What exactly is French Roast Coffee? It’s actually not referring to the coffee but the level of the roast and color of the beans. No, it’s not from France. French Roast is actually one of the darkest roasts you can get on the color scale of coffee beans.
With so many skeptics in the world dogging french roast coffee, I figured we needed to do a deep dive into the roast so that you can decide for yourself.
Roasting Explained
The roasting process takes green beans that are soft, have a fresh smell, and little to no taste, then transforms them into the glorious beans you grind that are flavorful, aromatic, and crunchy. We call this stage of the process, coffee.
Whole beans can keep their peak flavor for 12 months before you roast them and once they have been roasted, the whole beans can retain full flavor for up to two weeks after.
Roasting coffee beans transforms the chemical and physical properties of green beans into the dark shades you are used to seeing. A color scale called the Agtron Gourmet Color Scale is used to determine the roast. They use a series of numbers to determine light from dark, with 25 being the darkest and 95 being the lightest.
French Roast is between 28 and 35 on the scale.
When the beans are being roasted, they absorb heat which makes their color darker. Oils appear on the surface of the bean when the temperatures get hotter.
- Lighter roasts have more acidity
- Darker roasts have oily surfaces while lighter beans are dry
- Caffeine decreases slightly as the roast gets darker but not a noticeable amount
What is French Roast?
Most consider French Roast a double roast. This is because the beans are cooked until the inside reaches 464°F. The beans are so intensely cooked that they go through a second crack in the roasting process.
The first crack is normal, this is when steam is released from the bean. The second crack is when the cell wall breaks and it releases oils. Most beans are roasted to the first crack. Lightly roasted beans don’t make it beyond the first crack.
French Roast Coffee Taste
French Roast has an intensely rich, smoky flavor. This is because the beans are nearly burnt. Many critics don’t prefer the smokey flavor of a french roast but many people do. I would recommend you try it for yourself.
French Roast is less acidic. The darker roasts have a lower acid level. This makes it taste flatter. The more acidic the bean, the greater the flavor mosaic, even if the same bean is roasted to different levels.
French Roast Coffee Caffeine
Caffeine is in coffee to serve as a deterrent for pests while it’s growing. It actually paralyzes the bugs which keeps them from chomping away at the coffee cherry.
Caffeine doesn’t start to degrade until around 455°F. Most roasters don’t go that high but the dark roasts don’t loose enough to be able to tell a difference. This is because caffeine is very stable through the roasting process.
How to Make French Roast
You can roast at home, but I wouldn’t expect to get the same results as traditional roasters or even of air roasters (which is my favorite). If you decide to roast at home, you will need a roaster, popcorn popper or a pan (stovetop or oven).
All you need to do is heat the beans until you hear the first crack and then after the second crack, you have reached the dark roast.
If you are wanting to brew French Roast Coffee, the usual method of brewing is in a drip maker. You can also make it in a French Press or use it for espresso.
The French Press will help bring out the sweeter flavors and highlight the oils because you use a coarser grind. You might not be able to tell much difference but it’s worth a shot.
Cons of Dark Roast Coffee
- The long roasting process can cause the beans to lose most of their antioxidants and healthy components.
- The beans go stale faster
- Roasters often use lower quality beans
- May not be a flavor you enjoy.
The reason why dark roasted beans go stale faster is because of the disruption to the structure of the bean that occurs after the second crack. When the oils reach the surface of the bean, they have no defense to the oxidation process.
If you decide to try French Roast, I would get whole bean and grind them right before you brew. I would also use them within two weeks to ensure they remain fresh.
Coffee roasters will use lower quality beans because you can’t tell a difference. Since it’s roasted to almost burnt, the flavors are lost. You should look into where the roaster is sourcing their coffee from prior to purchasing. You can try LifeBoost’s Dark Roast Beans, they use organic single origin beans that are Fairtrade.
Conclusion
Choosing French Roast is choosing to live on the dark side, the point of no return when the roasters are living on the edge. It is a unique tasting bean that deserves a visit from your taste buds at least once.
There is certainly no harm in enjoying a cup of brewed dark roast coffee, you will need to try it for yourself to decide if the taste is one that you enjoy.
Leave a comment below if you tried French Roast and you love it, or let us know what you prefer instead. I love a healthy coffee debate.
