Palouse Coffee Club
Roast levels and roasting
These short definitions are written in our own words from the Specialty Coffee Association, World Coffee Research, the Coffee Quality Institute and Wikipedia, listed at the end. Where we name a Washington State roaster as an example, the fact comes from that roaster's own shop, checked September 27, 2026. Terms with a full page link to it. Buying these coffees from a roaster in the state keeps the roasting jobs here; why local roasters matter explains more.
Light roast
Coffee taken off the heat at or soon after first crack. The beans stay light brown and dry, and the cup keeps more of the flavor the coffee brought from its farm. Elm Coffee Roasters in Seattle roasts its whole lineup on the light side. Full page on light roast.
Medium roast
Coffee roasted past first crack and stopped before second crack. It balances the bean's origin flavors with the caramel sweetness of browned sugars. Herkimer Coffee in Seattle tags its roasts medium. Full page on medium roast.
Medium-dark roast
A roast carried close to second crack, darker than medium but short of the oily look of a full dark roast. Caffe Vita and Fidalgo Coffee Roasters both list medium-dark coffees. Expect more roast flavor and less of the farm than in a medium.
Dark roast
Coffee roasted to or past second crack, with oil on the surface and a heavy, roasty flavor that comes more from the roast than the farm. Zoka Coffee in Bellingham sells a dark roast subscription. Full page on dark roast.
Espresso roast
A coffee the roaster has blended and roasted to taste good as espresso. It names a purpose, not a roast level: espresso roasts run from light to dark. Full page on espresso roast.
Blonde roast
A marketing name for a very light roast, used mostly on blends meant for a mild, bright cup. Dillanos Coffee Roasters in Sumner sells a blend called Ava Blonde. Treat it as a synonym for light roast and read the tasting notes.
City roast
An old American name for a light to medium roast, stopped soon after first crack. Some roasters and home roasters still use it to describe how far a batch went. A full city roast goes a little further.
Full city roast
A roast taken just short of second crack, at the darker end of medium. The name belongs to the same naming scheme as city roast, French roast and Italian roast, each tied to how hot the beans got inside the roaster.
French roast
A dark roast carried well into second crack, with glossy, oily beans and a smoky, roasty flavor. Lighthouse Roasters in Seattle sells a French Roast and a French Sumatra, and Indaba Coffee Roasters in Spokane sells a French Roast Blend.
Italian roast
A name for a very dark roast, as dark as French roast or darker. Roasters draw the line between the two in different places. Fidalgo Coffee Roasters in Burlington lists an Organic Italian next to its Organic French.
First crack
The popping sound beans make at about 196 °C (385 °F) as moisture escapes and they swell. Roasters use it as a landmark: it marks the start of a very light roast. Everything after it is timed from here.
Second crack
A second, quieter crackle at about 224 °C (435 °F), when the bean's structure turns brittle and fractures. Roasts that reach it are dark, and past it the coffee takes on more of the roast's character and loses its origin flavors.
Roast profile
The recipe for a roast: how fast the beans heat, when first crack comes, and when the batch is dropped, drawn as a graph of temperature over time. Victrola Coffee Roasters says it worked out its roast profiles in a back room of its first cafe.
Origin character
The flavors a coffee gets from where and how it grew: variety, processing, altitude, soil and weather. Lighter roasts show more of it; at dark roasts the roast flavor can hide it almost completely.
Roast date
The day a coffee was roasted, printed on many specialty bags. It tells you how fresh the beans are, which a best-by date does not. Our promise is "Roasted and shipped within 3 days."
Degassing
Roasted coffee keeps releasing carbon dioxide for days after roasting. That is why specialty bags carry one-way valves, and why very fresh coffee bubbles hard when water first hits it. The same gas helps form crema on espresso.
Coffee styles
Single origin
Coffee from one place, such as one country, region, farm or cooperative, rather than a mix. Single origins show off what makes that place taste different. Lighthouse Roasters sells an Around the World single origin subscription. It is a style in our plan builder; see also the single origin subscription.
