DARK ROASTED

The process of roasting is what brings out the complex flavours and aromatics that make coffee so appealing to our senses.

The coffee we describe as dark roasted is a range that varies in colour and intensity according to the beans we are roasting.

Coffees in this range, whilst losing the fresh fruitiness of a medium roast, gain in body and caramelisation. Perhaps surprisingly, they also contain less caffeine than lighter roasted coffees.

As the coffee beans are roasted for longer, natural oils are released to the surface, turning the colour of beans from dark chocolate to beetle black in colour. For those who enjoy a different roast according to the time of day, it can be interesting to try the same variety of coffee that we roast different ways.

  1. As low as £11.00
    The character of this coffee is complex, it has refined body, and sweet, spicy, earthy aromas. Notes of pipe tobacco, with woody undertones and chocolate tones, make this a very smooth, dense espresso or basis for a great espresso blend. This is a genuinely aged coffee, having been stored in the correct conditions for 6 years. Artisan roasted in our 2kg micro-coffee roaster.
  2. As low as £11.00
    This is a coffee of great complexity, with cupping notes observed by SCAA cuppers that included: great body, zest, almond, walnut, honey, caramel, sweet citrus, star fruit, floral aromas and chocolate. We buy this amazing coffee from the Ipanema Estate Premier Cru programme. It set out to produce the highest scoring coffees in the world and the micro lots they are making score consistently in the 90's, a rare achievement for any coffee from anywhere. This current batch is made on the Fazenda Rio Verde farm on the Ipanema estate. This unique lot is processed using the ‘natural’ sun-dried method, although they also produce fine coffee by the ‘wet’ method. Sun drying ensures the sweetest flavours. Enjoyable made using any method it arguably makes the best espresso coffee of any origin. It can be blended with our lighter roast version of this coffee 'Espirito de Sol' to add nuance and for personalising your perfect espresso blend. One thing very few people argue with is that you have the best coffee for making espresso in the world however you blend it. Our 2kg batch roaster ensures it is to perfection for espresso giving a sweet, syrupy cup with lots of interesting nuances, a full-bodied, intense liquor with fruity cocoa notes that linger on the palate. Artisan roasted in our 2kg micro-coffee roaster. Rio Verde is in the Mantiqueira Mountains, translated as the Crying Mountains.
  3. As low as £11.00
    This fully washed coffee was grown on 'La Esperanza' farm owned and worked by Gerardo Carvajal in the Bruselas, Huila region of Colombia, 1,600 meters above sea level. In this darkly roasted form, its complex character is described as having: notes of stonefruit, plum, toffee apple, brown sugar, dark chocolate and hazelnut. La Esperanza achieves some of the highest premiums for it and arguably Colombia's finest coffee. Artisan roasted in our 2kg micro-coffee roaster.
  4. £6.00
    Dark Belgian chocolate enrobed coffee beans. These delicious snacks pack a double whammy of the delicious, moreish flavour of coffee and chocolate plus a real caffeine kick! Don't eat them all at once unless you plan to stay up all night!
  5. As low as £11.00
    This is one of our most popular dark roast coffees. It has a very appealing bittersweet, fine, dark chocolate like character. Other cupping notes noticed are brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, toffee apple, sweet tobacco. We buy from different plantations according to the best quality available and only from those scoring 88 and above according to the SCAA cupping criteria.
  6. As low as £11.00
    Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffees are famed for their beautiful fragrance. When darkly roasted of course some of these complexities are lost yet it still retains its distinctive character. The citrus acidity changes to a dark fruit sweetness, hints of blackcurrant, spice, nutmeg, bonfire toffee and a sugar cane aftertaste make it one of the most refined of darkly roasted coffees. The coffee grown in this lush, green, mountainous area at altitudes up to 8,000 feet is referred to as 'garden coffee' due to most of it being grown on small-holdings of less than 1 hectare producing something up to 5 sacks of coffee beans.
  7. As low as £11.00
