Light roast coffee is a more recent trend, and it’s probably the Marmite of the coffee world. You’ll either love it or you’ll hate it!
You do get some really good light roast coffees that are full-bodied and smooth, but you can also get the ones that are more acidic and sour. Personally acidic and sour is always great, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea – or coffee in our case, right?
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Our Top Picks for the Best Light Roast Coffee
Light Roast Coffee is Better, Right?
As with all things the prefered roast level is very much up to your personal taste. However, very darkly roasted beans have in the bast been used to mask lower-quality beans, but as direct access to really good quality beans started to grow the need for excessive roasting subsided and the light roast emerged. In theory, these beans can be roasted more lightly due to their better quality.
For this reason, it’s a common perception that light roast is better as the beans are generally of better quality. But the skill level of the roaster makes a big difference as even a good bean can get messed up by terrible roasting techniques.
Caffeine and Roast Levels
With a lighter level of roasting coffee is roasted for a shorter time you’d think it will have higher caffeine content. But this is not exactly true. The caffeine content between light and dark roasts are very similar and won’t make a noticeable difference to the average person.
The Taste of Light Roast Coffee
A well roasted light roast coffee will be a bit sweeter, highlighting the flavours within the green coffee bean giving you medium body and medium acidity. It will leave a pleasant after taste and should give you a hint of caramel or milk chocolate with floral undertones.
Light roast coffees can be underdeveloped, which doesn’t produce the best-tasting coffee. If you roast a bean till before the first crack you can get high acidity, pleasant aromas and a complex, yet thin body.
You can also get some light roast coffees that have a grassy undertone and an unpleasant one dimensional after taste. So it’s best to leave light roasting to those who know what they are doing!
Our Picks for the Best Light Roast Coffee
1. Kicking Horse Coffee, Hola, Light Roast
- Tasting notes: Juicy red currant acidity paired with a creamy honey body
Unfortunately, we have a great love for Kicking Horse, the coffee, the snow slopes, the whole shebang. So yes, they will definitely make our list of great light roasts. Kicking Horse coffee is Fairtrade, organic and sustainably sourced, with the Hola’s beans sourced in Central and South America.
This is definitely an exotic, fruity and slightly tropical coffee that is mild, yet amazing. It’s still rich, smooth and makes a decadent cold brew. If you haven’t tried any of the Kicking Horse coffees, then this is your nudge to jump in!
LIGHT ROAST, GROUND: Wild, spirited, awake. This blend knows how to dish up a warm welcome. It’s a hot tropical storm, sailing in off the sea. Hullo good mornings
2. Intelligentsia House Blend Whole Bean
- Tasting notes: Milk chocolate, mandarin, apple
Intelligentsia is a coffee specialist with roots in Chicago. This coffee is direct trade which allows the company to partner with the growers directly and cut out the middlemen. Their house blend showcases lively sweetness from their best Latin American coffees.
This is a nice and smooth blend that is well worth a try. The composition of their blends does change seasonally so there will be a slight variation in flavour from one year to the next.
Mandarin, lemon, milk chocolate and apple are some of the tastes we love in coffees from this part of the world and are presented in our House Blend with high definition clarity.
3. Jim’s Organic Coffee Jo-Jo’s Java Medium/Light Roast
- Tasting notes: Medium body, medium brightness, clean.
This medium to light roast blend is full or aroma and smoothness. It’s definitely not bitter or dull. Jo-Jo’s Java is 100% Arabica, certified organic, artisan roasted and packed in the USA by Jim’s Organic.
It’s a beautifully smooth coffee with a good amount of kick, perfect for even the craziest mornings.
For my wife, this blend of grace, full of aroma and good taste. You’ll love its smoothness, it’s never bitter. So relax with a cup, leave the kids with a sitter.
4. Bialetti Coffee, Moka Ground, Light Roast
- Tasting notes: Delicate body; with flower and dried fruit aroma
You might recognise Bialetti from their Moka Pots, well this is a great light roast coffee made specifically for the Moka Pot. The grind size is just right for the perfect brew straight out of Milan Italy.
If you’d like to experience the perfect level of extraction for your Moka Pot we’d definitely recommend this light roast. It’s a match made in coffee heaven!
The perfect type of grind for your Moka; too coarse makes watery coffee, too fine clogs any Moka.
5. Panera Bread Light Roast Coffee
- Tasting notes: Delicate body; with flower and dried fruit aroma
Made from 100% Arabica beans, this is an award-winning light roast coffee for a reason. The Panera Bread is a well balanced and bright multi-tasking coffee with a smooth finish. It doesn’t contain any artificial preservatives, sweeteners or flavours.
Panera began in 1980 as a cookie store in Boston and as you probably know is now a leading restaurant brand with a hoard of bakery-cafes across the US and Canada. So if you’ve ever tasted their light roast coffee in-store then you’re in for a treat as this the perfect coffee for your morning wake-me-up! Or if you’re like the rest of us you might need more than one to get going!
Certified Orthodox Union Kosher (U), 100% Arabica coffee.
6. Café Britt® – Costa Rican Light Roast Coffee
- Tasting notes: A well-balanced, full-bodied cup with caramel and apricot flavour notes and the aroma of limes
Café Britt is a Costa Rican Gourmet coffee brand founded in 1985. This blend uses some of Costa Rica’s finest Arabica beans grown in the Central and Western Valleys.
It’s a nice and soft, yet well balanced and full-bodied light roast. The beans are grown at a high altitude which gives them a higher acidity. It’s beautifully light yet flavoursome without being overpowering and strong.
A blend of the finest gourmet coffee beans from Costa Rica’s Central and Western Valley growing regions.
7. Lavazza Organic ¡Tierra! Whole Bean Coffee
- Tasting notes: Flowers and fruit
Available in whole bean and ground Lavazza is grown on USDA organic certified farms. The coffee is grown as part of Lavazza’s ¡Tierra! a sustainable development project that assists small scale coffee producers that live in disadvantaged situations.
Lavazza makes good coffee, and this light roast is no exception. This coffee has lovely floral and fruity notes and produces a nice thick crema if treated well.
¡Tierra! Organic is a blend of 100% Arabica beans from Africa and Central and South America.
8. Peet’s Coffee Costa Rica Aurora K-Cup Coffee Pods
- Tasting notes: Layers of light, citrusy confection, kissed with Kenya cassis Light roast
If you’re looking for a light roast K-Cup Coffee pod then Peet’s is one of the best. These pods are recyclable, which is a great plus but it also comes with Peet’s signature rich flavour.
Sourced from Costa Rica and Kenya this blend combines great coffee from these regions. This blend can be drunk black with ease as there is no bitterness, it’s light but still full-bodied. You can also find this blend as ground coffee in some stores.
Peet’s Commitment: To achieve our signature rich flavour, we source the world’s best coffee beans, hand-roast them in small batches, and uphold the strictest standard of freshness.
9. Nescafe Instant Coffee Packets
It’s not often that we feature instant coffee on this site, well it might actually be the first time ever! But if you’re an occasional instant coffee drinker and you’re looking for a light roast the Nescafe Melange Maison House Blend is a good way to go. Note that these packets are meant for 6oz cups so you might need two sachets if you like a bigger cup.
Being a freeze-dried instant you won’t get a frothy Frappé, but you will get a nice cup of lightly roasted coffee.
Master Coffee Crafters roast and brew our special blend of premium quality coffee beans. They then flash freeze the coffee to lock in the signature smooth and well-balanced flavour.
Last update on 2022-07-24 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API