13 Best Dark Roast Coffee Brands of 2023

“Taste the heat, not the sweetness” is a terrific way to describe dark roast coffee. As a result, the powerful, nutty essence of the roasting overpowers the coffee bean’s delicious, complex flavor. Coffees with a strong flavor, like dark roasts, go with milk and cream as they help to mask the bitterness.

There is no truth to the claim that darker roasts provide more caffeine. In terms of caffeine content, dark roast beans are identical to their lighter counterparts.

The best dark roast coffee can be found in these detailed reviews. You can get a sense of what is good and why by reading our consumer’s guide at the conclusion.

Top 13 Picks of Best Dark Roast Coffee

1. Kicking Horse Coffee
2. Amazon Fresh Dark Roast Whole Coffee Bean
3. Don Pablo Whole Bean Dark-Roast Coffee – Best Decaf
4. Cafe Don Pablo Subtle Earth Organic Coffee Dark Roast
5. Olde Brooklyn Italian Dark Roast Coffee
6. Starbucks Espresso Dark Roast
7. Mayorga Organics Cafe Cubano Whole Bean Coffee
8. Death Wish Dark Roast Coffee
9. Real Good Coffee Co Dark French Roast
10. Koffee Kult Dark Roast Coffee Beans
11. Lavazza Super Crema Whole Bean Coffee
12. Community Coffee Signature Blend Dark-Roast
13. Best Dark Roast Kona Coffee- Blue Horse

1. Kicking Horse Coffee

Highlights

• 10 oz. of Dark Roasted Coffee Ground
• Fairtrade
• Kosher
• Certified Organic

Product Description

Sweet, smoky, and audacious: dark Roast, ground the spirit of Kicking Horse Coffee is embodied in this extraordinary mix of beans, and it’s a bold call to join us in the morning.

In terms of flavor, this is a dark, molasses-sweetened, licorice-flavored brew. Drip machine, pour-over, and cold brew are the preferred brewing techniques.

Origin Indonesia and South America are Grown sustainably by farmers who can rely on their enterprises.

You may get your caffeine fix without harming yourself or the environment by consuming organic, fair-trade, kosher, shade-grown, and Arabica coffee.

2. Amazon Fresh Dark Roast Whole Coffee Bean

Highlights

• Arabica Bean Type
• Origin: Central and South America
• Flavor: Caramel and Molasses

Product Description

The rich, full-bodied, and nuanced flavor of Amazon Fresh Dark Roast Coffee Beans is sure to please. An Amazon product toasted in small batches and distributed directly to customers is available.

Espresso machines, auto-drippers, and pour-overs are only alternatives for making coffee. If you aren’t satisfied with this purchase, you can return it to Amazon and get a full refund.

3. Don Pablo Whole Bean Dark-Roast Coffee – Best Decaf

Highlights

• Don Pablo Signature Blend
• A 2-Pound Bag
• Medium-Dark Roast
• Whole Bean Coffee
• Low-Acidity

Product Description

Because of the roasting process, dark roasted coffee is often lower in nicotine than lighter roasted coffees. It also has a decreased acid content.

Decaf Dark Roast is a fantastic option for those with health concerns that prevent them from drinking regular coffees.

Don Pablo’s Whole Bean Coffee Medium-Dark Roast is our favorite dark roast decaf coffee. It hits all three of our marks.

There are no synthetic chemicals in its processing, so it has a rich, full flavor and won’t cost you a fortune. Compared to other decafs, this one has a much better taste.

The following are some considerations for this particular coffee: The roast is medium-dark, which indicates that it is not authentic.

4. Cafe Don Pablo Subtle Earth Organic Coffee Dark Roast

Highlights

• A Subtle Earth Organic Coffee
• Whole Bean
• Dark Roast Organic Coffee
• 2 Pound Bag

Product Description

There are a lot of dark and edgy-looking coffees on the market. That the coffee is being sourced and produced responsibly may be seen in this new approach to packaging.

Honduras is the source of the beans, which are all-natural and include no additives. There is an incredible depth of flavor that they may impart to your dish. With only one sip, you’ll be enchanted by the rich, velvety flavors.

There are a lot of folks who find normal coffee to be too acidic. You’ll love this coffee if that’s the case. Your beverage will be tastier and more pleasurable if it has low acidity.

Although it comes in a 2-pound bag, you may not enjoy the flavor, but we’re confident that you will. There are numerous ways to brew coffee with this product, so you’ll be able to get a fantastic cup no matter what method you choose.