    The famed 'monsooned Malabar' - is made by a process unique to India, and gives a distinctive, potent cup. It dates back to coffee farming under British colonial rule when during the several months that it took to ship green coffee from India to Europe, the humidity and sea winds caused the beans to swell and age. As transport improved the beans suffered less from the elements en route, so coffee-drinkers noticed that the coffee was losing its usual character and distinctive, bold flavour. To create a 'monsooned' crop, natural sun-dried green coffee is stored in open-sided warehouses on the coast, which allows moist tropical air from the monsoon winds to blow through the storage area. Over 2 to 3 months, the beans absorb moisture, lose most of their natural acidity and swell to around double their original size, becoming brittle and pale. The process starts when the monsoons begin. Tasting notes include spicy, earthy, smoky, tobacco, fig and plum. It is grown in Karnataka, the Western Ghats of South India. It is grown on the Kents, S.795, Catimor and Selection 9 varietals of Arabica coffee plant.
  8. As low as £11.00
    No collection of coffee would be complete without a prizewinning offering from Kenya. It delivers value for money for the aroma alone! Given a dark roast, expect the flavours to suggest treacle toffee, molasses, black cherry, caramel, red wine, plum, dark chocolate, muscovado sugar and dried apricot. Our Kenya coffee is grown by the smallholder farmers of the Bisembe co-operative in Kisii County, a mountainous region of western Kenya famed for evergreen farms. Recently, coffee from this co-operative won the Specialty Coffee Association's Blind Cupping Competition, scoring 98 out of 100.
  9. As low as £11.00
    If you give this coffee to someone without telling them it's decaffeinated you will always be greeted with the same look of astonishment when they find out! Firstly because we apply the same criteria for excellence to the coffee we choose to decaffeinate as we do to all of our Grand Cru coffees. Expect flavours of dark chocolate, raisin, plum, liquorice, malt, black cherry and tobacco. Secondly, the method of decaffeination is designed to remove only the caffeine and not the precious flavour compounds that give coffee its character. The Mountain Water Process involves immersing the coffee beans in water to extract the 99.9% of the caffeine. No chemicals are used, and a filtering process allows the beans to maintain their characteristic flavour. The Mountain Water Decaf process uses clear, pure water from the glaciers of the Pico de Orizaba Mountains in Mexico, although often the coffee we choose is not in itself Mexican. This dark roast makes a phenomenally good espresso or base for a latt� and cappuccino.
  10. As low as £11.00
    This intense coffee is sourced from the Arinagata Cooperative, a collection serving 2,000+ small hold farmers who grow coffee in the Aceh rainforest at altitudes up to 5,500 feet. The co-op is an organic and Fairtrade certified Gayo Arabica coffee producer and exporter. When roasted as darkly as this the flavours described as herbal, grapefruit, cherry, chocolate, walnut, white grape, vanilla and fresh flowers evolve into cedar, maple, chocolate, spice, raisin, black treacle, liquorice and sweet tobacco. It has a syrupy richness, exquisite flavour and the native volcanic soil gives it a rich, silky character. It is, deservedly, among the most famous coffees in the world.
  11. As low as £11.00
    This coffee bean at a dark roast is full bodied, with a brisk sweet flavour and exquisite bittersweet fruity aroma. Notes of treacle toffee, chocolate orange, caramel, raw cocoa, dried fruits, plum and molasses make it one of the world's great dark roast coffees. The blend of coffee bean varietals, including Bourbon, helps create this very complex flavour profile. It is sourced from the Majinja Farmer Group, which is currently made up of 20 farmers in the Ibembwe, Msia, Mbozi and Songwe regions.
  12. As low as £10.00
    Our most caffeine laden bean, roasted in the inferno of hell. It's a real wake me up call that will invigorate or derange you. Don't say we didn't warn you! Made with the same highest quality Robusta coffee as our Vietnam Dragon Balls but given a slightly darker roast. This enhances the bittersweet dark chocolate, malty character whilst losing some of the herbal and fruity notes.
  13. As low as £11.00
    This blend is adjusted to maintain a constant character according to availability. Cupping notes include dark chocolate, spice, nutmeg, malt, black cherry, nut, molasses, liquorice, plum, sweet tobacco and treacle toffee. It is the most popular darkly roasted coffee in our range. Although often firstly bought for its name, it becomes the once bitten forever smitten favourite of those that drink it!