Taste Test: The Best Store-Bought French Roast Coffee

The Folgers jingle didn't lie, coffee really "is the best part of waking up." But is Folgers the best coffee to wake up to?

If coffee were to cease to exist tomorrow, roughly 80 percent of the population would be in dire straits. It's an integral part of the smooth functioning of our lives, which is why it's a good idea to make sure you get it right.

With so many different brands and roasts on the market, picking out the right coffee can be a bit of a challenge. But we're here to tell you that if you like your coffee bold and full flavored, French roast is the right choice for you. It's a dark roast (the same they use to make espresso), with bittersweet undertones yet none of the natural acidity that you get with lighter roasted beans.

We know that a bad cup of coffee can ruin your day, and since there are so many ways for this caffeine-loaded beverage to go wrong -- weak, bitter, burnt, old -- we decided to eliminate one step of the process where you can ruin your coffee ... with the beans. Our panel of editors blind-tested 10 different brands of French roast to determine which brand roasts its beans right. Some brands we couldn't get our hands on, such as Green Mountain Coffee, but we tested all brands available in our area. Click through the slideshow below to find out which coffee you should be brewing in the morning, and which isn't worth the water that you'd filter through it.

How did your favorite French roast coffee rank? Leave a comment below, and make sure to add your favorites to our slideshow.

As always, our taste tests are in no way influenced by or sponsored by the brands included.

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• #1 Folgers French Roast (Highly Recommended)

  <strong>Comments:</strong> "Nice aromas." "Pleasant flavor." "Nice." "Love the aroma! Tastes good and smooth."

• #2 Maxwell House Dark Roast (Highly Recommended)

  <strong>Comments:</strong> "Slightly lacking in personality, but a real crowd pleaser." "Smooth and bold."

• #3 Starbucks Dark French Roast (Highly Recommended)

  <strong>Comments:</strong> "Tastes rounded with a little bit of sweetness." "Nice, but a little too acidic."

• #4 Allegro Coffee Extra Dark French Roast (Recommended)

  <strong>Comments:</strong> "Nice bold flavor, with a slightly acidic after taste." "A little too strong, but bold aromas."

• #5 Trader Joe's French Roast (Mildly Recommended)

  <strong>Comments:</strong> "Almost too dark, a deep roasted flavor." "Almost burnt taste, smell is bad."

• #6 Peet's Coffee French Roast

  <strong>Comments:</strong> "Very, very roasted with a deep and dark flavor." "Darker than moist, and slightly bitter."

• #7 Sarabeth's French Roast

  <strong>Comments:</strong> "Better than average." "Not too bold, not too acidic." "Mild coffee."

• #8 Dunkin' Donuts Dunkin' Dark

  <strong>Comments:</strong> "Super bitter." "Way too acidic for a dark roast." "Mediocre flavor."

• #9 Chock Full O'Nuts French Roast

  <strong>Comments:</strong> "Slightly acidic, weak taste." "Strong roasted flavor.""Acrid."

• #10 Eight O'Clock French Roast

  <strong>Comments:</strong> "Why does this coffee taste like chemicals." "Tastes like nothing.""Not great."

WATCH: How to Make Coffee At Home

Comments

[Kru Satyr]

10:50 AM on 12/11/2012

I've enjoyed French and Italian espresso roasts for forty years after enjoying it first in... where else? France and Italy, which memory drives my coffee palate. The authentic original is dark, oily, smoky and sweet with a pleasant after taste, all with NO TRACE of "burnt", the presence of which is evidence of a fraud.

12 ounce packages of Starbucks Whole Bean French Roast gets close and a good value at about $7.50 at Walmart. The 20 ounce bag elsewhere, less so.

[Richard Feinberg]

11:27 AM on 09/28/2012

I have purchased Maxwell House French Roast twice in the 29.3 oz size. Both times, I have been disappointed. As a French Roast aficionado, I know what French Roast coffee should look and smell like. True French Roast coffee bean and grounds should be almost black in color with a pungent, almost burnt, aroma. These characteristics are imparted from the "over roasting" process which brings out the unique flavor and aroma of the French Roast coffee beans. Furthermore, during the roasting process, the French Roast beans lose more moisture than normally roasted coffee beans. Therefore, the French Roast grounds have lower density and weigh less than normally roasted beans for an equivalent volume. The Maxwell House French roast has none of the distinctive French Roast characteristics. The color of the coffee grounds is much lighter than that of true French Roast grounds, the aroma is weak, not pungent like true French Roast grounds, and the flavor is just like regular roast coffee (bland). I am very disappointed with Maxwell House
brand French Roast. Someone in the Coffee Division should learn how to properly roast the French Roast coffee.