Blend
A mix of coffees from more than one origin, put together by the roaster for a steady flavor that holds from bag to bag. Most roasters have a house blend. Broadcast Coffee's blends take radio names, such as Request Line and Crossfade.
Espresso blend
A blend built to taste balanced as espresso, on its own or in milk. Espresso Vivace in Seattle makes two: Vita for lattes and Dolce for straight shots. Our plan builder calls the style Espresso-friendly.
Decaf
Coffee with most of its caffeine removed before roasting. United States standards require a reduction of at least 97%, according to Wikipedia's decaffeination article. Decaf is a style in our plan builder; see the decaf subscription.
Half caf
A blend of regular and decaf beans, for less caffeine without giving it up entirely. Kuma Coffee's Momma Bear is a 50/50 decaf-regular blend, and Indaba Coffee Roasters sells a half caf blend.
Microlot
A small, separately kept batch of coffee from one farm or one part of a farm, from one harvest and one process. Microlots let buyers pay for and taste one specific lot. Dillanos sells a limited Finca La Bolsa, and Olympia sells rare lots under its Oliver's Custom Coffee line.
Seasonal blend
A blend sold for part of the year, built from whatever coffees are fresh from harvest. Zoka Coffee sells an Autumn Blend, and Fidalgo Coffee Roasters in Burlington has sold a Tulip Festival Blend.
Roaster's choice
A subscription or bag where the roaster picks the coffee for you. Herkimer, Bluebeard, Broadcast and Zoka all sell roaster's choice subscriptions. Our "Mix it up" roast option works the same way for roast level.
Specialty instant coffee
Brewed coffee dried into a powder that dissolves in water, made from specialty beans. Olympia Coffee Roasting sells its Big Truck blend as instant coffee, and Kuma Coffee makes instant coffee from single origins.
White coffee
Coffee roasted far less than a normal light roast, so the beans stay pale. In Washington, Indaba sells one called White Elephant and Fidalgo sells Wired Wolf. It sits below the lightest roast level in our plan builder, so we do not send it.
Processing
Washed process
The fruit is stripped from the bean, the sticky layer underneath is fermented or scrubbed off, and the bean is rinsed and dried. Also called the wet process, it is the most common of the three traditional methods. Full page on washed process coffee.
Natural process
The oldest method: the whole cherry is dried in the sun, for up to four weeks, then hulled. Most coffee from Ethiopia and most Brazilian arabica is processed this way. Indaba in Spokane sells an Ethiopia Natural next to an Ethiopia Washed.
Honey process
The skin comes off, but the sticky mucilage stays on while the bean dries. More mucilage gives yellow, red or black honey. The cup is described as mellow and sweet. Kuma Coffee sells a Costa Rica Black Honey.
Anaerobic fermentation
Fermenting coffee in sealed tanks or bags with the air pushed out, so organisms that live without oxygen take over. In the Indonesian Labu method, pulped fruit ferments in sealed bags, and the cup is described as tasting of wild red fruit with a sharp acidity.
Carbonic maceration
A method borrowed from winemaking: coffee cherries ferment under carbon dioxide, which changes which microbes grow. In one Thai trial, a semi-carbonic version scored higher than a pulped natural for fragrance, flavor and body.
Wet-hulled
Called giling basah in Indonesia. The parchment is stripped while the bean is still wet, then the bean is dried quickly, a response to rain that falls during the harvest. Smallholders use it across Sumatra, Sulawesi, Flores and Papua.
Mucilage
The sticky, sugary layer between a coffee cherry's skin and the parchment around the bean. Washing removes it, honey processing leaves it on to dry, and natural processing never separates it.
Parchment
The papery hull around a coffee bean inside the cherry. Washed and honey coffees dry in their parchment, which is milled off before export. Coffee still in it is called parchment coffee.
Swiss Water process
A decaf method that uses water, not chemical solvents, to pull caffeine from green beans. It was first developed in Switzerland in 1933 and later introduced by the Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company of Burnaby, British Columbia. Espresso Vivace and Seven Coffee Roasters sell Swiss Water decafs.
Ethyl acetate decaf
A decaf method that uses ethyl acetate as the solvent to draw caffeine out of green beans before roasting. Bluebeard Coffee Roasters in Tacoma sells an EA decaf from Narino, Colombia.
