What Is Full City Roast?

roasting beans to a darker full city level of roast

QUESTION: What is full city roast? Is it a certain darkness, or a way of roasting or what? – Eli G

It can be hard for even the biggest coffee lover to keep up with all the terminology out there. We’ve found out all about full city roast so here you go.

Full-city roast is also called light French roast, light espresso roast, Continental roast, or medium roast coffee. The roast profile is darker and roasted longer than a city roast. The next darkest roast level is a French roast. A full city roast is roasted to a dark brown color, and in the roasting process goes beyond the first crack on the surface of the beans but stops before they can reach their second crack.

Beans that have been full city roasted are, for the most part, dry, but you will find patches of visible oils here and there. In northern Italy, a full city roast is usually used for espresso. The roasting time for full city roast is 11 or 12 minutes at a roasting temperature of 435-440 degrees Fahrenheit.

Coffee prepared from beans that are full city roasted has lots of sweetness and body. Roasting beans longer should not cause the coffee to become bitter, but instead creates a heavier, richer coffee flavor. The flavor of a full city roast should be smooth, with less acidity than other roasts. A full city roast starts to bring out the flavor profile of caramelized sugar or a toasted flavor with hints of caramel, chocolate, and hazelnut. This roast has the least amount of caffeine of all the medium types of coffee roasts.

Just a few words about other common coffee roast levels:

Blonde roasts are roasted to just before the first crack. The resultant cup of coffee has acidic flavors or citrus or wine.
Light city roasts (also known as New England roast) are complete just after the first crack begins. This is mild bright coffee.
Half city is roasted just to the end of the first crack and is considered a light roast coffee. The coffee tastes tangy with the highest caffeine content per coffee bean.

Now you know all about full city roast. In short, a full city roast comes between city roast and French dark roasts, bringing the beans just to the point of the second crack without allowing them to crack. A full city roast will retain the origin flavors of the bean and add a bit of toasted sweetness to its flavor. The low acidity levels and fuller flavor make full city roast coffee a popular roast among coffee lovers