IT’S THE QUESTION you’ll hear any time you walk into Starbucks: light, medium, or dark roast? Here’s a primer on the flavors, tastes, and tasting notes you can expect from each.

Most people enjoy their coffee one way: daily. People are busy, and not everyone has the time to flavor-test single-origin Yirgacheffe and Brazilian fair-trade before their daily commute.

 coffee-light-roast

medium-roast-coffee

medium-dark-roast

dark-roast-coffee-beans