CO2 decaf
A decaf method that uses carbon dioxide heated and pressurized past its critical point to extract caffeine from steamed green beans. It was developed by Kurt Zosel of the Max Planck Institute.
Origins
Ethiopia
Arabica coffee is native to the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia, and most Ethiopian coffee is natural processed. Boon Boona Coffee in Renton, which buys only African coffee, sells a Mahiber from Ethiopia.
Yirgacheffe
A town and district in southern Ethiopia at around 1,900 meters, and one of its best known coffee areas. Lighthouse Roasters, Herkimer and Seven Coffee Roasters all sell Yirgacheffe coffees.
Kenya
An East African origin whose coffees are sold with grade letters such as AA and AB in the name. Broadcast sells a Kenya Murang'a Gondo AA and a Kenya Swara AB, and Camber sells a Kenya Kamoini Peaberry.
Rwanda and Burundi
Neighboring East African countries where many farms are tiny, sometimes a few trees, so smallholders process through cooperatives, as Boon Boona Coffee explains. Olympia Coffee Roasting has worked directly in Burundi since 2013, and Lighthouse sells a Rwanda Dukunde Kawa.
Colombia
A South American origin whose washed arabicas are a price group of their own, Colombian milds, in the International Coffee Organization's indicator prices. Kuma Coffee buys directly in Narino, Tolima, Huila and Antioquia.
Brazil
About 90% of Brazilian arabica is natural processed, and Brazil is where honey processing was first tried, in the 1950s. Herkimer sells a Brazil Sitio da Serra and Victrola a Brazil Sitio Campestre.
Guatemala
A Central American origin. Central American coffees make up most of the washed "other milds" price group. Herkimer Coffee sells a Guatemala called Juicy, and Broadcast sells a Guatemala Rio Ocho.
Costa Rica
A Central American origin that turns up in several Washington lineups. Kuma sells a Costa Rica Black Honey, Zoka a Costa Rica Sumava Gesha, and Fulcrum an annual Costa Rica Heritage Collection.
Sumatra
An Indonesian island where smallholders wet-hull much of their coffee, including in the Mandheling region around Lake Toba. Caffe Vita sells an Organic Sumatra Gayo River, and Lighthouse a French Sumatra.
Kona
Arabica grown on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona districts of Hawaii's Big Island. Only coffee from those districts may be called Kona. Seven Coffee Roasters in Seattle sells 100% Kona.
Monsooned Malabar
Indian coffee left exposed to monsoon winds and rain for three to four months, so the beans swell and lose acidity. It has protected status in India. Espresso Vivace sells an Indian Monsooned Malabar.
Mocha Java
One of the oldest blend names, pairing coffee named for Yemen's port of Mocha with coffee from Java. Lighthouse Roasters sells a Mocha-Java and Dillanos a Moka Java. Mocha, in Yemen, was one of the early centers of the coffee trade.
Brewing
Espresso
Concentrated coffee made by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground, tamped coffee in about 25 to 30 seconds. It is the base of lattes and cappuccinos. Full page on espresso.
Drip coffee
Hot water poured over ground coffee that seeps through a filter into a pot, by machine or by hand. Gravity moves the water, and the filter keeps the grounds out of the cup. Full page on drip coffee.
Pour over
Drip coffee made by hand: you pour hot water from a kettle over grounds in a filter cone. It gives more control over speed and flow than a machine. Hario, Melitta and Chemex make well known filters for it.
French press
A brewer that steeps coarse grounds in hot water for a few minutes, then strains them with a mesh plunger. The metal mesh lets oils through, so the cup is heavier than paper-filtered coffee.
AeroPress
A plastic brewer invented by Alan Adler. Coffee steeps in a chamber, then a plunger presses it through a paper or metal filter. It can make a concentrated, espresso-like shot or a regular cup.
Moka pot
A stovetop brewer popularized by Alfonso Bialetti in Italy from 1933. Steam pressure from the bottom chamber pushes water up through the coffee into the top. Strong, but not true espresso.
