On the shelves of almost any store you can find products of the Carte Noire brand. This is premium coffee, the distinctive feature of which is its amazing taste, at a relatively low price. It occupies a high position in the ranking of the best brands of instant coffee.
Below you will find interesting facts about the company, product line and customer reviews.
Brand history
Grand'M're founder Rene Mounier created the Carte Noire brand in 1978. In those days, the coffee market, in addition to this company, was occupied by two more. To differentiate himself from them, Rene produced his products exclusively from Arabica, and not from a mixture with Robusta.
The products were of high quality, were loved by customers, and eventually became associated with the elite. Prices were quite high, and, characteristically, they never decreased. The quality remained unchanged at all times.
Then the brand began to move from one company to another. In 1982 it was acquired by Jacobs Suchard, in 1990 by Philip Morris Companies, and in 1993 both of these companies merged into one.
In 2012, Carte Noir joined Mondelz International, and since 2016, Luigi Lavazza. The production of foreign Carte Noire coffee takes place in France. But the plant for Russian consumers is located in the Leningrad region. Accordingly, Carte Noire, which can be bought in Europe, and our domestic one are different in organoleptic parameters.
The cost of French Carte Noir coffee is 2-3 times higher than that of Russian coffee. And although manufacturers try to keep the brand high, coffee lovers assure that there is a difference and quite significant.
Despite the fact that Carte Noire translates as “Black Card” and is produced in Russia, these are different products both in price and in content.
Raw materials and production process
According to the company, selected Arabica varieties collected from plantations in South America, Asia and Africa are used to produce coffee. It is unlikely that you will be able to find out more - even on the company’s official website, very little information is presented.
As a marketing tool, the “Fire and Ice” roasting technology is often mentioned (see which degree of coffee roasting is better). Its essence is as follows: after roasting, a sharp stream of cold air is applied to the grains. This allows you to quickly stop the heating process from the inside.
But, by and large, this is a classic method of processing coffee beans. The point here is to attract interest in the brand’s products through catchy names.
Products are manufactured at the company's own factories located in the Leningrad region.
Production
The brand carefully monitors quality. For this reason, it strictly adheres to the long-standing traditions of product production. Carte Noir is made from Arabica beans of various varieties grown on plantations in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
Experts carefully select only good quality grains for blending. They mix varieties and try new combinations before sending the raw materials for processing.
seals the aroma inside the coffee beans, but at the same time allows all its nuances to be revealed. The raw materials are fried, and then at the very peak of frying they are doused with a cold stream. Other manufacturers are trying to carry out a similar procedure, but the company carefully keeps the nuances of processing secret, so others are unable to fully reproduce it and achieve the desired result. The next stages are grinding, extraction, packaging.
Production technology
The magical properties sometimes attributed to this drink lie in the secret of roasting the beans. The technology used for this is called “Fire and Ice”: the grains are first strongly heated and then rapidly cooled. This shock procedure helps the product not only to “seal” the divine aroma inside each grain, but also to awaken its various shades.
Everything seems simple, however, no matter how coffee competitors tried to duplicate this process in their productions, they always failed: the creators of Carte Noire, without making a secret of their technology, never reveal its nuances, and success may depend on some hundredths of a degree or a couple of seconds spent cooling the product, which will either reduce all efforts to zero or make the aroma of the beans magical.
Another secret of success is careful selection of raw materials . Carte Noire uses Arabica of the highest quality, and it is brought literally from all over the world - from Asia, African countries, from America - South and Central. And the best French masters are responsible for the perfect blend.
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Range
Carte Noir produces several types of coffee - bean, ground, instant and capsule for coffee machines.
In Russia, the assortment of Carte Noir is significantly smaller than in European countries. But any product, if desired, can be ordered in an online store with delivery by courier, transport company or mail.
Grain and ground
In bean and ground form, Carte Noire can be found in two main varieties - Original and Crema Délice.
The true standard for coffee quality is Carte Noire Original. Made from Latin American Arabica beans. The drink is rich, with citrus notes.
Carte Noire Crema Délice is a harmony of strength and softness in every sip. The bouquet is balanced, with hints of nuts.
Soluble
The most popular option is Carte Noire Millicano. Its main difference is that instant coffee capsules contain particles of natural ground grain. The result is an instant drink with the taste and aroma of traditional natural coffee.
