Coffee Review: French Roast, Newhall Coffee Roasting Company

Posted by toasted on Apr 15, 2010 in Coffee | 1 comment

Company: Newhall Coffee Roasting Company

Bean Origin or Blend: French Roast

Body: Light/Medium

Roast: Full

Brew Method: Drip and French Press

Price: $11.50/lb

Background:
We reviewed Newhall’s California blend not too long ago and provided a bit of information about the company. Take a visit to that post to learn more about Mitch, the company’s founder, and to learn more about their offerings. Also, visit them online and give them a follow on Twitter.

French Roast is the final roast level on a bean and is often referred to as a double roast, at which point the bean actually begins to smoke and the bean’s sugars begin to carbonize. It creates an incredibly oily surface and produces a light body. It is roasted so long that most of the coffee bean’s characteristics are left unrecognizable.

Profile:
Medium sized, very dark and extremely oily, the Newhall French Roast bean has an excellent aroma that is thick, syrupy, and sweet, with a slight acidic zest to it and a tinge of pungency. The flavors noticed in the aroma are of molasses and lemon. On the consumption, the flavors are of dark berry, perhaps cherry, with a background profile of cocoa and an overall earthy undertone. The finish is medium in length but thick in body. For the most part, this is a clean coffee and is very balanced in both flavor and body and is incredibly smooth, indicating an excellent job on the roast of this bean, avoiding the bitterness that is often present in poorly roasted beans at the French roast level.

Synopsis:
Earthy and smoky, the French Roast from Newhall would pair very well with a milder, more subdued cigar, such as an Oliva Connecticut Reserve or a Camacho Connecticut. Despite being sold in supermarkets across America, Newhall still micro-roasts their beans and for that reason, this French Roast is priced well. Newhall’s French Roast is priced .55 higher than Starbucks but still seems to be a good value due to its supreme smoothness. A very clean bean with very little tart or acidity.