Berk’s Beans Italian Blend green coffee beans are the darkest thing we sell raw. This is the traditional bar roast, the one behind a short, black, bittersweet cup in a cafe in Naples. It is built to go past second crack and still hold together.

Bags come in 1 lb, 3 lb and 5 lb, shipped unroasted from our Concord, CA roastery. The beans are raw and green when they reach you. Italian is the roast level this blend is aimed at, not a roast we already applied at our end.

What the Italian Blend Tastes Like

Take a coffee past second crack and sugars stop being sweet and start being bitter. Handled well that bitterness is pleasant, the way dark chocolate is pleasant. Handled badly it tastes like an ashtray. The difference is which beans you start with and how fast you get there.

Roasted to target, Berk’s Beans Italian Blend green coffee beans give a thick, low acid cup, firmly bitter with burnt sugar underneath. It punches through milk better than anything else we blend. If you want origin character and fruit in the cup this is the wrong coffee entirely, and something like our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Washed is a better place to spend the money.

• Components: multi origin blend chosen for beans that stay sound at very dark roast levels
• Altitude: varies by lot
• Process: mixed washed and natural, depending on what is in season
• Cup notes: built to land on bittersweet chocolate, burnt sugar, a smoky finish
• Body: thick and heavy, almost no acidity
• Best for: moka pot, dark espresso, cappuccino, cafe style black coffee

How to Roast Berk’s Beans Italian Blend Green Coffee Beans

The hard part is not getting dark, it is getting dark without scorching. Come out of first crack with a controlled decline in heat so the roast advances steadily rather than surging. Three levels:

1. Italian, the target. A full minute or more into rolling second crack, with an even coat of oil across the surface. Bittersweet, thick, unmistakable. This is what the blend is built for, and it is where it stops tasting bitter in a bad way and starts tasting bitter in a good way.
2. French, lighter than the target. Drop maybe thirty seconds into second crack. More sweetness survives, less smoke, more body. A reasonable place to start if you have never taken a roast this far and want to sneak up on it.
3. Past Italian, the danger zone. Beyond an even oil sheen you are into charcoal and genuine fire risk. Home roasters catch fire at this level. Do not chase it. If the smoke turns acrid and the beans go matte black, you went too far.

Roast this one with ventilation and stay at the machine. New to dark roasting, read the home roasting FAQ before your first batch of Berk’s Beans Italian Blend green coffee beans. If you plan to brew it the traditional way, Wikipedia has a good article on the moka pot.

Weight Loss and Yield

Green loses 15 to 18 percent of its weight roasting. A pound gives you roughly 13 to 13.5 oz roasted, and this blend sits at the heavy loss end because of how far you take it. Figure about 13 oz per pound, or close to 4 lb from a 5 lb bag.

Storing Berk’s Beans Italian Blend Green Coffee Beans

Keep green coffee cool, dry, dark and able to breathe. A closet shelf beats a garage. Leave it in the bag it arrived in or transfer it to paper or burlap. A year of storage is no problem and often much longer.

Do not vacuum seal and do not freeze it. Green coffee still holds moisture, and it needs air exchange to stay in balance. Sealed airtight or run through freezer temperatures it turns flat and papery, and no amount of roast skill brings that back.

Shipping and Local Pickup

Berk’s Beans Italian Blend green coffee beans ship from Concord, CA, typically within one business day. Local pickup at the roastery is available for East Bay customers. Combine it with anything from the green coffee list in one order.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this already roasted?

No. It is green, raw, unroasted coffee. Italian is the roast level the blend was designed for. It has to be roasted before you can brew it.

Is Italian roast the same as French roast?

Italian is darker. French sits in the early oily range, Italian goes further into second crack with more oil and more bitterness. Our roast level guide compares them side by side.

Can I use this for regular drip coffee?

You can, though the results are strong and bitter. Most people who like this blend brew it in a moka pot, as espresso, or in something with milk.

Is dark roasted coffee lower in caffeine?

By volume yes, by weight the difference is small. Dark roasted beans are less dense, so a scoop holds less coffee. Weigh your dose and it mostly evens out.

Why do my beans look oily two days after roasting?

Expected at this level. Oil migrating to the surface is what defines an Italian roast in the first place. Berk’s Beans Italian Blend green coffee beans also stale faster once roasted this dark, so brew within a couple of weeks.