5. Olde Brooklyn Italian Dark Roast Coffee

Highlights

• Espresso
• The World’s Strongest Coffee Beans
• 5 LB Extra Strong Coffee
• New York Roasted

Product Description

A cup of Olde Brooklyn Coffee’s Italian Roast is the perfect pick-me-up for the morning or a noon pick-me-up.

The combination of Colombian, Brazilian, and Guatemalan beans results in a great cup of coffee. To top it all off, you can expect to receive the freshest coffee possible because we roast each bean blend every week.

6. Starbucks Espresso Dark Roast

Highlights

• Arabica Beans
• Flavor: Caramel and Molasses
• Roast Type: Dark

Product Description

One of Amazon’s most popular dark roast coffees is Starbucks Espresso Dark Roast. The caramel flavor is strong but sweet, and it mixes well with milk to draw out the distinctive Starbucks flavor.

7. Mayorga Organics Cafe Cubano Whole Bean Coffee

Highlights

• Café Cubano Roast
• The Smoothest Organic Coffee
• Specialty-Grade coffee
• Non-GMO
• Direct Trade
• 100% Whole Arabica Beans
• 2-Pound Bag

Product Description

Mayorga Organics Cafe Cubano Dark Roast offers the best value per pound among all the coffees we tested. For the same price as one pound of a higher-end coffee, you get two, and each of those two packs a powerful punch.

This is the coffee to buy if you enjoy Cuban coffee. When creamed with sugar, these whole beans are at their best when ground to a fine powder. To top it all off, buying whole beans ensures that the beans you’re paying good money for stay as fresh as possible.

There are some subtle differences between this and other dark roasts if you consume it as a single cup of coffee. It doesn’t have the same level of power.

8. Death Wish Dark Roast Coffee

Highlights

• Dark Roast Coffee (16 oz.)
• Strong Arabica Coffee Grounds
• Robusta Coffee Grounds (1-Pack)

Product Description

This coffee is not as strong as the manufacturer claims, despite what they claim. Many people assume that means that the coffee is extremely caffeinated. The roasting process destroys the caffeine in the coffee, making light roast coffees more potent.

We discovered a nice dark roast. You can use it in a variety of ways because of its powerful flavor.

It’s also a lot pricier than you may expect. For a fraction of the price, you can have a cup of coffee that is only slightly less tasty. Ultimately, what you pay for is the right to claim that you purchased the strongest coffee in the world, which it is not.

9. Real Good Coffee Co Dark French Roast

Highlights

• 2-Pounds Bag
• 100% Whole Arabica Beans
• Grind at Home Brew Your Own

Product Description

Make sure you’re living up to your name with the Real Good Coffee Co. name. Fortunately, the end product is a delicious cup of coffee that you’re likely to appreciate.

It can be a problem if you’re not a major fan of the coffee because it comes in a large bag, perceived as a waste of money. It’s unlikely that you’ll encounter this problem with these high-quality Arabica beans.

This coffee has a lot of flavor hints, and you’ll enjoy discovering them. A dark chocolate flavor with hints of raspberry and anise is a favorite of many. With this pack, there is no bitterness in your beverages.

The company was started in Seattle, where they roast and package the beans. You can also use them to make coffee instead of a drip machine, French press, or pour-over method. If you want your coffee dark, this is the place to come.

10. Koffee Kult Dark Roast Coffee Beans

Highlights

• Arabica Bean Type
• Origin: Columbia, Guatemala, Brazil, and Sumatra
• Flavor: Cinnamon and Cocoa

Product Description

Despite its full-bodied flavor, Koffee Kult’s Dark Roast Coffee Beans are smooth, clean, and easy to drink. According to the firm, customers may expect their coffee purchases to arrive within hours of the roasting process.

Coffee beans from Columbia, Guatemala, and Sumatra were utilized to manufacture this dark roast coffee. The coffee beans are roasted by hand at the Hollywood, Florida-based Koffee Kult family-owned coffee roaster firm.

11. Lavazza Super Crema Whole Bean Coffee

Highlights

• 2.2 Pounds
• Super Creme Whole Bean Blend (Pack of 1) True Italian
• Blended and Roasted in Italy
• Made in a Nut-Free Facility

Product Description

Coffee beans from Brazil are often regarded as some of the best in the world. Using beans grown in Italy, Lavazza has created a flavorful dark roast coffee that’s full of character.

Dark roast coffee is known for its chocolaty flavor, but this blend also has caramel undertones, making it a one-of-a-kind cup. Combined with a long-lasting aftertaste, the sensations you experience are unparalleled.

