December 20, 2013

Trager Brothers French Roast Review

Trager Brothers is an organic roaster from Lovingston, VA.

From the roaster:  Deep, dark, and roasty but never burned or bitter. If you dig big, bold, and powerful then look no further than our rugged Latin blends.

Method:  French press, slightly under extracted to capture more flavor notes from the coffee.

Review and tl;dr after the jump...

Appearance (18/20):  This is a very dark, oily/glossy bean and for me when it comes to french press, the oilier, the better.

Taste (18/20):  On the initial cup, I get lemon/grapefruit/ginger up front followed by the aforementioned roasty flavor on the back. As the cup cools it gives off more of an almond/marzipan flavor.

Mouthfeel (20/20):  Velvety and chewy.

Smell (20/20):  A sweet, smoky aroma like a backyard BBQ in the summer.

Overall (18/20):  This makes for pretty delicious mug of coffee, it might not be the one I reach for first thing in the morning but it would be perfect for after lunch or dinner, maybe both.  If you do brew this as a french press, I highly recommend under extraction.  After a few mugs of standard extraction (1 minute stir, 3 minute steep), I found that the flavors really came out when steeped for a minute less.

Score: 94

TL;DR - A bold, chewy dark roast with enough nuance to keep it from being one note.

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