tags: [] - coffee/roasting - coffee/roasting/roast-level aliases: - City light roast - Light-medium roast

City Roast¶

Tags: #coffee/roasting #coffee/roasting/roast-level Aliases: City light roast, Light-medium roast Related: Roasting MOC | Medium Roast | Full City Roast | Roast Profile | Development Phase Status: ✅ Complete

Overview¶

City roast is a light-to-medium roast level that sits at the lighter end of the medium roast family, corresponding to an Agtron Gourmet score of approximately 55–65. First crack has completed comfortably at drop and the bean surface is dry with no oil visible. City roast is the standard entry point into the medium roast range and is characterised by bright, clean acidity, significant origin character expression, and light developing sweetness from early Maillard and caramelisation reactions. It is one of the most common targets for specialty filter coffee roasting and is the reference point from which the City+ and Full City designations extend to darker levels.

Defining City Roast¶

City roast anchors the light end of the medium spectrum:

Level	Agtron Gourmet	Drop conditions	Character
New England	60–70	Just past first crack	Borderline medium; bright, grain notes
City	55–65	First crack comfortably complete	Light-medium; bright acidity, origin character, developing sweetness
City+ (Full City)	45–55	First crack fully complete; brief rest	Balanced; chocolate; moderate acidity

The SCA's standard cupping roast protocol targets the City+ range (approximately Agtron 58 ± 1 on ground), making City roast the zone immediately lighter than the standard cupping reference.

Cup Profile¶

City roast from a quality washed Arabica:

Aroma: Floral, fruit, light chocolate, citrus, caramel beginning to develop
Acidity: High to medium-high; clean and precise; the most vivid acidity of the medium roast range
Body: Light to medium; clean
Flavour: Fruit (berry, stone fruit, citrus depending on origin), light caramel, mild chocolate; strong origin character
Aftertaste: Long, clean, fruit-driven

City roast is the preferred roast level for many specialty single-origin filter coffees, particularly washed Ethiopian, Kenyan, and Panamanian Gesha, where origin aromatics and acidity are the primary appeal.

City Roast for Espresso¶

City roast can be used for espresso in the specialty context — it produces intensely fruit-forward, bright, complex espresso that differs dramatically from the sweeter, lower-acid profile of darker espresso roasts. City espresso requires careful extraction management, as the bright acidity and lower solubility (lighter roasts have higher physical density and are harder to extract) demand precision in grind, temperature, and pressure. It is polarising: appreciated by specialty enthusiasts, often too sharp for consumers expecting traditional espresso sweetness.

Key Facts¶

Agtron Gourmet 55–65; first crack comfortably complete; dry bean surface; no oil
Lighter end of the medium roast family; lighter than City+ (Full City), darker than New England
Cup: bright clean acidity, strong origin expression, light developing sweetness, light to medium body
Standard target for specialty filter coffee (Ethiopian, Kenyan, Gesha single-origins)
Slightly lighter than the SCA standard cupping roast (City+ / Agtron ~58)

References¶

Changelog¶

Date	Change
2026-04-27	Note created

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