Qwowi’s sample of Coffee People French Roast was provided by K-Cup Challenge sponsor, 1 Great Cup, and while I don’t want to reveal too much too early, I will ask that you don’t hold it against them.

You may recall that I really enjoyed our sample of Coffee People’s Donut Shop Coffee, so I had high hopes for their Extra Bold French Roast variety.  What can I say; things don’t always turn out as well as you hope.

What it says on the box

The darkest of our roasts, it’s toasty aroma and crisp molasses flavor is not for the faint of heart

The Aroma

A little smoky.  Very dark, thick, and sadly, a little like charcoal.

Drinking it Black

Maybe it’s me.  Maybe I just don’t get what French Roast is all about.  The issue I have, as I did with Timothy’s Parisian Nights, is that it seems like it’s dark for the sake of being dark.  Apart from being very strong, Coffee People’s French roast is largely disinteresting.  Couple that with a bitter finish, and well, let’s just say it’s not good.

With Cream and Sugar

As other extreme dark roasts have, Coffee People’s French Roast does not submit to cream and sugar.  With generous portions of both added, it takes a bit of the edge off the blend, but it still falls well short of anything I would call good.

Let’s talk reality for a minute, can we?  As much as I’d love to sit down and sip my coffee uninterrupted, distractions happen (I do a lot of my “testing” at work, so it’s pretty much unavoidable).  As a consequence, my coffee isn’t always piping hot when I get back to it.  It’s never gone completely cold on me, but I do finish off the occasional cup of luke warm coffee.  As I said, it’s unavoidable, so how well a coffee can maintain its flavor as its temperature cools is important to me.

With a good bit of the heat dissipated, Coffee People’s French Roast transforms from a mighty, but difficult drinking cup of coffee, to a serving of what I imagine tastes similar to a bucket of room temperature yak vomit.  There I said it.  Hands down, no contest, when the hot wears off, this is the worst tasting K-Cup I’ve sampled to date.

Final Thoughts

Admittedly I was warned.  The label says “not for the faint of heart”.  It’s also not for the strong of tongue.  Again, maybe there’s some nuance to French Roast that has thus far eluded my grasp, but if this is how it is, I’m all right with that.

As much as I dislike, nay, loathe Coffee People’s French Roast, I’m not about to swear off the brand.  Donut Shop Coffee was a winner, and Ken Rhodes from 1 Great Cup tells me that Coffee People produces some of the best coffee on the west coast.  For now I’ll take his word for it, but Ken, if you’re reading this… No more Coffee People French Roast, please.

Shameless Plug

I’ve mentioned my sponsor, 1 Great Cup several times today.  That’s my not so subtle way of getting you to visit the site, and hopefully support my sponsors.  Without them I wouldn’t be able to write all these reviews (although truthfully, missing out on this blend wouldn’t have been so bad).  If you so desire, you can pick up a box of Coffee People’s French Roast.  Assuming I’ve convinced you that might not be such a good idea, there’s plenty more to choose from, including several Coffee People variety packs (bottom of the page).

Finally, from now until the end of the month (June 2008) you can save 5% on all Coffee People K-Cups at 1 Great Cup.  Simply enter coupon code “CP” at checkout.

While you’re here, check out the growing list of reviews in the K-Cup Challenge.

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