Intense by Velours Noir

Intense by Velours Noir is an intensely dark but well-balanced espresso with an aroma of sour cherries in the dark chocolate. The taste is pleasantly bitter but still retains a light, fruity character.

Aroma

This espresso has an intense and well-balanced aroma of sour cherries and darkly roasted coffee. Fruity acidity and the dark chocolate bitterness are followed by the sweetness of demerara sugar, hints of spices and a whiff of smoke.

Taste

An intense, herbally bitter taste is balanced by light, fruity acidity. These are followed by a pleasant, dry mouthfeel of the dark cocoa powder. The short, creamy aftertaste finishes on a mild, smokey note.

Extraction

Consistent flow rate and pressure deliver nice, tall crema.

Our rating

Very good

Packaging

The decently decorated box contains neatly packed capsules made entirely of aluminium. Aluminium capsules are non-biodegradable but can be recycled if emptied and collected with metal trash. The description on the packaging promises subtle but intense espresso. Intensity rating is 10.

Notes

The Intense edition of Velours Noir capsules is a very nice example of darkly roasted coffee done right. This 100% Arabica blend is intensive and bitter but still retains its fruity and sweet notes.

These Velours Noir capsules are, after L’Or Supremo and Papua New Guinea capsules, another instance of new, wholly-aluminium capsules that we tested. Aluminium capsules benefit from their full compatibility with Nespresso® coffee machines. The design of Velours Noir capsules is quite similar to that of the L’Or capsules. In fact, this is not a coincidence. Both L’Or and Velours Noir are brands of Jacobs Douwe Egberts. From the marketing point of view, Velours Noir is positioned below L’Or. This is apparent from the less lavishly decorated packaging and capsules and also from the pricing, at least at the French market. Fortunately, both brands keep the very high quality of their coffee.