Roast level and brew temperature significantly affect the color of brewed coffee

Beverage color significantly affects perceived sensory quality and consumer preference. Although the color of coffee beans is well known to vary strongly with roast level, little work has examined how roast level and brewing conditions affect the color of the final beverage. Here, we report that the color of full immersion brewed coffee is significantly affected by both roast level and brewing temperature. Coffees from three different origins were each roasted to three different levels (light, medium, and dark) and then brewed at three different temperatures (4, 22, and 92°C). Each sample was brewed toward full extraction and then diluted to precisely 2% total dissolved solids so that differences in concentration would not confound color measurements. Absorbance spectra (UV-vis) and color tristimulus values (L*a*b*) were then collected and analyzed. We find that roast level had the strongest impact on brew color, and that brew temperature had a significant impact on color for light and medium roasts, with less impact on dark roasts. Qualitatively, the cold brewed coffees tended to be redder, while the hot brewed coffees were blacker. The results suggest that there is an opportunity to manipulate and brand brewed coffee color through judicious choices of roast level and brewing temperature. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Color serves as an indicator of coffee quality and potentially could affect perceived sensory characteristics. Our results suggest that appropriate control of roast level and brew temperature could yield desired colors for novel coffee products.