While many large commercial roasters make dark roasting their norm, we feel strongly that only a handful of coffees are improved by roasting dark. The darker the roast the more any characteristic bean flavors (and fruity acids) are lessened. Body drops away and bittersweet & pungent flavors dominate on the darker end of the roasting scale.

At Venia Coffee, our dark roasts are more likely classified as Medium-Dark roasts. Because of the loss of body and brightness when roasting dark, we typically only start with coffees beans that are naturally full bodied and bright to ensure a rich and flavorful cup.  As a broad generalization, we feel the "Big Classics" like Colombian, Guatemalan and washed Brazilian coffees do well roasted medium-dark. 

The surface of the beans usually have spots or patches of oil.

Common names for our Medium-Dark roasts are: Full City Plus, "Espresso" Roast, French Roast (45-40 on the agron scale)