tags: [] - coffee/roasting - coffee/roasting/roast-level aliases: - Half city roast - Very light roast - Cinnamon light roast

Cinnamon Roast¶

Tags: #coffee/roasting #coffee/roasting/roast-level Aliases: Half city roast, Very light roast Related: Roasting MOC | Medium Roast | New England Roast | Roast Profile | Development Phase Status: ✅ Complete

Overview¶

Cinnamon roast is a very light roast level — the lightest in common commercial nomenclature — characterised by a light cinnamon-tan bean colour, an Agtron Gourmet score of approximately 70–80+, and a drop point at or just as first crack is completing. The bean is dry-surfaced, relatively hard, and retains much of the structural characteristics of the green bean. The cup is high in acidity, light-bodied, and grain-like or cereal-like when not well-executed. Cinnamon roast is rarely used in commercial specialty contexts — most specialty roasters consider it lighter than ideal even for very light filter profiles — and is primarily a historical naming convention in American roasting terminology rather than a common production target.

Characteristics¶

At Cinnamon roast level: - The bean surface is dry, light tan (similar in colour to cinnamon spice, which gives the level its name) - First crack has just completed or may still be in progress at drop in some definitions - No caramelisation has occurred; sucrose breakdown is minimal - The bean is hard and difficult to grind — burr wear can be significant with habitual very light roasting - Carbon dioxide content is low; minimal post-roast degassing

Cup Profile¶

Cinnamon roast from a quality Arabica:

Aroma: Grain, hay, raw bread, very faint fruit or floral if origin-forward green coffee
Acidity: Very high but often raw and harsh rather than clean; insufficient development can produce astringency
Body: Very light; watery
Flavour: Cereal, grain, raw bread, light fruit undertone in best examples; lacking sweetness
Aftertaste: Short, dry, astringent

Even with good green coffee, Cinnamon roast is at the edge of development sufficiency. Well-executed Cinnamon roasts are rarely pleasant to most palates; the level is primarily of historical or educational interest rather than practical specialty use.

Distinction from Specialty Light Roasts¶

Modern specialty "light roasts" — particularly Scandinavian/Nordic light roasts — are not Cinnamon roasts. Most specialty light roasts target City to light City level (Agtron 55–65), where first crack has completed comfortably and sufficient caramelisation and Maillard reactions have occurred to produce genuine sweetness and clean acidity. Cinnamon roast is substantially lighter than these targets, sitting where underdevelopment risks outweigh the benefit of origin character preservation.

Key Facts¶

Cinnamon roast: lightest named commercial roast level; Agtron Gourmet ~70–80+
Drop at or just as first crack completes; minimal or no caramelisation
Bean colour: light tan, similar to cinnamon spice
Cup: very high acidity (often harsh), grain-like, minimal sweetness; rarely a practical specialty target
Most specialty "light roasts" are significantly darker than Cinnamon roast (City to light City level)
Historical American roasting nomenclature; less used in contemporary specialty discourse

References¶

Changelog¶

Date	Change
2026-04-27	Note created

This article is part of All-About-Coffee.com - The comprehensive coffee knowledgebase.