What is medium roast?
Medium roast is coffee taken past first crack and stopped before second crack. The beans are an even brown with a dry surface. Compared with a light roast, more of the sugars have caramelized, the acidity is muted and the body is fuller, while the origin's own flavors still come through under the roast.
Medium roast in Montana
Medium roast is where much of Montana's everyday coffee sits. When we read the state's roasters' own sites on September 27, 2026, these listed medium roasts by name:
- Florence Coffee Company, Butte: the FloCo Signature Blend, a medium roast of Indonesian with Central and South American coffees, poured at all of its drive-thru shops.
- Rock Creek Coffee Roasters, Billings: a lineup that leans on medium roasts, including its House Blend and a medium Espresso Blend.
- Mazevo Coffee, Billings: Blonde Bear and the Korban Blend, both medium, plus Mellow Creek Swiss Decaf as a medium roast decaf.
- Ghost Town Coffee Roasters, Bozeman: Chief Joseph Allegro, the medium of its Chief Joseph line.
- Yellowstone Coffee Roasters, Bozeman: an organic Mexico Chiapas from women producers at medium, and Big Sky Lift at medium dark.
- Black Coffee Roasting Company, Missoula: Red Room, the middle of its three organic blends.
- Drum Coffee Roasting, Missoula: Roaster's Choice picks in medium light or medium dark.
- Morning Light Coffee Roasters, Great Falls: the Big Stack Blend.
- Big Creek Coffee Roasters, Victor: Trapper, a medium dark blend.
Rockford in Bozeman and Montana Coffee Traders in Whitefish also list medium roasts among their medium and dark range. Coffee lists change, and none of this says what a club box will hold. It does show how much of Montana's roasting, from 23 Florence shops in the west to a downtown Billings shop, runs on medium. When you buy that bag from a roaster here, the paycheck stays here too. Read why that matters.
How a roaster gets to medium
After first crack, at about 196°C (385°F) on Wikipedia's chart, the roaster keeps the heat on. Browning continues as sugars caramelize and the Maillard reaction builds nutty and toasty flavors. The roaster drops the beans before second crack, which Wikipedia places at about 224°C (435°F).
Traditional names in this range are city roast, at about 219°C (426°F), city plus, and full city, the last stop before second crack. A bag marked medium dark, or full city plus, has touched second crack and leans toward a dark roast.
What medium roast tastes like
Wikipedia's roasting article describes medium roasts as having sugars caramelized further than a light roast, acidity muted and body higher. In plain terms: rounder and sweeter than a light roast, less sharp, and still recognizably from somewhere. Look at the list above and most of the named house blends sit here: Florence's Signature Blend, Rock Creek's House Blend, Mazevo's Blonde Bear.
Medium roast vs light and dark
| Light | Medium | Dark | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stopped | Around first crack | Between the cracks | At or into second crack |
| Traditional names | Cinnamon, American | City, city plus, full city | Full city plus, Vienna, French, Italian |
| Acidity | Highest | Muted | Low |
| Body | Lighter | Higher | Full |
| Surface oil | None | None | Visible |
From Wikipedia's Coffee roasting article.
Choosing medium roast in the club
Set Roast level to Medium in the plan builder. Blends is a natural style to pair with it, and so is Espresso-friendly if you pull shots at home. Choose Mix it up instead if you want the roast to change from box to box. A two-bag box can hold a medium for one of you and a dark or a light for the other, each from its own Montana roaster.
$16.99 a 12 oz bag, whole bean or ground. First bag free, you pay $7.99 shipping. Then $16.99 a bag. Every box follows the same four promises: "Roasted and shipped within 3 days." "Free replacement if a bag disappoints." "A reminder email 3 days before each box." "Your ratings steer the next bag."
Related terms and sources
- Light roast, dark roast, espresso roast
- City roast, full city roast, Maillard reaction, blend
- Sumatra coffee, which Florence and Rock Creek sell as single origins
Sources: Wikipedia, Coffee roasting; Wikipedia, Maillard reaction; Montana roaster offerings from each roaster's own site, read September 27, 2026.