What is The French Laundry Blend?
The coffee poured at the end of a meal at The French Laundry.
The French Laundry is Chef Thomas Keller's restaurant in the Napa Valley, and one of the most famous restaurants in the United States. Equator Coffees has been Keller's coffee partner since 1999, and it designed this blend with him to complement the restaurant's food. Equator describes Keller as the first and only American-born chef to hold multiple three-star ratings from the Michelin Guide; he also runs Per Se in New York.
Equator's Director of Coffee Culture says the blend was formulated with Chef Keller to be the perfect accompaniment to a fine meal or dessert, a balanced coffee that brews well filtered or in a French press. It is roasted medium, and Equator lists dark chocolate, cherry and mixed berries as the tasting notes. It is sold whole bean, or ground for French press, drip and pour over, or espresso.
What is in it
Ethiopia, Kenya and Colombia, and not much more is said.
Equator names three origin countries: Ethiopia, Kenya and Colombia. Unlike its Mocha Java or Sunnyside blends, it does not publish the producers, regions, altitudes or varieties for this one, and its store lists both natural and washed processing. The flavour list fits that mix: Ethiopian naturals usually bring berry fruit, Kenyan coffees bright, juicy acidity, and Colombian coffee chocolate and body. What you are buying is the recipe Equator and Keller settled on, not a traceable list of farms.
Why a coffee for food
Balance matters more than a single striking note.
A coffee served after a tasting menu has a different job from a coffee drunk on its own in the morning. It has to sit beside chocolate, fruit tarts and cheese without clashing, and stay pleasant as it cools on the table. That is why a restaurant blend tends towards the middle: a medium roast with chocolate for depth and some fruit for lift, rather than a very light, acidic single origin or a smoky dark roast. If you want a coffee to serve after dinner at home, that brief is the point of this one.
How fresh it arrives
Roasted after you order, with the date on the bag.
Equator roasts to order in small batches at its roastery on Jordan Street in San Rafael, California, Monday to Friday, and says orders ship from the roastery in one to two business days. The bag carries a ROASTED ON date on the bottom, so you can see exactly how old the coffee is rather than trusting a best-before date set a year out. That is the single most useful thing a coffee bag can print, and most supermarket bags do not. Equator ships within the US only, free on orders of $50 or more.
What it costs
A premium over Equator's other blends, partly for the cause.
| Bag | Price | Per kilo | Per cup (15 g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 340 g (12 oz) | $21.75 | $63.97 | $0.96 |
| 907 g (2 lb) | $49.50 | $54.58 | $0.82 |
| 2.27 kg (5 lb) | $116.00 | $51.15 | $0.77 |
Per-cup figures assume 15 g of coffee to a cup. At $63.97 a kilo in the 12 oz bag, about $0.96 a cup, it costs more than Equator Blend ($18.50) or Sunnyside Breakfast Blend ($18). Part of the difference goes to charity: Equator gives $1 from every 12 oz bag, $2 from every 2 lb bag and $3 from every 5 lb bag to the Ment'or BKB Foundation, a nonprofit that funds grants and scholarships for young American chefs. The 5 lb bag brings it to $51.15 a kilo.
How to brew it
Built for the Chemex and the French press.
Equator's recipes are a Chemex at 45 g of coffee to 720 g of water, a 1:16 ratio, bloomed with 90 g and poured in three stages; a French press at 45 g to 675 g, steeped four minutes; and a drip brewer at 66 g to 1,000 g. For an after-dinner pot for several people, a French press is the easiest of the three and matches Equator's own description. Our French press reviews cover the presses we rate.
French Laundry Blend vs Equator Blend
Equator's best seller against its restaurant blend.
Equator Blend is a medium-dark roast of Sumatran, Kenyan, Colombian and Guatemalan coffee, with notes of cedar, apricot and milk chocolate, at $18.50 for 12 oz, and Equator publishes each component. The French Laundry Blend is a little lighter and fruitier, with berries and cherry over dark chocolate, costs $3.25 more, and gives part of that to charity, but tells you less about where it comes from. Choose Equator Blend for everyday drinking and full traceability; choose The French Laundry Blend for an after-dinner coffee or a gift.
Why the roast date matters
Coffee is at its best for weeks, not the year a best-before date implies.
Roasted coffee gives off carbon dioxide for days after roasting, which is why espresso tastes harsh and filter coffee bubbles hard in the first few days. After that it is at its sweetest for a few weeks, then slowly goes flat as the aromatic oils oxidise. A best-before date, usually set a year or more after packing, tells you nothing about where a bag sits on that curve. A printed roast date does. We list every coffee on the site that prints one in coffee with roast dates, and our scores give real weight to it.
Buy only what you will drink in about a month, keep it in the bag it came in or an airtight container, away from light and heat, and grind just before brewing. Do not keep beans in the fridge: they pick up moisture and smells.
Is The French Laundry Blend worth it?
As a gift or an after-dinner coffee, yes.
It is a well-made, fresh medium roast with a story most coffee lovers will recognise and a donation built into the price. If you care most about knowing which farms grew your coffee, Equator's other blends tell you more, and its Mocha Java adds Fair Trade and Organic certificates for less. For more options, see the coffee blends we have scored.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Buy it if
- You want a coffee to serve after dinner.
- You are buying for someone who loves food or The French Laundry.
- You like a balanced medium roast with berry fruit.
Skip it if
- You want to know the farms behind your coffee.
- You want certified organic or Fair Trade coffee.
- You live outside the US.
Frequently Asked Questions
What coffee does The French Laundry serve?
Equator Coffees, which has been Chef Thomas Keller's coffee partner since 1999 and created The French Laundry Blend with him.
What does The French Laundry Blend taste like?
Equator lists dark chocolate, cherry and mixed berries, from a medium roast.
Where are the beans from?
Ethiopia, Kenya and Colombia. Equator does not publish the individual farms or regions.
Does it support a charity?
Yes. Equator gives $1 from every 12 oz bag to the Ment'or BKB Foundation, which supports young American chefs.
How much is The French Laundry Blend?
$21.75 for 12 oz, $49.50 for 2 lb and $116 for 5 lb.
