What is Intelligentsia Organic French Roast Blend?
The darkest coffee they roast, from organic Nicaraguan beans, with the extended roast stated rather than implied.
French roast on a supermarket shelf usually means burnt. Intelligentsia describe traditional extended roasting yielding a semi-sweet, heavy-bodied coffee with a lasting impression, which sets a higher bar than the name normally carries.
It is $18.50 for 12 oz, a dollar over the entry blends, whole bean or ground with a subscription. Tagged Traditional on roast, chocolate and molasses on flavour, and filed for automatic drip.
Intelligentsia Organic French Roast Blend Taste: What It Actually Tastes Like
Semi-sweet and heavy-bodied, roasted further than anything else in the range.
Semi-sweet is the word doing the work. A dark roast that has gone too far is bitter and thin; one that has been taken to the right point keeps sugar and body, and that is what this claims. Nicaragua is a sensible choice for it, being a country of medium-bodied, chocolate-leaning coffee that takes heat without collapsing.
It is the deepest cup on this menu. El Diablo is also on the Traditional profile but stops short; this is where you go if that one is still too bright.
How fresh is it when it arrives?
Roasted in Chicago and shipped direct, in two sizes with a subscription.
The 12 oz bag is the sensible choice for a household. A 5 lb bag opened on a counter is losing ground for weeks, and a subscription answers freshness better than bulk buying for anyone drinking a bag a fortnight.
Whole bean holds far longer than ground and costs the same, so it is the default unless there is no grinder in the house.
Where the coffee comes from
Nicaragua named, with organic certification and Direct Trade on the same bag.
Direct Trade is Intelligentsia's own programme rather than a third-party certification: they publish the terms and stand behind them instead of paying an outside body to audit. It promises more than most seals and is harder for a buyer to verify independently.
Organic certification is the independent half of the pair: an outside body audits it against a published standard, which is exactly what Direct Trade is not. Carrying both is stronger than carrying either.
It is the only dark roast in the range carrying either claim, which is unusual: certification tends to cluster at the light end of a specialty menu because that is where the buyers who ask for it are.
Intelligentsia Organic French Roast Blend vs Intelligentsia El Gallo Blend
Against El Diablo at $17.50, this is darker and certified and that one is cheaper and stops short.
Both sit on the Traditional profile. El Diablo is Guatemalan and uncertified and described as a darker roast that does not give up nuance. This is Nicaraguan, organic and Direct Trade, and described as their darkest. A dollar apart.
Against Sublunar at $17.50, that is the dark espresso blend. Same direction, different brewer, and putting a French roast through a portafilter is a harder job than it looks.
If you want a dark cup from a drip machine and you want the certifications, there is nothing else here that does both.
Intelligentsia Organic French Roast Blend price per kilo: how it compares
About $44.75 a kilo in the 5 lb bag, a dollar over the entry blends and the only certified organic dark roast here.
The dollar between this and El Diablo buys organic certification, Direct Trade and a darker cup. On paper that is the better bag of the two, and the only reason to take El Diablo instead is wanting to stop short of a French roast.
The 5 lb bag is $101.50, roughly seventeen percent cheaper per gram. Against a supermarket French roast this is several times the money, and the difference is a named origin, two certifications and a stated roast intention.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Right for a committed dark roast drinker who wants certification too; wrong for anyone who came to this roaster for fruit.
Buy it if French roast is what you actually drink, you have been disappointed by burnt supermarket versions, and you want organic and Direct Trade on the same bag. It is the deepest cup in the range and the only certified one at that depth.
Take El Diablo instead if you want dark but not that dark, for a dollar less. Take Illumination or El Gallo if brightness is what you want, since a French roast will not give you any of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Intelligentsia Organic French Roast?
Their darkest coffee: organic certified, Direct Trade Nicaraguan beans given traditional extended roasting for a semi-sweet, heavy-bodied cup. It is $18.50 for 12 oz, a dollar over the entry blends, and the only certified organic dark roast in the range.
Is French Roast bitter?
The roaster positions against that, describing a semi-sweet result rather than a burnt one, and semi-sweet is the word that matters. A dark roast taken too far is bitter and thin; one stopped at the right point keeps sugar and body, which is the claim here.
French Roast or El Diablo?
Both are on Intelligentsia's Traditional profile. El Diablo is $17.50, Guatemalan and uncertified, and stops short of a French roast. This is $18.50, Nicaraguan, organic and Direct Trade, and goes further. The dollar buys both certifications and a deeper cup.
Is Organic French Roast good for espresso?
It is filed for automatic drip. A French roast through a portafilter is difficult to keep sweet, and Intelligentsia already sell a dark espresso blend for that job: Sublunar Espresso, at $17.50, described as their darkest espresso and built for milk drinks.
Is it certified organic?
Yes, and Direct Trade as well. Organic is audited by an outside body against a published standard; Direct Trade is Intelligentsia's own programme with terms they publish. It is the only coffee at this roast depth carrying either, which is unusual on a specialty menu.
How much is Organic French Roast per cup?
At about $44.75 a kilo in the 5 lb bag and 15 grams a cup, roughly 67 cents, or nearer 82 cents from the 12 oz bag. That is a few cents over the entry blends, for two certifications and the darkest roast they do.
