Starbucks Italian Roast - Review

Italian coffee is known for being rich, bold, and darkly roasted. And with a huge coffee culture in Italy, we knew we had to dip our mugs into some Italian roasted brews. So, we begin our Italian journey with Starbucks’ Italian Roast. Starbucks promises notes of dark cocoa and toasted marshmallow, so let’s see how they match up.

We brewed this in our French press (it’s all about consistency to start, we must be fair!) to our usual specs: 37g grounds, 24oz 202℉ water, steep 3-5 minutes. With a dark roast such as this, pay attention to steep time! If you let it go too long, you will extract the bitter, acrid qualities of darkly roasted coffee and it will be an unpleasant experience. Try not to let it go past the 5 minute mark.

Once brewed, I immediately catch hints of marshmallow and a smoky dark roast. The chocolate is very faint in aroma, nearly lost behind the marshmallow and smoke. In flavor the smoke is very forward and backed by the dark chocolate, which brings a touch of bitterness. The toasted marshmallow tastes more burnt marshmallow to me over a golden toast which adds to the smoky and slightly acidic qualities.

Barista Note: We couldn’t review an Italian roast coffee without brewing it with an Italian system—the Moka pot. Brewed in a Moka Pot, the smoke and dark chocolate flavors are amplified! It was quite gritty (it was in the French press too) which made it even denser. This is not for the faint of heart, even with a splash of milk to even out the smoke.

Overall, this coffee is dark and smoky with a touch of acidity that lingers on the palate. If you are a fan of dark roasted, rich coffees it is worth a try. It has slightly less smoke and tobacco qualities than some French roasts we’ve tried, to help give you a perspective, though it is noticeably darker than your average dark roast and espresso.

Cheers,

Mrs. Brew