You’ll fall in love with coffee all over again after trying it with this flavor profile.

When contrasted to other dark-roasted coffees, the beans may be milder. This may be a concern for certain people. In contrast, the Italian dark roast coffee beans in this blend are ideal for drip brewing.

12. Community Coffee Signature Blend Dark-Roast

Highlights

• Combine 64 ounces of water
• 32 Ounce Bag of Dark Roasted Ground Coffee (Pack of 2)

Product Description

If you’re considering purchasing it, there are two persuasive reasons to do so. First, it is inherently acid-free because it is prepared from 100% Arabica beans.

Suppose You are roasting it for a lengthy period further damages it. This is a wonderful option if you’re seeking stomach-friendly coffee. Secondly, it’s a fantastic deal. You can acquire a lot of high-quality coffee for a relatively small investment.

However, you get what you paid for. As a result, it lacks some of the complexity and fullness of some dark roasts. Pre-ground coffee is also listed.

Because ground coffee loses flavor faster than whole beans, there are just a few brewing options available if you want to get the most out of your beans.

13. Best Dark Roast Kona Coffee- Blue Horse

Highlights

• Blue Horse Kona Coffee from the State of Hawaii
• 100% Kona Coffee
• Dark Roast
• Whole Beans 1 Lb.

Product Description

You’ve come to the correct place if you’re seeking 100% Kona coffee. The flavor and aroma of this outstanding coffee from Blue Horse will wow you, as will its ability to meet your caffeine needs.

Because the beans are selected by hand and cultivated in the shade, you know you’re getting the best. Once it’s finished, you’ll have an intense dark roast coffee with a bittersweet chocolate flavor and delightful caramel notes.

As long as you need to finish the bag, the coffee will stay fresh in the sealable one-pound packing. Coffee beans grown in Hawaii are used in this product. The increasing demand for Kona beans on the market drives up their price.

If you’ve never experienced Kona coffee, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.

What is Dark Roast?

The term “dark roast” refers to coffee that has been roasted to a dark brown or even black color. If the rim of your coffee cup has a shine of oil on it, you’ve produced a dark roast cup of joe.

The color, aroma, and flavor of coffee beans change when they are heated. The sugar in the coffee bean caramelizes during the roasting process. The lipids in the coffee bean are responsible for producing the fragrant oils we observe when the coffee is brewed.

The roasting procedure is what gives dark Roast its distinct flavor. Because it is roasted to a temperature of 240°C (464°F) and is roasted past the second crack, dark Roast coffee sometimes has a bitter, smoky, or burnt flavor.

Types of Dark Roasts

If you’re not a coffee connoisseur, purchasing dark Roast can be intimidating. This is because dark roasts such as French, Italian, and Continental roasts are so popular. In contrast, the majority of dark roasts are utilized in coffee blends.

• The French Roast is one of the darkest roasts on the scale. A double-roasted coffee with an intense smoky-sweet flavor and color resembling dark chocolate has been created.
•  After the second crack, this sort of dark Roast is ready to be served. There is less caffeine, but the flavor is scorched. Compared to French Roast, it is darker and oilier.
•  The French and Belgian roasting traditions are the originators of this sort of Roast. Roasted to a higher and darker level than a regular Espresso roast, this coffee is very exceptional.
• A Spanish roast is essentially a black bean that has passed the second crack of the shell. You’ll see a shiny sheen that arises from the oil in the bean when you brew it. The caffeine content of coffee beans is destroyed during the roasting process employed in Spanish Roast. A thin body and burnt flavor are the outcomes of this process.

Flavors: Why Do People Favor Dark Roast Coffee?

If so, have you ever noticed Starbucks described as “burnt” or “over-roasted” Dark-roasting coffee drinkers aren’t primarily interested in the beverage’s caffeine concentration. Because it’s the way coffee has traditionally been viewed, the dark Roast is the most desired option among light roasts.

Light roast coffee, as expected, retains the fresh, grassy, and earthy tastes of the green coffee bean. On the other hand, Dark Roast has a smoky, bitter flavor with a touch of sweetness.

Dark Roast’s flavor can be improved in addition to its “coffee flavor.” To counteract the coffee’s smokey and acidic flavor, you can add milk, creamer, or sugar. To do this, you need a darker roast.

What’s the Best Way to Taste the Flavors of a Dark Roast?

During a coffee tasting or cupping, the Roast should be sniffed before it is gulped. Slurping allows the coffee to spread more extensively on the back of the tongue, resulting in a more enjoyable experience.

