COFFEE REVIEW
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We found 57 reviews that match your search for guinea. Coffees are listed in reverse chronological order by review date. Older reviews may no longer accurately reflect current versions of the same coffee. Click on roaster images to visit roaster websites.
Intense, rich, deeply sweet aroma: dark chocolate, aromatic wood, a hint of fruit. In the cup balanced acidity, silky to lightly syrupy mouthfeel, and continued dark chocolate with a sweetly tart orange-toned fruit that becomes more pronounced as the coffee cools. Some chocolate carries into a rich, very slightly astringent finish. |  
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Sweet, round aroma with soft notes of nut, milk chocolate and a suggestion of fruit. In the cup full body, smooth mouthfeel, soft acidity, with aromatic notes turning deeper and more intense: dark chocolate, aromatic wood, nut. The dark chocolate turns very slightly bitterish in the long, dry finish. | |
A darkish roast turns the pungent, slightly earth-toned fruit toward grapefruit and butterscotch in the aroma. In the cup round, resonant acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The pungent, butterscotch-like fruit takes on clear floral and chocolate complications that strengthen in the finish. Flavor outlasts a very mild astringency in the long. | |
Round floral aroma with mild fruitiness and sweet vanilla. In the small cup the lightly syrupy mouthfeel compliments continued floral flavors and a sweet citrus that merges seamlessly with soft chocolate, nut and cherry notes. The citrus quality lingers in the finish with impressive balance between tartness and sweetness. In two parts milk the floral note surfaces again, along with soft toasty flavors mingling caramel and nutty, milky chocolate. |  |
A well balanced, moderately dark-roasted cup. Aromatic hints of fruit, dark chocolate and cocoa nibs. In the cup softly balanced acidity, suggestions of tangerine, honey and cocoa tinged nut, accompanied by a sustained fruity sweetness. A distinct floral quality develops as the cup cools. The dry, pungent dark chocolate hinted at in the aroma reemerges in a mildly astringent finish. | |
Ken (93) and co-cupper Jennifer Stone (92) both remarked on the bright, richly floral character of the aroma. In the cup quietly vibrant acidity, smooth mouthfeel, continued gentle richness, with a flavor complex that combines lush night flowers with a sweet pungency pointing at cedar, caramel and deep-toned, carnal fruit: apricot, mango. Long, deep finish. | |
Sweet-toned, foresty aroma; co-cupper Jennifer Stone (90) found flowering grass and herb; Ken (91) freshly cut wood and night flowers. In the cup gently bright acidity, full body with lightly syrupy mouthfeel, and continued garden-toned aromatics: flowers (both Ken and Jennifer), nut (Ken), citrus (Jennifer). Sweetness envelopes a slight astringency in the "resonant" (Jennifer) finish. | |
Quiet, balanced profile that holds up with particular grace as the cup cools. Co-cupper Jennifer Stone (90) remarks on the clean simplicity of the profile with perhaps a coffee romantic's regret at a lack of aromatic intrigue; nevertheless, both Ken (91) and Jennifer found subtleties in the aromatics and flavor, with Ken reading sweet, subdued citrus and cocoa, Jennifer spicy stone fruit, and both remarking on the distinct floral notes. Softly assertive acidity, medium body, sweet finish. | |
Co-cupper Jennifer Stone (88) remarked on this coffee?s winy acidity and pungent flavor and aromatics; Ken (89) glossed pungent with references to spicy aromatic wood and backgrounded dark chocolate. The finish stays on the rich side of astringent. | |
Crisp, straightforward coffee; co-cupper Jennifer Stone (89) was impressed by its full mouthfeel and rather deep dimension, Ken (88) by its general balance and poise. The pleasant but muted aromatics were difficult to sort out with any precision; Jennifer tended toward caramel and chocolate; Ken was more into nut. Lest that sounds too much like sundae toppings, these were crisp, bitter-sweet, coffee-contexted nuances. | |
Both co-cupper Jennifer Stone (88) and Ken (90) remark on a distinct natural sweetness running from aroma through a gentle acidity to a long, resonant finish. Ken found more to remark on in regard to aromatic and flavor notes: nut and a hint of milk chocolate in the aroma, a more explicit chocolate in the cup, together with a hint of cherryish fruit. Delicate, rather lean mouthfeel. | |
