You can't roast the caffeine out; caffeine content is a function of the beans used, not how much they were roasted. When I buy coffee, I look for the beans that appear moist in the hopper, then freeze them at home and grind right before use. I suppose some people might think dark roast has a "burned" flavor, but to me, it's the richest flavor. The coffee flavor just isn't as strong in medium roasts, and I don't drink light roasts. I make coffee *very* strong. And I love Starbucks. Coffee preferences are very much a matter of taste, and there is no "superior" style of preparing coffee.
http://coffeetea.about.com/od/roasting/a/roasts.htm
Also, there is less caffeine in the darker roasted coffees than in the lighter ones.
http://weeklyroast.com/blog/do-light-or-dark-roasts-have-more-caffeine.html
The quick answer is that for the most part, lighter roasts actually have more caffeine than darker roasts. When coffee beans are roasted, the beans undergo a series of physical changes including growing in size, becoming lighter in weight but also burning off some caffeine. The longer the beans are roasted (the darker the beans), in general, the less caffeine they will have solely due to them having more and more caffeine being burned off.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Do-Dark-Roasts-Have-More-Caffeine-Than-Light-Roasts
Many people think that if coffee beans are dark roasted and have a fuller flavor, then the coffee is stronger and contains more caffeine. Quite the opposite! Most light roasts will have more caffeine than their darker roast counterparts because the roasting process causes the beans to go through physical changes that make them burn off caffeine as a result.
Sorry for being a little obsessive!
Maybe the caffeine isn’t roasted out, but I can’t stand the burned flavor at Starbucks, even if you can bring your guns. Remember that the French roasted cork to produce ersatz coffee in WWII; when your roast is THAT dark, you’re basically percolating charcoal briquettes...
I heard that some people roast their own beans at home. Maybe that would solve everybody’s problem, from Mrs. Olsen to poor Organic Juan Valdez down there.
P.S. Folgers will do, but I like Farmer Brothers...
I look for the beans that appear moist in the hopper, then freeze them at home and grind right before use. I suppose some people might think dark roast has a “burned” flavor, but to me, it’s the richest flavor. The coffee flavor just isn’t as strong in medium roasts, and I don’t drink light roasts. I make coffee *very* strong. And I love Starbucks. Coffee preferences are very much a matter of taste, and there is no “superior” style of preparing coffee.
I like what you said there. Light roast coffe isn’t coffee, it’s tea imo.
Um ... that's because it is burned. Seriously. Dark roasts are actually turning to charcoal at that point. If you like that flavor, fine.
Lighter roasts allow more nuanced flavors to emerge, akin to tasting fine wines. The whole roasting process is complex: if you're not familiar with "first crack" and "second crack" and "city roast" vs. "full city roast", then the palette has a long way to go.
Visit Sweet Marias for an intro to connoisseur coffee.