Agtron® scanner

A spectrophotometer that’s used to measure roast degree using infrared light. The scale goes from 130 (lightest roast) to 0 (darkest roast), with most coffees falling between 30 and 70. Coffee roasting companies use the Agtron reading for quality control, but also to communicate the roast level to customers. Some roasters do an agtron reading for the outside of the bean, the ground coffee, or both. The Agtron reading of ground coffee gives a more accurate idea of how developed the coffee is, since the inside is considered in the reading.