A sensitive but very dark roast dominates the profile. Co-cupper Jennifer Stone (88) describes the aroma as "deep" and "complex"; Ken (88) finds dark chocolate and charred aromatic wood as well as floral top notes in the nose. In the cup the body is medium, the mouthfeel "thin" (Jennifer) to "lean" (Ken) but the general character of the cup is richly and crisply roasty, with continued dark chocolate, charred wood and distinct floral notes, all of which carry with impressive persistence and clarity into the mildly astringent finish. | |
The difference between co-cupper Jennifer Stone?s score of 84 and Ken's 89 depended on how they responded to a shadow fault in an otherwise impressive, complex coffee. The fault emerged as the coffee cooled; Jennifer simply called it an "off" note; Ken described it as vaguely metallic though very faint. Slight fault aside, this is a classic South Pacific profile, gently pungent with aromatic wood and nut notes softened by hints of bananaish fruit and night flowers. | |
Very sweet-toned, complex aroma: floral top notes, orangy citrus, chocolate. In the small cup balanced, lightly syrupy mouthfeel, naturally sweet, with a flavor dominated by fresh-cut fir with continued hints of chocolate, orange and flowers. Long, clean, flavor-saturated finish. Rather sharp in two parts milk, but blooms nicely in three parts, softening and turning toward a crisp, minty chocolate. | |
Sweetly and lavishly tart aroma: orange, butterscotch, hints of nut and cherry. In the cup quiet, vibrant acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel, continued orange and cherry notes with suggestions of dry berry and chocolate. Simple but rich finish. | |
Sweet-toned, softly acidy, dominated by fresh-cut wood notes, with a second wave of sensation suggesting a sort of herb-toned dark chocolate. The chocolate notes carry directly into an impressively sweet, round finish. | |
Lushly complex aroma: flowers, honey, molasses and sweetly tart fruit notes that suggest grapefruit. In the cup moderate in acidity, medium in body, with an opulent candyish, molasses-toned floral character and continued tart fruit notes enriched by a slight, brandy-like ferment. Clean, rich finish. The cup flattens very slightly as it cools. | |
Sweet-toned, delicate aroma with butter notes and hints of chocolate and Mediterranean spice. Even sweeter in the cup, still delicate but rich, softly acidy and quietly complex with distinct floral notes and a crisp, subtle fruit that suggests Riesling table wine or perhaps black currant. The fruit notes turn toward cocoa in the long, continuing sweet finish. | |
Delicate but deep aroma, with chocolate, pipe tobacco and leather notes. In the cup earthy but richly sweet, almost sugary, with cherry fruit notes that acquire a chocolate depth in the profoundly sweet finish. | |
Delicate aroma with softly pungent cedar and sweet tomato notes. In the cup gently and crisply acidy, with distinct floral notes and coffee fruit that reads as a tart, chocolate-toned cherry. A simple but very pure coffee expression. | |
Sweetly smoky, deep-toned aroma with fruit notes that suggest a sort of chocolaty papaya. In the cup deeply and fundamentally sweet, with spicy, smoky tones and a lush fruit that again suggested chocolate, but with a sweet grapefruit cast. Clean, rich, long finish. | |
Softly low-toned fruit - bananas, semi-sweet chocolate - with a twist of cedar in the aroma. In the cup sweetly earthy with a fruit that displays a hint of ferment. Together this package reads as an earthy orange or raisin with a lean toward semi-sweet chocolate. Quietly rich, slightly rough finish with a pleasingly persistent earthy chocolate character. | |
Sweetly smoky, cedary aroma with a hint of semi-sweet chocolate. In the cup a particularly full body and creamy mouthfeel, sweetly and richly acidy, but with limited nuance - hints of cedar and tart cherry, perhaps a continuing suggestion of semi-sweet chocolate. Simple but sweetly rich finish. | |
Very sweet, caramelly aroma with milk chocolate notes and hints of earth and cedar. In the cup richly acidy, with continued caramel and milk chocolate notes. Rather limited in nuance but not a lazy cup; a simple, straightforwardly pleasing gesture. | |
