a place and a harvest taste like, so the same farm can taste different from one year to the next. The single origin plan.
Blend
Coffees from two or more origins roasted and sold together, built to taste the same bag after bag. Broadsheet's Bulletin Blend mixes Central and South American coffees; Gracenote's Alpha espresso blends a natural Brazil with an Ethiopia.
Microlot
A small, separate batch of coffee from one farm or one part of a farm, kept apart because it tastes distinct. Microlots cost more and sell out, so roasters list them for a season and then move on.
Single estate
Coffee from one farm, named on the bag, instead of coffee pooled from many growers. George Howell Coffee in Acton builds its list around single estate coffees and limited microlots, and names the estate on each one.
Community lot
Coffee pooled from many small growers in one area, usually through a cooperative or washing station. Broadsheet in Cambridge uses organically grown community lots for its blend components and tries to buy from the same communities each year.
House blend
The blend a roaster or cafe treats as its everyday coffee, the one on the counter every morning. Red Barn's Red Barn Blend in Upton and Atomic's House Blend in Peabody are both medium roasts.
Decaf
Coffee with most of its caffeine removed while still green, before roasting. The method matters to many drinkers, and roasters name it on the bag when they know it. The decaf plan.
Half caf
A blend of regular and decaf coffee, for less caffeine without giving it up. Speedwell's Half Speed in Plymouth and Three Fins' Shaka Half-Caf in West Dennis are two Massachusetts examples, and Jaho sells one called In-Between the Lines.
Flavored coffee
Roasted coffee coated with flavoring after roasting, such as maple or hazelnut. Shelburne Falls sells Sugar Maple Nut and Roasted Chestnut, Indigo sells Maple Nut and S'mores, and Red Barn has seasonal flavors, all alongside plain coffee.
Mocha Java
One of the oldest named blends, pairing a coffee from Yemen or Ethiopia with one from the Indonesian island of Java. Several Massachusetts roasters still sell one, including Shelburne Falls, Armeno and Barrington.
Roaster's choice
A subscription where the roaster picks each coffee for you instead of sending the same bag every time. In Massachusetts, Gracenote, Speedwell, Jaho and Acoustic Java all sell one on their own sites.
Processing and decaf methods
Washed process
The fruit is stripped from the coffee seed, the sticky layer left on it ferments off in water, and the seeds are washed and dried. Washed coffees taste clean and bright, which is why many light roasts start as washed lots.
Natural process
The whole coffee cherry dries in the sun with the seed inside, then the dried fruit is hulled off. Naturals taste fruity and heavy. Brazil dries nearly all of its coffee this way.
Honey process
The skin is removed but some of the sticky fruit layer stays on the seed while it dries. The name refers to that sticky layer, not to any honey. Aero in Northborough sells a Guatemala Bolsa honey.
Pulped natural
A Brazilian name for a method close to honey process: the cherry is pulped, and the seed dries with some of the fruit still clinging to it. The cup sits between a washed coffee and a full natural.
Anaerobic fermentation
Coffee fermented in sealed tanks with the oxygen shut out, before drying. It gives loud, winey or tropical flavors that some drinkers love and others find too much. Broadsheet in Cambridge has sold a Uganda anaerobic natural.
Wet hulling
A method used on Sumatra, where the parchment layer comes off while the seed is still damp, and drying finishes afterward. It gives the earthy, heavy cup Sumatra is known for, with little acidity.
Fermentation
The work of yeasts and bacteria on the coffee fruit after picking. Every process involves some, and producers now control it closely to shape flavor. Aero sells a Fermentation Project set of coffees built around it.
Swiss Water Process
A decaf method that uses water, not chemical solvents, to draw caffeine out of green coffee. Armeno's decafs are all Swiss Water, and so are Jaho's decaf blends and Indigo's long decaf list.
Mountain Water Process
A water-based decaf method carried out in Mexico, similar in idea to Swiss Water: no chemical solvent touches the beans. Esselon in Hadley uses Mountain Water decaf beans for part of its decaf range.