Cold brew
Coffee made by steeping coarse grounds in room-temperature or cold water for 12 to 24 hours, then filtering it into a concentrate. Caffe Vita sells canned cold brew, and Broadcast sells Chill Wave cold brew.
Chemex
An hourglass-shaped glass pour over brewer invented by Peter Schlumbohm in 1941 and made in Chicopee, Massachusetts. It is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. It brews like any pour over, with its own paper filters.
Siphon
Also called a vacuum pot. Two chambers use vapor pressure to push water up into the coffee, then a vacuum pulls the brewed coffee back down through a filter. Invented in 1827.
Turkish coffee
Very finely ground coffee brewed in a small pot called a cezve and served unfiltered. The same style appears under other names across the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasus.
Percolator
A pot that cycles boiling or near-boiling coffee through the grounds again and again. It over-extracts easily, which is why drip machines largely replaced it in the 1970s. Its grounds sit in a perforated metal basket above the water.
Coffee extraction
How much of the ground coffee dissolves into the water. Too little tastes sour, too much tastes bitter. Grind size and brew time are the main levers. Full page on coffee extraction.
Brew ratio
The weight of coffee compared with the weight of water. It sets how strong the cup is. Change the ratio to fix strength; change grind or time to fix a sour or bitter taste.
TDS
Total dissolved solids: how much coffee is dissolved in the drink, as a percentage. It measures strength. Brewed coffee in North America is considered typical at 1.15% to 1.35%. Nordic drinkers go a little stronger.
Grind size
How fine the coffee is ground. Finer grinds extract faster, coarser grinds slower, so each brewer has its own: coarse for French press, medium for drip, very fine for espresso.
Burr grinder
A grinder that crushes beans between two burrs, giving particles of an even size set by the gap between them. A blade grinder produces a wide range of sizes, which makes extraction harder to control.
Bloom
The first pour in a pour over: a little hot water wets the grounds and they foam as carbon dioxide escapes. Wait 30 to 45 seconds before pouring the rest.
Portafilter
The handled basket that holds ground coffee on an espresso machine. The barista doses and tamps coffee into it, then locks it into the group head to pull a shot.
Tamping
Pressing ground coffee in a portafilter into a firm, level puck before brewing espresso. An even tamp helps water flow through all of the coffee instead of rushing through weak spots.
Cafe drinks
Crema
The light brown foam on a shot of espresso, made from carbon dioxide and emulsified coffee oils under pressure. Gaggia's lever machines first produced it in the late 1940s. Full page on crema.
Ristretto
A short espresso shot: the same coffee, about half the water, and a finer grind. Smaller and more intense. The first part of any shot is the densest, which is why it tastes bold. Full page on ristretto.
Lungo
A long espresso shot, pulled with about twice the water of a normal shot through the same coffee, with a coarser grind. Push too much water through and harsher flavors come with it.
Doppio
A double shot of espresso, made with double the coffee in a larger basket, about 60 ml. Outside Italy it is the standard shot at most cafes. A single, or solo, was the most a lever machine could pull easily.
Americano
Espresso topped up with hot water, roughly one part espresso to three or four parts water. It keeps espresso's flavor in a drink the size of a cup of drip coffee.
Long black
An Australian and New Zealand drink: a double espresso poured into hot water. Pouring in that order keeps more of the crema than an americano, where the water goes on top.
Macchiato
Italian for stained or marked: an espresso with a small amount of milk, usually foamed. Not the same as a large layered latte macchiato. It sits between a straight espresso and a cortado in milk.
Cortado
A Spanish drink of espresso cut with a roughly equal amount of warm steamed milk, without the thick foam of Italian milk drinks. The name comes from the Spanish verb cortar, to cut.
Cappuccino
Espresso with steamed milk and a thick cap of foam, smaller than a latte. Named for the brown habits of the Capuchin friars. Its foam is thicker and drier than a latte's microfoam.
Flat white
Espresso with steamed milk, stronger than a latte and without a cappuccino's thick foam. Cafe owners in Australia and New Zealand both claim to have invented it. The name was in use in England in the 1960s for an espresso-based coffee.
