Buy the medium roast if you drink your coffee black, and the dark roast if you add milk. That is the short answer, and it holds for most people. Sagada coffee is sold both ways, sometimes by the same seller, and the two bags really do taste like different coffees. Here is what changes and how to choose.
Which roast is Sagada coffee usually sold in?
Both. Bo's Coffee sells its Sagada single origin as a medium roast. The Roasted Ground, which ships from Baguio, offers its Sagada in medium or dark, as whole beans or ground. So the choice is yours, and it is worth making on purpose.
What does a medium roast taste like?
More like the place it came from. A medium roast keeps more of the bean's own character: its sweetness, its fruit and its brightness. Bo's describes its medium-roast Sagada as sweet, nutty and well balanced, with hints of chocolates and fresh tobacco. If you are buying Sagada because you want to know what Sagada tastes like, medium is the roast that shows you. Our guide to what Sagada coffee tastes like has more of the published notes.
What does a dark roast taste like?
Bolder, heavier and more bittersweet. The longer roast brings out chocolate and roasted flavours and turns the brightness down. It also flattens the differences between origins, so a dark-roasted Sagada and a dark-roasted Benguet taste much more alike than their medium roasts do. That is not a flaw. It is simply a different drink, and plenty of people prefer it.
Is dark roast stronger?
In taste, yes. In caffeine, not really. Dark roast is not automatically higher in caffeine, and measured by the scoop it can have slightly less, because darker beans are less dense. Measured by weight, the difference more or less disappears. If you want more kick, use more coffee or choose a Robusta blend. Our guide to coffee roast levels covers this in full, and our piece on whether Sagada coffee is strong applies it to this bean.
Is there a middle option?
Yes, a medium-dark roast, and it is a good compromise if you are unsure. You keep some sweetness and gain body. ECHOstore's guide to Benguet coffee notes that a darker roast brings out chocolate notes, and the same holds for Sagada. If the seller offers only medium and dark, start with medium. You can always brew it stronger. You cannot un-roast a dark bean.
Can you tell the roast by looking at the beans?
Roughly. Medium-roast beans are a mid brown with a dry surface. Dark-roast beans are deeper brown to nearly black and often have an oily sheen, since a long roast gives a heavier, oilier body. Pre-ground coffee is harder to judge, which is one more reason to buy whole beans when you can.
Which roast is easier on the stomach?
Possibly the dark one. In a small study of nine people, a dark roast stimulated less stomach acid than a medium roast with similar caffeine. One small study is not much to go on, so take it as a hint and not a rule. We go through it in our article on whether coffee is acidic.
Which roast should you buy for black coffee?
Medium. Brew it as a pour-over or in a drip machine and taste it before you add anything. This is where you get your money's worth from a single origin, because the lighter flavours are still there to find. Our home brewing guide compares the methods.
Which roast should you buy for milk, iced coffee or a moka pot?
Dark. Milk, sugar and ice all mute delicate flavours, so a medium roast can disappear in a latte or a sweet iced coffee. A dark roast pushes through. It also suits a moka pot or a French press, where you want body. If that is how you drink every day, it is also worth asking whether you need a single origin at all, since a good blend will cost less.
Where does the smoky taste in some local coffee come from?
From how it was roasted. A Philippine Daily Inquirer report on Cordillera coffee describes how households in Benguet roasted backyard beans over an open fire, which gave the brew a smoky flavour that people grew to like, and many still do it that way. If you grew up on that taste, a very dark roast will feel like home. A specialty medium roast will taste like a different drink altogether.
Should you brew the two roasts differently?
A little. Darker roasts give up their flavour more easily, so they forgive a coarser grind and slightly cooler water, and they turn bitter fast if you overdo either. Medium roasts need a bit more help: a finer grind or hotter water brings out their sweetness. If your medium roast tastes thin or sharp, grind finer. If your dark roast tastes harsh, grind coarser.
How fresh does it need to be?
Fresher matters more than darker or lighter. Look for a roast date, buy a bag small enough to finish within a few weeks, and keep it sealed between brews. Our guide to storing coffee beans has the details.
So which should you get?
If you can only buy one, buy the medium, brew it black once to see what the fuss is about, then drink it however you like. If you already know you take milk, buy the dark and enjoy it without guilt. Our Sagada versus Benguet comparison covers how roast and origin work together, and our buying guide lists where to find both.