Ethyl acetate (sugarcane) decaf
A decaf method that uses ethyl acetate, made in this method from fermented sugarcane, to lift out caffeine. It is common in Colombia. George Howell, Broadsheet, Atomic and Fazenda all sell a sugarcane decaf.
Methylene chloride decaf
A solvent decaf method in which the solvent is removed from the green coffee before roasting. It is one of the older ways to decaffeinate. Esselon in Hadley names it for part of its decaf range, next to Mountain Water.
Origins
Colombian coffee
Coffee from Colombia, the third-largest producer after Brazil and Vietnam, with a long reputation for mild, well-balanced coffee. Its national growers' federation dates from 1927 and represents more than 500,000 producers. Colombian coffee, in full.
Brazilian coffee
Coffee from Brazil, the world's largest producer for about 150 years, nearly all of it dried as naturals. Roasters use Brazils for nutty, chocolate cups and as the base of espresso blends. Brazilian coffee, in full.
Guatemalan coffee
Coffee from Guatemala, sold by the eight regions its national coffee association has defined, such as Antigua and Highland Huehue (Huehuetenango). It was Central America's top producer for most of the 20th century. Guatemalan coffee, in full.
Ethiopian coffee
Coffee from Ethiopia, the homeland of arabica. Regions such as Yirgacheffe, Sidama and Guji produce floral, tea-like washed coffees and berry-sweet naturals. Sixteen of the 20 Massachusetts roasters we list sell at least one.
Kenyan coffee
Coffee from Kenya, sold by grade (AA for the largest beans, AB, PB for peaberry) and prized for bright, juicy acidity. George Howell sells Mamuto in AA, AB and peaberry, and Speedwell, Gracenote and Atomic each list a Kenya.
Sumatran coffee
Coffee from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, wet hulled, with an earthy, heavy, low-acid cup. Mandheling is the best-known name on the bag. Acoustic Java in Worcester sells a barrel aged Sumatra, and Armeno sells a Fair Trade Sumatra Takengon.
Costa Rican coffee
Coffee from Costa Rica, where regions such as Tarrazu grow clean, sweet washed coffees and many small mills process their own lots. La Minita is sold by George Howell, Shelburne Falls and Armeno.
Peruvian coffee
Coffee from Peru's Andes, much of it grown by small farmers in cooperatives. Snowy Owl's Inka Espresso blends lots from Cajamarca and Cusco, and Equal Exchange sells an Organic Peru light roast.
Rwandan coffee
Coffee from Rwanda's hills, washed at stations that serve many smallholders. George Howell, Snowy Owl, Aero and Atomic each list a Rwanda, and Aero's Rwanda Ishema is produced by women.
Burundi coffee
Coffee from Burundi, next door to Rwanda, grown on small plots and processed at washing stations. Gracenote, Broadsheet, Aero, Atomic and Acoustic Java all sell one, and Aero lists both a washed and a natural.
Yemeni coffee
Coffee from Yemen, whose port of Mocha gave its name to the early coffee trade. Yemeni coffees are dried as naturals and sold in small lots; George Howell and Armeno each carry one.
Kona coffee
Coffee grown in the Kona districts on the Big Island of Hawaii, one of the few coffees grown in the United States. Armeno in Northborough sells a 100% Kona Extra Fancy, the top grade name.
Jamaica Blue Mountain
Coffee from the Blue Mountains of eastern Jamaica, sold under a protected name that only coffee grown in the designated mountain area may carry. Armeno and Mike Shea's both sell one.
Brewing
Pour over
Hot water poured by hand over ground coffee in a cone with a filter, dripping through into a cup or carafe. It gives a clean cup and lets you control the pour.
French press
Coarse grounds steeped in hot water in a glass or steel jug for a few minutes, then pressed down with a mesh plunger. It gives a full-bodied cup with a little sediment at the bottom.
AeroPress
A plastic brewer where coffee steeps in a chamber and is pushed through a paper filter with a plunger. It travels well, cleans up fast and brews one cup at a time.
Moka pot
A stovetop pot where boiling water is forced up through the grounds by steam pressure into an upper chamber. The coffee is strong and dense, though below true espresso pressure.