For those who want to limit themselves on caffeine, Carte Noire Decaffeine was developed. It can be recognized by its original black and blue packaging. The manufacturer claims that the alkaloid content in the drink is so reduced that it is acceptable to drink even before bed. But do not forget that the technology for creating such a product involves the use of chemical solvents. As a result, the products may not be as harmless as we would like.
Soluble Carte Noir can be purchased in small 1.8 g bags. Such packaging is convenient to take with you to work and on the road.
Tassimo Collection
Tassimo is a capsule for Nespresso coffee machines. Varieties:
- Café Long Delicat with subtle notes of tropical fruit. Made from beans grown in Colombia. Designed for medium volume cups.
- Petit-Dejeuner Intense is used to prepare a large portion of the drink from one capsule. The taste and aroma are rich, intense, harmonious.
- Espresso Aromatique with a mild taste, delicate foam, and pronounced aroma. But it is used for preparing drinks in small portions.
- Café Long Intense for medium cups. The taste of the finished drink is velvety, strong, intense, but slightly bitter and with a dense body.
Please note that the capsules have 3-4 variations. Each of them contains a different amount of compressed coffee, intended for a specific amount of water. If you take the smallest dosage and fill it with the amount of liquid required for a large cup, this will negatively affect the taste and aroma.
Prices and sales locations
You can buy Carte Noire in most supermarkets. The assortment is sufficient, there is plenty to choose from. As a last resort, you can always buy the treasured pack via the Internet.
Approximate prices:
- instant coffee weighing 47.5 g - 190-240 rubles, 95 g - from 270 rubles;
- sachets of 1.8 g (26 pieces per package) – 210-230 rubles;
- grain Carte Noir: from 250 for 230 g, from 950 rub. for 800 g;
- ground – from 260 rub. for 230 g.
For comparison, French-made coffee costs about 1,400 rubles. for a bag of grains 800 g, and for a jar of ground 230 g you will have to pay at least 400 rubles.
Coffee "Black Card"
And now we will tell you about a slightly different coffee, which can easily be confused with the expensive French “Carte Noire” - this is the “Black Card” - a drink produced by the Russian company ZAO Golden Domes Factory. In this case, the assortment is a little simpler in terms of price and a little richer in terms of variety: 1) Instant coffee “Black Card”: - “Gold” - sublimated instant coffee with golden roast (presented in a glass jar, in a ziplock bag, in individual sticks ); — “Premium” — freeze-dried instant coffee from Colombian Arabica with a mild taste (presented in a glass jar, in a ziplock bag); — “Exclusive Brasilia” - freeze-dried instant coffee from Brazilian Arabica, distinguished by its strong taste (presented in a glass jar, in a ziplock bag); — “Collection” — Colombian Arabica coffee (in a can).
2) Ground coffee “Black Card”: - “Ground” - 100% Arabica; — “Turkish coffee” — coffee with a particularly fine grind, suitable for brewing in a cup; — “Coffee for Turkish people”; — “Premium” — ground coffee in gift packaging; - “For brewing in a cup” - coffee from Colombian, Brazilian and Guatemalan Arabica.
3) Coffee beans “Black Card”: - “Black Card beans” - a blend of South American Arabica; — “Coffee for Turkish people”; — “Esspresso Italiano” — exquisite coffee with a chocolate aftertaste. 4) A mixture of instant coffee with ground “Black Card”: - “Turkish Coffee” - a blend of instant coffee with finely ground coffee beans in a ziplock bag. Here is a slightly different assortment of the Russian “Black Card”. When choosing coffee in a store, don’t confuse it, although both options deserve attention, if only to satisfy curiosity. Enjoy your coffee!
Reviews
Kristina, Cherepovets:
Tasty, strong, aromatic, but a little expensive. I mostly buy instant Carte Noir Decaf or Original.
Bogdan, Moscow:
I tried it once, I don't take it again. Terrible taste and smell. As a true coffee lover, I didn’t like it at all.
Albina, Ufa:
I always buy ground or instant Carte Noire Original. The taste is rich, the aroma is bright, and the product is natural, without additives. After three months of use, I did not find any shortcomings. Although sometimes I see negative reviews, I don’t understand them. Maybe they came across a fake?
Anfisa, Moscow:
I didn't like that it was quite expensive. Well, the taste is too rich. In general, it’s not for everyone – tart, intense, aromatic.
