What is Equator French Roast?
The darkest coffee Equator makes, built to stay sweet.
French roast is a name for a very dark roast, taken well past the point where the beans crack a second time, until the oils come to the surface and the sugars start to char. Done badly it tastes of ash. Equator Coffees describes its version as delivering delicate smoky nuances while keeping sweetness and fruit-toned chocolate, and lists bittersweet chocolate, dried plum and walnut as the tasting notes. Its Director of Coffee Culture calls it the cup for when you want something rich and bold.
It is sold whole bean, or ground for French press, drip and pour over, or espresso.
What is in the blend
Two Nicaraguan cooperatives, one washed and one natural.
- Jinotega, Nicaragua. A fully washed coffee from Cooperativa de Servicios Multiples Sacacli, with Catuai, Maragogype, Caturra and Catimor grown at 2,953 to 4,101 feet. Equator calls it the steady backbone of the blend, with dark sweetness and a rich nuttiness.
- San Juan del Rio Coco, Madriz, Nicaragua. A natural-process coffee from Cooperativa Escuela Modesto Armijo, with Catuai, Caturra, Marsellesa and Parainema grown at 2,950 to 4,430 feet, added for a cherry-toned brightness and a smooth, syrupy body.
The natural coffee is the clever part. A dark roast flattens acidity, so starting with a fruit-forward natural is how a French roast keeps the dried plum Equator describes rather than tasting only of the roast.
What Regenerative Organic Certified means
Organic, plus rules for soil, animal welfare and the people who farm it.
The bag carries three seals: Regenerative Organic Certified, USDA Organic and Fair Trade Certified. Regenerative Organic Certified starts from USDA Organic and adds requirements on soil health, animal welfare and fair treatment of farm workers. Equator says this coffee promotes biodiversity and combats climate change. It is still uncommon in coffee: Equator's Peru Chirinos is the only other coffee on this site that carries it.
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
The bigger the bag, the less you pay per cup.
| Bag | Price | Per kilo | Per cup (15 g) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 340 g (12 oz) | $19.75 | $58.09 | $0.87 |
| 907 g (2 lb) | $45.00 | $49.61 | $0.74 |
| 2.27 kg (5 lb) | $105.50 | $46.52 | $0.70 |
Per-cup figures assume 15 g of coffee to a cup. The 12 oz bag works out at $58.09 a kilo, about $0.87 a cup, and the 5 lb bag at $46.52. A dark roast goes stale faster than a light one, because the oils are already at the surface, so the big bag only makes sense if you drink a lot or freeze some of it straight away. Our guide to storing coffee beans covers how.
How to brew it
Made for the French press, and for drinkers who like it strong.
Equator's recipes are a French press at 45 g of coffee to 675 g of water, a 1:15 ratio, steeped four minutes; a drip brewer at 66 g to 1,000 g; and an AeroPress at 18 g to 200 g. Dark roasts extract quickly, so if a cup tastes bitter, grind a little coarser or use water just off the boil rather than boiling. It also makes a strong, chocolatey moka pot coffee; see how to use a moka pot.
Equator French Roast vs Intelligentsia Organic French Roast
Two certified dark blends from two specialty roasters.
Intelligentsia's Organic French Roast is a Mexican coffee roasted medium-dark, with notes of molasses, pipe tobacco and dark chocolate, at $18.50 for 12 oz. Equator's is roasted darker, from Nicaragua, and adds the stricter Regenerative Organic and Fair Trade certificates for $1.25 more. Choose Intelligentsia for a slightly gentler dark cup; choose Equator for the darker roast and the certificates. Stumptown's French Roast is the easiest to find in shops, but its listing does not say where the coffee is from.
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 Equator French Roast worth it?
For a fresh, certified dark roast, yes.
Most French roast is sold in supermarket bags with no roast date and no farm named, and the dark roast hides old beans well. This one tells you when it was roasted and who grew it. If you like dark coffee but want to taste more of the farm, try a medium-dark instead; our dark roast coffee list ranks the options.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Buy it if
- You like a dark, smoky cup that still has some sweetness.
- Organic and regenerative farming matter to you.
- You brew in a French press or drip machine.
Skip it if
- You want to taste the farm or the variety; a dark roast hides both.
- You live outside the US.
- You prefer light, bright coffee.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Equator French Roast taste like?
Equator lists bittersweet chocolate, dried plum and walnut, with delicate smoky notes.
Is Equator French Roast organic?
Yes. It is USDA Organic and Regenerative Organic Certified, which builds on organic certification, and it is Fair Trade Certified too.
Where is it grown?
Jinotega and Madriz in Nicaragua, by two named cooperatives.
Does French roast have more caffeine?
Not meaningfully. Roasting changes caffeine very little; what changes is the flavour. See our guide to caffeine in coffee.
How much is Equator French Roast?
$19.75 for 12 oz, $45 for 2 lb and $105.50 for 5 lb, whole bean or ground.