When evaluating a coffee cup, the cleanliness, sweetness, acidity, mouthful, and aftertaste are all considered. You can use the fundamentals of coffee tasting to your advantage.

But if you want to understand coffee, you need to pay closer attention to the factors that make an excellent roast coffee as you taste it. This includes sweetness, body, acidity, flavor, and finish.

The procedures were explained.

• • Your nose can recognize thousands of odors. Flowers, tree bark, citrus fruits, and a slew of other scents are all familiar to you. Then again, if you’ve ever had a cup of coffee and smelled these. It indicates that this coffee includes the same chemicals as the food and other associated things.
• As soon as you take a sip of coffee. Your tongue is covered with it. There are 50 to 100 taste receptor cells in each taste bud that respond to different flavors. You’ll be able to get a good idea of the flavor of the coffee this way.
• Instead of ingesting the coffee, most coffee roasters spit it out after tasting it in coffee cupping. You can taste the coffee’s aftertaste better if you spit it out.

Coffee roasters typically use two spoons to assess the coffee’s aroma and flavor accurately. After removing a spoonful of coffee from a cup, a roaster will pour it into a second spoon to chill it down.

Since hot water is put into newly roasted coffee grounds, this prevents your tongue from burning.

If so, why? What health advantages (if any)?

In a nutshell, dark roast coffee has health benefits. Melanoid content is particularly high in this specimen.

Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-hypertensive activities have been linked to this ingredient. For better blood vitamin E and glutathione replenishment, black Roast is preferable to light Roast.

According to a study published in 2019, having dark roast coffee can help you lose weight since it aids in the breakdown of fat.

Is dark roast coffee more or less caffeinated?

Caffeine. Is it secure? Whether or not it’s good for you, Is my drinking excessive? Any connection between caffeine and dark coffee?

College students use an average of 159 milligrams of caffeine per day, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics in 2019. Staying awake, loving the flavor, socializing, enhancing focus, and gaining energy are the most common reasons people drink.

According to a Kantar poll, the unexpected rise in the number of people who drink coffee is also rising. There has been a 43 percent increase in the number of teens who consume coffee since 2003. Teens’ preference for sweet coffee drinks over soda is one factor in these statistics.

Consumers 50 to 64 years old still consume the most coffee in the United States, averaging 226 2 mg per day.

Dark roast coffee is the drink of choice for the majority of them. Adding milk or cream and sugar enhances the flavor, making it more appealing than a mild Roast.

FAQs

What are Dark Roasted Coffee Beans?

Coffee that is described as “dark roast” has beans that have been roasted to a dark brown color (similar to the color of chocolate). The longer roasting time results in the dark coloration of the beans. More oil comes to the surface of the roasted beans as the roasting time increases.

What is the Flavor of Dark Roasted Coffee?

Roasting at a higher temperature and for a longer time results in darker roasts that are less acidic and more reminiscent of chocolate, nut, and caramel flavors. The smoky, burned hues of dark roast coffee are the result of poor roasting.

Dark roast coffee: what’s the finest of the best?

Lifeboost is the greatest dark roast coffee because it is organic and has low acidity. It grows in the Nicaraguan highlands, shaded by trees. Only quality Arabica is produced here, and even the rare Maragogipe type.

Try Lifeboost if you have stomach difficulties. It is less acidic than conventional coffee due to its higher pH.

Is a cup of dark roasted coffee tastier than a cup of regular?

Beans that have been roasted for a longer period are known as dark Roasts. In the United States, this sort of coffee is extremely popular, and it consists of a strong cup of coffee with a lot of caffeine. Because the beans are grown at higher altitudes in various ecosystems, dark roast coffee is also more flavorful than light Roast.

Coffee with a darker roast is more caffeinated?

Caffeine is eliminated during the roasting process; however, the degree of roasting has no significant impact on the amount of caffeine in a cup.

Final Verdict

You should now have a good sense of what kind of dark roast coffee you’d like to experiment with. You’ll fall in love with each one’s individuality. Just take your favorite mug and brew method, and you’re ready to go.

The Death Wish coffee is a standout for its overall quality. It’s our Editor’s Choice because it’s strong and flavorful all at the same time.

If you’re seeking a dark roast coffee with low acidity and a silky body, Cafe Don Pablo Subtle Earth Organic Coffee Dark Roast is for you.

Blue Horse’s 100% Kona Coffee is the icing on the cake. With undertones of chocolate and caramel, this Hawaiian coffee has an exceptional aroma and flavor.

In addition, there are several excellent choices, and no matter which one you choose, you’ll enjoy a cup of coffee like never before.