Chemex
A glass pour over carafe shaped like an hourglass, with a wooden collar tied at the waist. It uses thick paper filters, which hold back oils and fines and give a very clean cup.
Drip coffee
Coffee from an automatic machine that heats water and drips it over grounds in a filter basket. The cafe version, brewed in large batches for the counter, is called batch brew.
Cold brew
Coffee steeped in cold or room temperature water for many hours, then filtered. The long, cool steep gives a smooth, low-bitterness concentrate. Atomic and Red Barn sell theirs in cans.
Espresso
A small, strong coffee made by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee packed in a basket. Espresso names the method, not a bean. The espresso plan.
Bloom
The first splash of hot water on fresh grounds, which makes them swell and bubble as trapped carbon dioxide escapes. Pour over brewers let it sit for half a minute or so before pouring the rest. Coffee bloom, in full.
Brew ratio
The weight of coffee against the weight of water, written as a ratio such as 1 to 16. Changing it makes the cup stronger or weaker without changing the grind or the brewer.
Grind size
How fine or coarse the coffee is ground. Fine grinds suit espresso, medium suits drip and pour over, coarse suits French press and cold brew. Club bags come whole bean or ground.
Extraction
How much of the coffee's soluble material the water pulls out. Too little tastes sour and thin; too much tastes bitter and dry. George Howell helped finance the Extract MoJo refractometer system baristas use to measure it.
Cafe drinks
Latte
Espresso topped with a large amount of steamed milk and a thin layer of foam, served in a big cup or glass. It is the mildest of the classic milk drinks and the one most cafes flavor with syrups.
Cappuccino
Espresso with steamed milk and a thick cap of foam. It is smaller than a latte, so the coffee tastes stronger, and the foam gives it a light, airy texture.
Cortado
Espresso cut with a roughly equal amount of warm steamed milk and little foam, served in a small glass. The name comes from the Spanish word for cut, since the milk cuts the coffee's edge.
Flat white
Espresso with a small amount of finely textured steamed milk and very little foam on top. It is smaller and stronger tasting than a latte, and the milk is smooth rather than foamy.
Macchiato
Espresso marked with a spoonful of milk foam, served in a demitasse. Some chains use the name for a large sweetened milk drink with espresso poured on top, which is a different thing.
Americano
Espresso diluted with hot water to the strength of brewed coffee. It keeps some of espresso's texture and flavor while giving you a full mug to drink slowly, black or with milk.
Ristretto
A short espresso pulled with less water through the same dose of coffee. The shot is smaller, thicker and sweeter, with less of the bitterness that comes late in a pull.
Lungo
A long espresso pulled with more water through the same grounds. It is bigger and lighter than a standard shot, and more bitter, because the extra water pulls out more of the late compounds.
Doppio
A double shot of espresso, from the Italian word for double. Many cafes now pull a doppio as their standard shot, so in many cafes a latte or cappuccino starts with one.
Mocha
A latte with chocolate syrup or cocoa added, sometimes topped with whipped cream. Not to be confused with Mocha, the old Yemeni coffee port, or Mocha Java, the old blend of Yemeni and Javanese coffee.
Nitro cold brew
Cold brew charged with nitrogen and poured from a tap for a creamy, stout-like texture. Mike Shea's pours it at its Bridgewater coffee bar and fills 64 oz growlers, and Red Barn sells a nitro cold brew in cans.
Affogato
A scoop of vanilla gelato or ice cream with a shot of hot espresso poured over it, eaten with a spoon. The name is Italian for drowned, and it is served as a dessert.
Trade terms
Specialty coffee
Coffee graded high enough on a standard cupping form to be sold on quality rather than as a commodity. The Specialty Coffee Association sets the standards used to judge it, from green grading to the way cuppers score a cup.
Direct trade
Buying from a farm or cooperative through a direct relationship instead of an anonymous market. There is no single certification, so each roaster defines it. George Howell says it pays on a sliding scale tied to quality and visits the farms.