Latte
Caffè latte: espresso with plenty of steamed milk and a thin layer of foam, traditionally served in a glass. Espresso Vivace calls its Vita blend the one that suits lattes.
Mocha
A latte with chocolate. The name comes from the Yemeni port of Mocha, an early center of the coffee trade. It is commonly served hot, in a glass rather than a mug.
Affogato
An Italian dessert: a scoop of vanilla or plain milk gelato with a shot of hot espresso poured over it. The name means drowned. Some versions add a shot of amaretto or another liqueur.
Microfoam
Steamed milk with tiny, even bubbles, glossy and pourable, made with an espresso machine's steam wand. It is what makes latte art possible. Its opposite, macrofoam, has large bubbles and sits on a cappuccino.
Latte art
Patterns poured into espresso with microfoam, such as hearts and rosettas. David Schomer of Espresso Vivace in Seattle is credited with developing and popularizing latte art in the United States.
Beans and the coffee trade
Arabica
Coffea arabica, the main species in specialty coffee. Its wild populations grow in the forests of southern Ethiopia, South Sudan and Yemen, and it is now farmed in dozens of countries between the tropics. Robusta makes up most of the rest.
Robusta
Coffea canephora, the other main coffee species, about 45% of world production. It is hardier and higher yielding, and its beans taste more bitter, woody and less fruity than arabica. Most goes into instant coffee.
Coffee cherry
The fruit of the coffee plant. Each cherry holds two seeds, the coffee beans, under skin, pulp, mucilage and parchment. It ripens around eight months after the flowers. Once picked, the fruit has to be removed by washing, honey or natural processing.
Green coffee
Coffee beans after processing and before roasting: hard, pale green and shelf-stable. Boon Boona, Indaba and Espresso Vivace all sell green coffee to home roasters. It keeps far longer than roasted coffee, so it is roasted close to where it will be drunk.
Peaberry
A single round bean that grows alone in a cherry instead of the usual flat-sided pair, about 10 to 15 percent of the harvest. Roasters sort and sell it separately. Camber Coffee in Bellingham sells a Kenya Kamoini Peaberry.
Variety
A cultivated type of coffee plant, like a grape variety in wine. Bourbon, Typica, Gesha and SL28 are well known arabica varieties. Camber Coffee is one of a few US roasters to offer the rare Bernardina.
Gesha
An arabica variety from the Gori Gesha forest in Ethiopia, famous for floral, sweet flavors and high prices, especially from Panama. Olympia sells a Panama Bambito Gesha and Zoka a Costa Rica Sumava Gesha.
Pink Bourbon
A sought-after arabica variety seen mostly on Colombian lots. Olympia, Bluebeard, Camber and Fulcrum all list Colombian Pink Bourbon coffees; Bluebeard's comes from Huila. Several Washington roasters sell one as a single origin.
Specialty coffee
Coffee that scores 80 points or more out of 100 on the Specialty Coffee Association's cupping form. Elm Coffee Roasters says it picks coffees scoring 86 points or higher. Coffee from 85 to 89.99 is graded excellent.
Q grader
A coffee taster certified through the Coffee Quality Institute to score coffee by a standard protocol. Camber Coffee in Bellingham was founded by three licensed Q graders. Wikipedia names Q graders as the professionals who carry out formal cuppings.
Cup of Excellence
A yearly competition in several producing countries that picks out their best coffees, run by the Alliance for Coffee Excellence. It was founded by George Howell, Susie Spindler and Silvio Leite, and it has supported premiums for the farmers who win.
Direct trade
Buying coffee straight from farmers or their cooperatives, with no single standard behind the term. Zoka calls its version Family Direct Trade, and Herkimer and Kuma both buy directly from farms.
Fair Trade
A certification whose standards guarantee producers a minimum price. Several Washington roasters, including Victrola and Elm, say they pay above the Fair Trade minimum even on uncertified coffee. Direct trade is a separate, uncertified approach.
Transparency report
A roaster's published record of what it paid for its coffee. Olympia Coffee Roasting publishes one under its Fair for All program, and Bluebeard publishes green coffee and employment reports.
