What is French Roast Coffee?

French roast coffee is one of many coffee roasts named for a regional roasting style. It was popular throughout much of Europe around the turn of the 19th century. French roast coffee, though intense and bold, is much less acidic and roasted in flavor. 

During the roasting process, the color of the coffee beans darkens and more coffee oils appear on the surface, giving the coffee a shimmering appearance. Unlike most roasts, French roast beans are roasted to what’s called the “second crack.” They are cooked with such intensity, that they make two cracking noises during roasting.

This double-roasted characteristic makes it nearly impossible to taste much of the origin or coffee varietal of the beans and gives it a charred or smoky note. Today, the term is often used when describing almost any dark-roasted coffee. French Roasts are prepared most commonly as drip-brewed coffee. They do well as a bold espresso and can also be brewed nicely in a French Press.