How do I brew french roast coffee, so that it doesn't taste like ash Recently I've been given (as a gift) a large (40 oz ~ 1.13kg) bag of Starbucks French Roast coffee.
To me it looks, smells and tastes like a burnt coffee.
I usually brew coffee in a moka-pot, french press or paper filter.
I do enjoy darker roasted, Italian espresso, but this French Roast is just too much.
How do I brew it, to get rid of these unpleasant flavors and aromas, so I can enjoy it and not throw away 1kg of coffee?
Starbucks' dark roasts are very dark. It tastes like ash because it contains ash. There's no way around that.
That said, you can minimize the ashy notes in your brew by using the below suggestions:

Lower the brew temperature--cold brew in particular works well for this purpose

Use a coarser grind setting when grinding

If using a hot brew method, reduce the time you let the coffee brew


Use just the first or some combination of all three. It'll take experimentation to get it right.