We Tried Bones Coffee Company’s New Extra-Dark Roast

My coffee tastes tend to change when the weather cools down, and I turn away from fruity, tart notes and start looking to more robust, toasty brews.

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Enter Bones Coffee Company, a perfect fit for the season in aesthetic and flavor. I tried Bones’s Maple Waffle Brew a little while back (a perfectly apropos flavor for the fall season as well). In fact, Bones is all about flavored coffees, but now they’re trying something a little different for them: America’s favorite plain old dark-roast joe—made spooky, of course. Although it isn’t pumpkin or maple-flavored or anything like that, I’d argue that After Dark is an even better fit for when the weather gets cold and the ghosts come out to play. There’s nothing like warming up with a robust cup, so I got my hands on this bag of beans to give my honest, tell-all opinion.

Bones Coffee Company After Dark

I’m gonna come right out and say it: I’m not a huge dark-roast fan. Oftentimes, I find that roasting dark is an excuse to serve up low-quality beans (cough, cough—Starbucks). When beans spend more time in the roaster, any defects or less-than-ideal qualities tend to get roasted out. But Bones Coffee Company’s dark roast didn’t adhere to Starbucks’ method.

As soon as I opened the bag, I was hit with a smokey flavor that instantly made me feel warm and cozy inside. I brewed my pot in a French press (a great brewing method for a clean cup that doesn’t cloud out the subtleties in coffee) and I immediately tasted the hallmark chocolatiness of South American coffee. This brew had a nice amount of bitterness to contrast the naturally sweet notes and there was even a hint of saltiness that I really enjoyed, albeit much more so with a dollop of maple syrup in my cup. The maple syrup highlighted the spiced, almost savory, flavors to make the coffee especially complex. 

You could grab the bull by the horns and sip this brew black, but it’s really more of a cup that deserves dressing up. A fat-heavy milk like extra-creamy oat or half-and-half is a must (but not too much) and something special and cold-weather-approved as a sweetener, whether it’s the aforementioned syrup or a little brown sugar.