A typical style and one that many coffee drinkers prefer is French roast coffee. There is a smoky sweetness to this dark roasted coffee, and it can also have a burnt flavor. That prompted some coffee geeks to refer to it as a coffee that was ‘burnt.’ So what is French roast coffee?
Yet, how would you equate French roast with other coffee beans? If you want anything a little lighter or darker, which style do you choose?
French Roast Explained
One of the coffee roasts named for a regional style of roasting is French roast coffee. French roast coffee originated from Europe in the 19th century. Today, when discussing almost every dark-roasted coffee, the word is used most frequently.
After it has been roasted, French Roast defines the bean’s color and is usually the darkest on the roast scale. French roasted coffee, with a smokey, rich taste, appears to have a dark chocolate hue. Through 19th century, it was assumed that it was invented to characterize the form of coffee being roasted in Europe.
Although some people use the word French Roast to describe a dark roasted coffee, the Specialty Coffee Association of America uses a particular instrument to calculate the beans’ color. The device is called the Agtron Coffee Roast Analyzer and scans the coffee beans using light. The output of the computer is a number correlated with the color level of a roast. It helps to reduce uncertainty and is more accurate for consistent coffee calculation and roasting.
A very light brown color score of #95 to an exceptionally dark almost black color score of #25 varies from the Agtron scale. The Agtron Score will be between 28 and 35 for a standard French Roast. Below at Henry’s House Of Coffee, you can see three stages of roasting.
It is worth remembering that French roast, though not necessarily the beans themselves, is a roast feature. It can use Brazilian or Kenyan single-origin beans, or it can be a combination of beans. Conquistador is a Costa Rican single-origin coffee and has a #32 Agtron ranking with a French roast color profile. Our French roast is a blend of dark roasted beans from Central and South America with an Agtron ranking of #31.6.
How Is French Roast Coffee Roasted?
Instead of buying French roast coffee, you can make your own from your kitchen. You can do this with an oven, a roaster, or just a simple plate!
Using a popcorn popper like this one, you can even get away with it but be careful when doing so and be sure not to do it often, or the popper might break. The initially-green beans will turn yellow when exposed to heat until you heat the beans on your choice of vessel.
After about four minutes, you can hear two cracking noises. The very first crack signifies the expansion of the bean and the darkening of the color. During this process, the signature ‘second crack’ that is heard is a sign that the beans’ walls have cracked open.
It will allow the oils to rush to the surface when roasting 464 Fahrenheit at this point. If you heath them any higher, it will result in them completely burning out and posing a possible fire hazard.
The lengthy roasting process results in the beans losing most, if not all, of their antioxidants and other safety components. Some studies have shown that these beneficial chemicals are preserved in lighter roasted coffee. There is right, no ‘damage’ from having darkly brewed coffee!
What Is The Unique Taste Of It?
French roast is known coffee that is made from a double roast of the beans. It is a type of dark roasted coffee, accompanied by a thin body and mouthfeel. It is distinguished by its unique, intense, and smoky-sweet flavor.
A coffee roast appears to overwhelm the taste of the beans at the beginning of the second crack. Anyway, a French roast will fall from the center to the end of the second crack. As a result, you probably won’t taste any flavors that indicate the root of beans.
French roast coffee is much less acidic and roasted in taste than lighter roasts (such as cinnamon weak roast coffee, strongly acidic). It also has a note that is burnt, charcoal-like.
The Caffeine Level of A French Roast Coffee
Some people assume that the caffeine of darker roasted coffees is greater than that of lighter roasted coffees. The opposite, in reality, is typically accurate.
The longer you ground a coffee bean, the more molecules of caffeine are burnt off. It suggests that French roast is an excellent choice if you’re trying to limit your consumption of caffeine.
How to Brew It?
For drip-brewed coffee, French roast beans are traditionally used. They also produce a sweet, bold espresso doing well in a ‘French press’ (aka a ‘plunger pot’) when brewed.
French Roast vs. Dark Roast
You start to get very slight variations from one roast to another in the subcategory of various dark roasts. For instance, while some people position the French roast as the darkest you can get when measured against, say, an Italian roast, it has some stiff competition.
Italian roast coffees are super dark and appear to be even oilier than French roasts (which again refers to the type of roast and does not mean where the coffee was grown)!
Are French Roasts Unsustainable Or Unethical?
They are also unethically sourced since roasters may use cheap, low-quality beans for French roasts. Farmers are manipulated for the sake of benefit in instances like this. They are also pressured into cheap, environmentally harmful practices.
Look for a Fair Trade mark or study the business to see how honest they are regarding their sourcing and sustainability to prevent this in French roasts and coffee in general.
In our view, coffee has far more to offer than the ashen, burnt profile provided most often by a French roast If you’re set on buying one for the sake of storage and the opportunity to get some sweetness out of a French press brew.
There is no need to be afraid of the dark if you want a genuinely smoky, spicy, dark roast coffee. The French roast will provide you with a truly delicious cup of coffee if you select quality beans and brew them carefully.