Fair Trade
A certification that guarantees farmer organizations a minimum price and a premium for community projects. Equal Exchange, now headquartered in West Bridgewater, began in 1986 by importing fairly traded coffee from Nicaragua.
Organic coffee
Coffee grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers and certified by an inspector. A roaster needs its own certification too: Indigo in Northampton is inspected every year by Baystate Organic Certifiers.
Q Grader
A professional taster licensed to score coffee to a shared standard, so that buyers and sellers in different countries mean the same thing by a score. Wikipedia's cupping article uses the term for professional cuppers. Atomic in Peabody says its buying team includes three licensed Q Graders.
Cup of Excellence
A national competition and online auction for top coffees from one country, first held in 1999. George Howell's work on farmer economics in the late 1990s, with the United Nations and the International Coffee Organization, led to its founding.
Importer
A company that buys green coffee at origin, ships it and sells it to roasters, holding it in warehouses until they need it. Most small roasters buy through importers as well as directly from farms.
Cooperative
A group of farmers who process and sell their coffee together, sharing a washing station and bargaining power. Equal Exchange buys from more than 40 small farmer co-ops, and is itself a worker cooperative.
B Corp
A company certified by the nonprofit B Lab for its social and environmental record, rechecked every few years. Dean's Beans in Orange is a certified B Corporation and, since 2023, a worker-owned cooperative.
Rainforest Alliance
A certification for farms that meet standards on forests, farming practices and the treatment of workers, shown by a frog seal on the bag. Acoustic Java in Worcester carries Rainforest Alliance coffees.
Bird Friendly
A certification from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center for organic coffee grown under a real forest canopy, which gives migrating birds a place to rest. Acoustic Java carries Bird Friendly coffees too.
Toll roasting
Roasting another company's green coffee for a fee, so a brand without its own roaster can still sell fresh coffee. Red Barn in Upton and Aero in Northborough both offer it.
Private label
Coffee roasted by one company and sold under another company's name and bag. Aero in Northborough and Mike Shea's in Bridgewater both do private label roasting for other businesses, such as cafes, shops and restaurants.
Bean basics
Arabica
The coffee species behind almost all specialty coffee, grown at higher altitudes and prized for sweetness and acidity. Red Barn, Armeno and Mike Shea's all say they roast 100 percent arabica.
Robusta
The second main coffee species, hardier and higher in caffeine, with a more bitter, heavier cup. It turns up in some espresso blends: Dean's Beans puts some robusta in its Italian Espresso Roast.
Coffee cherry
The fruit of the coffee plant. It ripens from green to red or yellow and holds two seeds, which become coffee beans once the fruit is removed and they are dried.
Green coffee
Coffee seeds after processing and before roasting, pale green and hard enough to store for months. Dean's Beans in Orange and Aero in Northborough sell green coffee for people who roast at home.
Parchment
The papery layer wrapped around each coffee seed inside the cherry. It stays on during drying to protect the seed and is milled off just before the coffee is exported.
Peaberry
A cherry that grows one round seed instead of two flat-sided ones. Peaberries are sorted out and sold on their own; Armeno and Mike Shea's both sell a Tanzania peaberry.
Variety
A cultivated type of the coffee plant, such as Bourbon, Typica or Gesha. Variety shapes flavor as much as place does. World Coffee Research keeps a catalog of arabica varieties.
Bourbon
An old arabica variety named for the Indian Ocean island once called Bourbon, now Reunion, and known for sweetness. Red, yellow and pink fruited forms are all grown across Latin America and East Africa.
Pink Bourbon
A pink-fruited variety grown in Colombia's Huila region and much sought after for its floral, fruity cup. In Massachusetts, Gracenote, Atomic, Armeno, Jaho, Broadsheet and Aero have all listed one.
Gesha
A variety named for the Gesha area of Ethiopia and made famous in Panama, known for jasmine and bergamot aromas and high prices. Also spelled Geisha. George Howell and Barrington both list Gesha lots.
Pacamara
A large-bean variety bred in El Salvador by crossing Pacas with Maragogipe, both themselves mutations of older arabica varieties. In Massachusetts, George Howell sells El Injerto's Red Pacamara, grown in Guatemala.
