French Roast From Newhall Coffee – What I’m Drinking

The Drink: French Roast from Newhall Coffee Roasting Company
Type: Whole Bean
Body/Roast: Full Body Dark Roast
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 coffee cups

I’ll admit that my first choice usually isn’t a dark roast like the French Roast from Newhall Coffee Roasting Company. I tend to to stick with the medium and lighter roasts because they have more of the flavor that I like. However, I may have found a dark roast that might covert me into a fan.

There’s no hiding that this a dark roast with the aroma. It has the distinctive dark roast smell, slightly smoky with a spicy mix and nutty hints. It was strong enough to wake me up on a lazy Monday afternoon that was dragging, but not overwhelming either.

The initial taste was a little too dark for my preferences. It was too bold and tasted almost like charcoal or burnt food.

However, as it cooled down just a little bit, it transformed into something that I really liked. The burnt taste faded and was joined by a combination of cinnamon, oranges, pineapple and brown sugar. It was still definitely a dark roast, but I like the mix of dark roast and flavor.

The after taste really held on to my tongue. It was a strong dark roast and pleasant taste.

My sample was whole bean, but if you want something else, they offer seven different choices with everything from fine espresso to coarse french press grinds. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen that many choices. I’d stick with the whole bean to ensure the best flavor, but it’s nice to have a choice.

Besides some the dark roast aspects of it, my only complaint is that the packaging says it’s a blend of South American beans. I’d love to know more on which specific countries or region. That’s not just a complaint about Newhall, that’s more like a complaint to every coffee company that does that.

I’ll admit that I wasn’t really looking forward to trying this coffee, but I was more than pleasantly surprised. It earned a 3.5 out of 5 rating, one of the highest ratings that I’ve given for a dark roast.

Newhall sent me three bags to review, in the near future I’ll be checking out their California Blend and their Patriot Blend.

I was under the impression that Newhall Coffee Roasting Company was a major corporate/faceless national brand. But it turns out that they’re more along the lines of the neighborhood micro roaster with a national reach. They roast in small batches to make sure the the freshest coffee makes it to the coffee cup. I could definitely taste that difference compared to some other brands.

As a bonus, the beans are sourced responsibly.

Buy a pound of the Newhall Coffee French Roast for $11.50.

Tags: Dark Roast, Newhall Coffee

Category: Coffee Reviews