Roaster:
Allegro
Roast:
Extra-dark
Origin:
Blend
Decaffeination Method:
Swiss Water Process
Taste:
Dark chocolate, molasses, hazelnut
The Roaster
Allegro Coffee is one of the largest roasters in the craft coffee world. It was founded in Boulder, CO in 1977, putting its origins somewhere between the second and third waves of coffee. The roaster was already a major success by the time the 90s dawned, having secured distribution throughout the United States. Their market share skyrocketed, however, when they were bought by Whole Foods in 1997.
In the years since the acquisition, Allegro has continued to be a major arm of Whole Foods coffee offerings, even as the store added Whole Foods branded options as well. We’ve been largely impressed by Whole Foods coffee offerings, so I was excited to see how Allegro was handling decaf.
The Roast
Allegro offers a healthy roster of four decaf options. Today, I sampled their Decaf Organic Italian Roast. While Italian-style roasts have previously been used to mask poor quality beans, this also makes a great Italian roast truly stand out.
The beans available were unfortunately only pre-ground. As always when I review a pre-ground, I offer the caveat that I’m not reviewing the coffee under ideal conditions. Like any Italian style coffee, these beans are roasted ultra dark. They are decaffeinated via the Swiss Water Process. Beyond this, Allegro offers frustratingly little information about this roast. A roast date and countries of origin are not listed.
The Decaf Organic Italian Roast had, as you might expect, a dark and complex aroma. It smelled pleasantly of burnt toast. There’s also plenty of deep, woody smoke present.
Tasting Notes
This roast offered a lovely, smooth mouthfeel. It was quite full-bodied and silky, without feeling overly thick. If you enjoy the classic, rich feel of deeply roasted coffee, you’ll definitely enjoy these beans.
As usual, I prepared the coffee in a pourover. The first sip was, naturally, very dark. It did not suffer from the overly burnt qualities of many mass produced Italian roasts (I’m thinking of a certain Seattle giant named after a Moby Dick character, but I won’t name names.) Instead, this had the pleasant char of a good ultra-dark roast. It had strong molasses and caramelized sugar notes, which played nicely with the dark backdrop. There was plenty of smoke in the background too.
I was also happy with the acidity of the coffee. It still retained enough acid to not make the roast taste overwhelmingly dark and one-note. It had a similarly mellow sweet characteristic. I’m sure this would make a solid shot of espresso. While it might lack the chocolatey depth of the best French or Italian roasts, it more than holds its own.
Final Thoughts
If you enjoy dark coffee, this is a great option. Fans of fruitier, lighter roasts won’t find much here, but that’s because of the roast’s style, not the roast’s quality. It avoids many of the pitfalls that Italian roasts often fall into. This wasn’t a revelatory cup of coffee, but it was a quite solid one with plenty to like about it.