Caturra
A compact natural mutation of Bourbon first found in Brazil. It grows short, so farmers can plant it close together, and it spread across Latin American farms for that reason.
Altitude
How high a coffee grows, given in meters above sea level on many bags. Cooler, higher farms ripen cherries slowly, which roasters link to denser beans and brighter acidity. Guatemalan farms above 1,500 meters need shelter from cold winds.
Whole bean
Roasted coffee sold unground, so you grind it just before brewing and keep more of its aroma. Every club bag comes whole bean or ground, your choice when you build the box.
Degassing
Roasted coffee releasing carbon dioxide over the days after roasting. Gracenote suggests resting beans 6 to 12 days before brewing. One-way valves on bags let the gas out without letting air in.
Tasting
Acidity
The bright, lively, mouth-watering quality in coffee, like the snap in a fresh apple. Tasters count it as a virtue when it is balanced, and light roasts keep more of it. Coffee acidity, in full.
Body
How heavy the coffee feels in your mouth, from thin and tea-like to thick and syrupy. French press and dark roasts add body; paper filters take some of it away.
Sweetness
The sugar-like taste that ripe, well-roasted coffee keeps even with no sugar added, read as caramel, brown sugar or ripe fruit. Under-roasted and over-roasted coffees both lose it, one to grassiness and one to char.
Aftertaste
The flavor left in your mouth once you swallow, also called the finish. Cuppers score it, and a long, pleasant aftertaste counts as a mark of quality in the cup.
Aroma
The smell of coffee once water hits it, which carries much of what we call flavor. The smell of the dry grounds before brewing has its own name, fragrance, and cuppers note both.
Bitterness
A sharp taste that rises with darker roasts and over-extraction. A little of it gives coffee structure, the way it does in dark chocolate or beer; too much hides everything else.
Balance
How well a coffee's acidity, sweetness, body and bitterness fit together, with none taking over. A balanced coffee is easy to drink every day, which is why house blends aim for it.
Tasting notes
The flavors a roaster names on the bag, such as cocoa or blueberry. They describe what the coffee resembles, not added flavorings. Every club packing slip carries the roaster's tasting notes.
Cupping
The standard way the trade tastes coffee: ground coffee steeped in cups, smelled, then slurped from a spoon so it spreads across the tongue, and scored. Coffee cupping, in full.
Flavor wheel
A circular chart of flavor words, from broad groups at the center to specific notes at the edge, published by the Specialty Coffee Association to help tasters name what they find.
Sensory lexicon
World Coffee Research's list of 110 flavor, aroma and texture attributes found in coffee, with reference standards tasters use to calibrate against one another. Version 2.0 came out in October 2017.
Coffee Value Assessment
The Specialty Coffee Association's system for evaluating coffee, in four parts: physical, descriptive, affective and extrinsic. The extrinsic part covers facts beyond the cup, such as certifications, origin traceability and how the coffee was processed.
Clean cup
A coffee free of off flavors or defects, such as mustiness or a sour ferment, so its own character comes through clearly from the first sip to the aftertaste. Cuppers mark any defect they find.
Coffee is a farm crop, and roasting is a craft. Buying from a Massachusetts roaster keeps the craft part close to home, with people you can ask about both. Why Massachusetts roasters matter.
Sources
Definitions are our own. Facts come from these sources, read on September 27, 2026, and roaster examples from each roaster's own pages, read the same day and listed on their Massachusetts roaster pages.
- Wikipedia, Coffee roasting: roast names, first and second crack temperatures
- Wikipedia, Coffee: arabica and robusta, wet and dry processing
- Wikipedia, Espresso
- Wikipedia, Coffee production in Colombia
- Wikipedia, Coffee production in Brazil
- Wikipedia, Coffee production in Guatemala
- Wikipedia, Coffee cupping
- Wikipedia, Pour-over coffee: the bloom
- Specialty Coffee Association, Coffee Value Assessment
- World Coffee Research, Sensory Lexicon