B Corp
A certification for companies that meet standards on how they treat workers, communities and the environment. Olympia Coffee Roasting became a Certified B Corporation in 2018. That same year it published its first transparency report.
Importer
A company that buys green coffee at origin, ships it and sells it to roasters. Elm and Fulcrum both name the importers they buy through on their own sites. Fulcrum has bought through Atlas Coffee Importers for over 20 years.
Wholesale
Roasted coffee sold to cafes, restaurants and offices rather than to home drinkers. Dillanos Coffee Roasters supplies more than 1,500 wholesale locations nationwide from Sumner. Herkimer Coffee keeps its wholesale office in the same Phinney Ridge building as its roastery.
Roasted to order
Coffee roasted after you order it rather than pulled from stock. Olympia Coffee Roasting roasts every coffee to order each day. Every box from our club is roasted to order by the roaster.
Whole bean
Roasted coffee sold unground, so you grind right before brewing. Ground coffee loses aroma much faster. Our plan builder offers whole bean or ground. Wikipedia's roasting article says whole beans keep for weeks if kept cool, and ground coffee is best used at once.
Tasting words
Cupping
The standard way professionals taste coffee: sniff it deeply, then slurp it from a spoon so it sprays across the tongue. Victrola Coffee Roasters holds free public cuppings at its Pike Street roastery.
Acidity
The bright, sharp, tangy quality in coffee, like biting into an orange. In the right amount it makes a cup lively. It shows most in lighter roasts. Too much tastes sour.
Body
How heavy the coffee feels in the mouth, from thin and tea-like to thick and oily. Metal filters and espresso give more body than paper-filtered drip. Lighthouse Roasters says its coffees share a heavy body.
Sweetness
The sugary, rounded taste in well roasted, well brewed coffee, from caramelized sugars in the bean. Under-developed or under-extracted coffee loses it and tastes sour or grassy. It is what balances acidity.
Bitterness
A sharp, lingering taste, pleasant in small amounts, harsh in excess. Over-extraction raises it, and robusta beans carry more of it than arabica. Bitter compounds dissolve late in brewing, after the acids and sugars.
Finish
What stays on your palate after you swallow, also called aftertaste. A clean, sweet finish is prized; a dry or ashy one is not. Cuppers score it as its own attribute.
Mouthfeel
The texture of the coffee on the tongue: silky, creamy, dry, oily. It overlaps with body but covers texture, not just weight. Cuppers use body and mouthfeel almost as one.
Balance
How well a coffee's acidity, sweetness and bitterness sit together, with none of them shouting over the rest. Bluebeard Coffee Roasters in Tacoma calls its house style a balanced roast.
Clean cup
A cupping term for coffee with no off flavors, such as mustiness or ferment, from the first sip to the finish. A clean cup lets you taste the coffee itself, and cuppers mark it down when it is missing.
Tasting notes
The flavors a roaster lists on the bag, like chocolate, cherry or jasmine. They describe likenesses, not added flavors. Our packing slip carries the roaster's tasting notes for each bag.
Fruity
A flavor family covering berries, citrus, stone fruit and dried fruit. Our plan builder describes light roasts as fruity, floral, lots of snap. The notes describe likenesses, not added flavors.
Floral
Flavors and aromas like jasmine or other blossoms. Gesha is known for them. Floral and Jasmine both have reference standards in the World Coffee Research lexicon. Roasters write it on bags as jasmine, orange blossom or just floral.
Sensory Lexicon
World Coffee Research's shared vocabulary for coffee flavor, developed with the Sensory Analysis Center at Kansas State University. It names 110 flavor, aroma and texture attributes. Lexicon 2.0 was published in October 2017.
Sources for these definitions:
- Specialty Coffee Association: Coffee standards
- World Coffee Research: Sensory Lexicon
- Coffee Quality Institute
- Wikipedia: Coffee roasting, Coffee production, Espresso, Coffee extraction, Decaffeination, Specialty coffee and Coffee preparation
- Washington roaster examples: each roaster's own shop and pages, checked September 27, 2026, summarized on its profile page here.