French Roast Coffee

What is French Roast Coffee? Are Coffee beans grown in France? Are they roasted in France? Well surely some are, but the term “French Roast” may not mean what the average coffee drinker thinks it means. Let's dive into what it means when a coffee is labeled “French Roast”, and hopefully give you insight into what we here at Dilworth is trying to achieve when we fire up the roaster in the morning and start scooping beans.

Don’t let the name fool you, the only aspect of “French” in “French Roast” coffee is the technique involved in the roasting itself. Coffee plants require a certain climate and elevation to grow and produce healthy crops. While Bordeaux or Reims may be a great location for grapes, it’s not so great for coffee. Coffee likes to be grown as close to the equator as possible with a good amount of humidity in the air. The term “French Roast” refers to the technique of almost over-roasting coffee beans until they’ve just reached their limit. Again, this is not burning the beans but bringing the sugars in the bean to their farthest point of caramelization to highlight certain notes. Notes like dark chocolate, tobacco, smokey, robust, and roasted caramel.

The longer coffee beans are roasted, the more oils that are drawn out of them. To some people, the more oil the better. Some customers really desire very deep, very roasted and intense coffee flavor. When coffee was first commodified, the technique was developed because the quality of beans wasn’t always the highest. Roasters and manufacturers needed a way to get a consistent flavor profile from coffee beans that didn’t vary based on the origin. Not only does French Roasted coffee produce a similar profile from many origins, but it also roasts out smaller nuances in flavor that lighter roasted coffee produces. This isn’t good or bad, just different based on the desires of the customers, and the needs of the roaster. Dilworth puts a lot effort into limiting the amount of oil is developed on our dark roasted coffee. The more oil, the less nuanced flavor left in the final cup. We try to develop the bean as much as possible without taking anything away from it.

French Roast can be brewed in any way you like! From espresso, pour-overs, French Press, and even cold brew. It’s robust enough to stand out in espresso and stand up to milk, smooth enough to shine in a pour-over.

The flavor notes on our French Roast coffee are Rich, Dark Chocolate, and Toffee. All very desirable traits from a morning cup. The French Roast here at Dilworth is roasted with beans from Honduras, which supports our partners at Educate2Envision, helping to build and sustain schools in rural Honduras.