Kicking Horse Grizzly Claw Dark Roast

Full review

Grizzly Claw is built around a single decision: push the roast to its absolute limit. That choice produces predictable results. The Central and South American blend that went into the drum is functionally irrelevant to what comes out of it, because no origin character survives 5/5 roast intensity intact. What you get instead is a cup defined entirely by the roast: cacao dryness, hazelnut depth, low acid, and a body that coats the tongue and holds up through milk and extended steeps. That would be a liability in a lighter roast or a single-origin context. Here, it is the product.

In French press, the 4/5 body comes through most clearly. The coarse grind gives the extraction a clean run, and the brown sugar sweetness at 3/5 has enough room to register above the chocolate base. This is where the bitterness restraint earns its keep. At maximum roast intensity, a 3/5 bitterness score is not guaranteed; some dark roasts at this level turn astringent once water temperature pushes past 205F. Grizzly Claw does not. The finish dries but stops short of harshness, which is what makes it practical across multiple cups in a row.

Against Kicking Horse Kick Ass Dark Roast, the performance difference comes down to that bitterness gap. Kick Ass runs harder on body and roast, which gives it more density but less room for the sweetness to surface. Grizzly Claw pulls back just enough to let the brown sugar read through, making it more versatile across different extraction lengths. That matters most in long drip cycles and immersion brews where astringency compounds.

Peet's Major Dickason's Blend covers similar territory from a flavor standpoint. Both are heavy-body dark roast blends with near-zero acidity, built for drip and milk drinks. The difference is the back half of the cup: Major Dickason's carries herbal and spiced notes that add depth through the finish. Grizzly Claw stays on chocolate and hazelnut without anything behind it. In a drip carafe with milk, the gap largely disappears. In a slow black pour-over, Major Dickason's holds attention longer.

Drip and pour over both work, with one consistent note: water temperature matters more than with medium roasts. Above 205F and the cacao dryness tips toward astringency. Below 200F and the sweetness drops out. The band is real, but it is not delicate. Most setups that handle medium roasts will handle this without drama.

Cold brew is technically supported and the body holds through the dilution. The problem is that an 18-hour steep is a flavor extraction investment, and this cup has nothing to develop at cold temperatures. No origin brightness, no fruit character, nothing the slow extraction can reveal. Use cold brew for a coffee that has something at stake in its origin profile; this roast already spent that currency in the drum.

The 35.2oz format drives the value conversation. At high household consumption, the cost-per-cup competes with commodity dark roasts and the organic certification adds something real at that tier. For a solo drinker, the math flips: maximum roast intensity accelerates oxidation once the bag is opened, and the last third of a 35.2oz bag will taste flat before it is finished.

Keep pulling the thread: Dark roast guide, Central and South America blend origin guide, and more from Kicking Horse Coffee.

At 35.2oz, this is a bulk-format dark roast positioned above commodity grocery tiers on the strength of its organic certification and the Kicking Horse brand.