Fourteener Coffee Club
What is medium roast?
Medium roast is coffee roasted through the first crack but stopped before the second. The beans turn a mid brown and stay dry on the surface. Compared with a light roast, the sugars are more caramelized, the acidity is softer and the body is fuller, with some roast flavor alongside the coffee's own character.
Medium roasts from Colorado roasters
Several Colorado roasters we list roast their house coffee medium. These roasters we list label medium roasts on their own sites, checked on September 27, 2026. They are local favorites; a listing does not mean the roaster is part of the club.
- Peregrine in Westcliffe calls Timberline its flagship medium roast, and pulls it as the house espresso too.
- Conscious Coffees in Boulder sells Basecamp House Blend as a medium, and False Summit, a half caff, as a medium dark.
- Dark Heart in Loveland brews Dawn 2 Dusk, a medium, in its own coffee bar, and roasts its cold brew blend medium as well.
- Wagon in Denver roasts most of its lineup medium, from Be The Wagon, a Brazil, to a Kona and a Panama Geisha.
- Camp 4 in Crested Butte sells SilverHammer, the certified organic version of its house blend, as a medium dark.
- Kaladi, OZO, Ampersand, Pablo's and Durango Coffee Company list medium roasts in their shops too. Ampersand and Kaladi sell some single origins in both a medium and a dark version, a direct way to taste what the roast changes.
A house blend from a roaster in your own town is money that stays with a local roastery and the cafe that pours it. Why local roasters matter.
How medium roast happens
A roast begins endothermic: the beans absorb heat. Wikipedia's article on coffee roasting says that at around 175 °C (347 °F) the process turns exothermic, and the beans start giving off heat of their own, so the roaster adjusts the flame. The first crack follows. A medium roast is developed through that first crack and dropped from the drum well before the second.
Along the way, sugars in the bean caramelize and the Maillard reactions that create roasted flavor keep building. The same article lists city roast, city plus and full city as the traditional names for this range. Just past it sits full city plus, where some roasters begin to call a coffee medium dark.
What medium roast tastes like
Wikipedia's roasting article describes medium roasts as having more caramelized sugars and muted acidity, which gives a higher body with some roast flavor. It notes that at this level flavors coat the tongue but do not linger long. Our plan builder sums it up as chocolate and caramel.
If a light roast tastes too sharp to you and a dark roast too roasty, medium is the middle of that scale: some of the farm, some of the roaster, and a fuller body than light.
Medium roast vs light roast vs medium dark
| Light | Medium | Medium dark | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage | At or just after first crack | Through first crack, before second | Near the start of second crack |
| Traditional names | Cinnamon, half city | City, city plus, full city | Full city plus |
| Acidity | Highest | Muted | Lower still |
| Roast flavor | Not obvious | Some | Clear |
| Colorado example | OZO Organic Breakfast Blend | Conscious Coffees Basecamp | Camp 4 SilverHammer |
Neighbors on the scale: light roast and dark roast.
Choosing medium roast in the club
Set Roast level to Medium in the plan builder. Each box brings a 12 oz bag from a different independent Colorado roaster at $16.99, whole bean or ground, every 2 or 4 weeks. First bag free, you pay $7.99 shipping. Pick Blends as the style for a steady everyday cup, or single origin to taste the farm behind it. Your ratings steer the next bag, so if a medium runs too dark or too bright for you, say so.
Sources and related terms
Sources:
- Wikipedia, Coffee roasting (roast stages, names and flavors)
- Colorado roaster facts: the roasters' own pages as summarized on our roaster profiles, checked 2026-09-27.