[tiddilywink]

10:48 AM on 10/02/2012

I totally agree. This article reminds me of the Consumer Report awhile back proclaiming "McDonalds has the best coffee in the US".

[Carmen Sepulveda]

08:56 AM on 07/19/2012

I don't know but all coffee, no matter the price or brand, taste like crap lately. I think it has something to do with how the beans are now grown. They've been hybridized to grow in the sun to increase yield, as opposed to their natural location, under the shade of trees. I'm sure there was a symbiotic relationship between the trees before and that added to the richness of flavor, no matter the brand and type. Hybridization is also a bad ideal because massive destruction of rain forests had to be leveled to grow the coffee plants the new way, and all to increase profits. We should all be screaming about that.

[silkysmooth]

09:00 PM on 07/09/2012

i know i'm out of my league here but, holy cow, i got a dark roast of this Hawaiian coffee from these guys and it was AMAZING!!! too expensive for usual drinking but damn fine for an occasional treat or when guests stay over.
www.bigislandcoffeeroasters.com
perfect with french toast and bacon (lots of bacon)

[dmuffman41]

05:45 AM on 05/23/2012

Anything tastes better than the crap they call coffee that you get in hospitals

[yukidongo1]

08:24 PM on 05/21/2012

Of the coffees mentioned above, they are absolutely correct. Folgers provides a rich flavor, without being muddy or bitter...Excellent coffee if you appreciate coffee for the taste! What I use at home, mostly. Folgers Classic roast is what I use for a middle of the road blend. Folgers has always been my choice after trying many different brands. And, if you are a coffee drinker having heartburn issues, it may be the brand of coffee you drink. Maxwell House is one that may cause such issues.

[tiddilywink]

11:01 AM on 10/02/2012

Usually bitter flavors are imparted due to improper brewing temperature or too long of a steep time. This would explain why you prefer a less roasted bean such as Folgers. I would suggest trying a new coffee maker or switching to a french press, using a thermometer to be sure you aren't heating the water over ~200 degrees.

[stepman123]

03:45 PM on 05/21/2012

On my Budget just give me the sale on dark roast I just want the Energy kick in the morning. Who cares what it taste like When you buy it dont all those places Say Gourmet Coffee sold here. I dont ask what coffee you serving. when I am someones house I just drink It.JUst make it dark please.

[ackermanle]

03:37 PM on 05/21/2012

And a year ago I read somewhere that 8'Oclock was best!
In conclusion: the TASTE of one person does not necessarily define this exercise.

[stepman123]

03:35 PM on 05/21/2012

How many shares does the writer have in this or how many bags of coffee did he get free. Coffee is to your taste not theres. Like food sometimes I feel like Vanilla sometimes I feel like chocolate. Give me a break or better yet give me a bag of coffee free and I will tell you # 1 lol or a sale. Didnt he just take the most sold coffee anyhow. I dont have a degree but would have said the same thing. Wheres my free coffee.

[Barbara Lehmann]

03:31 PM on 05/21/2012

By far Kroger's French Roast is the best. Since we moved to the Cleveland area we do not have a Kroger's nearby so anytime we are back in MI or anyone comes to visit we stock up on it. It is the only coffee we drink. Everyone that comes to visit and has coffee here always remarks about the great coffee.

[eversontom2]

03:49 PM on 05/21/2012

How about Kroger's medium dark Columbian. Don't know where Kroger gets their coffee,but it tastes a lot like Folgers.

[sandhillsrider]

03:21 PM on 05/21/2012

"I like my coffee good and brown, a little bit browner than you get downtown, Me oh my, I got the coffee blues." Country picker, Ernie Lee. *RIP*

[RebelGrl]

03:10 PM on 05/21/2012

Forgels, #1??
Thats crap coffee.

[jmslotnick]

02:52 PM on 05/21/2012

You can have them all. Give me Costco Kirkland Columbian 3 pound can any day or any time. It is so good and so flavorful and believe me much less expensive than the rest that are listed.

[claudetteh124]

02:48 PM on 05/21/2012

folger french roast. ( good to the last drop) sorry that's maxwell house.........lool

[stepman123]

03:36 PM on 05/21/2012

Hey Get your Story Straight lol

[Denatured]

02:40 PM on 05/21/2012

Go Folger's. This former coffee snob found Folger's coffee a few years ago and is hooked. The Folger's classic tastes more the way coffee smells than any other brand. The French Roast is also beautiful. Just because it is a big company doesn't mean it doesn't know its business.

[undrgrndgirl]

03:33 PM on 05/21/2012

this coffee snob disagrees...folgers is at best a medium roast and is overly acidic.

[stepman123]

03:37 PM on 05/21/2012

You proberly dont smoke so anything taste good to you.