I remember the best cup of coffee I've ever had. That's saying a lot, because I've drank one to two cups of coffee every day for the past seven years, at least. But the very best one, it stays with you. It was a drip coffee in Paris, a rainy February morning in 2020, a cup so strong, rich, and bitter that I didn't dare to fuck it up with sugar or milk. Not watery, not lukewarm—perfect. I'll spend my whole life trying to recreate that simple, black coffee at home; and I think I've gotten pretty close.
As a certified coffee snob, I know the difference between a good cup of coffee and a bad cup of coffee, and I know that it comes down to the beans. I know what oily versus dry beans taste like, a dark roast versus a light roast, and I know that the Dark Roast Blend by Stone Street Coffee is my favorite roast, perhaps ever (or at least until I can hunt down whatever they use in Paris). If you, like me, enjoy a strong, bitter, rich cup of coffee, this is the blend for you.
This is a bold flavor to begin with, and on my DeLonghi TrueBrew, I still make this coffee on the "Bold" setting. So, coffee drinkers wary of a ton of flavor and richness, be warned: The Dark Roast Blend isn't your weak cup of joe. This is your "I'm-nursing-a-hangover-so-bad-that-only-this-cup-of-coffee-can-save-me-from-death" kind of coffee. The coffee that wakes you up with just a sip, and definitely the coffee that gets you out of bed in the morning.
There's a very subtle—but real—difference between a coffee that you drink to wake up, and a coffee that you drink purely for the flavor, and this one is the latter. It's delicious, and it's just an extra perk that it's caffeinated. The beans, sourced from Indonesia and South America, are ridiculously smooth and silky, with a nutty, layered aroma that deliciously perfumes my whole kitchen. There's no sharpness or acidity in the bite of this coffee's boldness; it goes down easy, rich and full-bodied, strong without the tartness that'll have you scrunching your face up after a sip.
There's a slightly chocolatey taste in the blend, but it's barely noticeable with how vibrantly strong the coffee is. I've been using these beans whole and letting my TrueBrew do the work of grinding them, but you have the option to buy them already ground, if you want. The beans come in a bag that's one, two, or five pounds, with the option to subscribe on deliveries (a good choice, if you drink coffee every day; I downed my first bag in a couple weeks).
I'll keep drinking this black, though, out of my Santa Claus mug in my little Manhattan apartment. It's certainly not Paris—but I'll be damned if it doesn't taste like it is.