Deep, sweet-toned, buttery aroma with a spicy, cedary chocolate and a hint of fruit, pear perhaps. In the cup delicately robust, with a roundly lush but continuing spicy, cedary, almost black-peppery chocolate and a suggestion of coconut, the sweet processed kind. Roundly rich finish. | |
Simple but deep aroma, with resonant raisiny chocolate tones. In the cup lean-bodied, delicate, fundamentally sweet and rather lush but dryly smoky with a hint of fruit that reads as white wine or grapefruit. Concludes simply but richly. | |
Softly sweet-toned, rather simple aroma - raisin and chocolate notes. In the cup a lean but rather silky mouthfeel, with continued raisin and sweet pipe tobacco notes and a continued lean toward milk chocolate. Simple, straightforward finish with a shimmer of astringency in the long. | |
Most cups of this sample were very sweet in aroma and flavor, with soft earth tones (think the odor of freshly fallen, moist leaves that have just begun to compost), and pleasingly round cherry, cocoa and caramel notes. Unfortunately one cup of five was very, very foul tasting, probably owing to a bad bean called a "stinker," so we deducted 4 points from a coffee that otherwise might merit a 90. | |
Richly mid-toned aroma with sweet earth notes complicated by hints of caramel, chocolate and Mediterranean herbs. In the cup a lush sweetness envelopes intensified chocolate and caramel notes and continuing sweet earth and pungent herb tones, with a hint of grapefruity citrus. This complexity fades rather quickly in an otherwise pleasant finish. Nominating reader Al Welker cites this coffee as "very special giving a mellow low acid cup when roasted medium." | |
The aroma, sweetly pungent with a hint of chocolaty fruit, provided only a hint of the intensity displayed by the cup - high-toned and richly acidy, with a simple but powerful flavor complex: dry berry (aka black current), a hint of grapefruit, and rich, dry chocolate. | |
A gentle, sweet coffee whose balance and understated depth and completeness genuinely merits the word elegant. A delicate, dry chocolate flits through the profile from aroma through finish; the acidity is soft, rich, and sweet with pink grapefruit notes. | |
A cup that will put off purist coffee professionals but please everyone else: Fermented fruit tones that require some imagination to read as cherryish chocolate in the aroma simply explode with extravagantly complex fruit and floral nuance in the cup. As the cup cools the fruit seems to shed its ambiguous ferment entirely and turn cleanly lush. | |
Opens with a very sweet, very intense but balanced aroma complicated by apples and flowers. In the cup the gentle acidity subordinates itself to a melodic sweetness and a rich, deeply dimensioned chocolate- and apple-toned fruit. Lyric and seductive. | |
The aroma is high-toned but pungent, laced with caramel, cantaloupe and leather. In the cup a sweet, wine-toned fruit leads, with richly malty, bracingly bitter tones opening up behind. The bitterness dissolves in the long, clean, chocolate-toned finish. | |
Delicate apple, leather, and milk chocolate notes in the sweet, mid-toned aroma. The cup is explicit in its clear chocolate notes, complicated by dry fruit tones that suggest raisins or dates. Substantial body and a sweet, clean finish. | |
The aroma is subdued and gently roasty. Clear, dry, deep-toned chocolate-fruit notes carry from aroma through cup to a slightly bitter but rich finish. | |
This smoky, dark-roasted coffee pleased Ken and co-taster Willem Boot more in flavor than in body. Aromatics and flavor were "smoky, rich and sweet" (Ken), "dark chocolate and smoky" (Willem). Ken found the body "gritty," however, Willem "oily and heavy." The cup softened but didn't sweeten in milk, where it was "smoky and dry" for Ken with a "butterscotch finish" for Willem. Willem 85, Ken 85. | |
Exquisitely balanced cup. Delicately acidy and sweet with clean, high-toned
fruit that nods gently at chocolate. Restrained yet complex; precious. Green buyer Carl Leonard
finds this coffee "exhibits all the best attributes [that this] origin should deliver."
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An almost impossibly sweet, smooth dark roast, cleanly roasty, without
bitterness. Complex but almost subliminal hints of meaty fruit, apricot perhaps, with patience
suggest chocolate. | |
Reader Derick Miller called Graffeo to my attention, testifying that this group
of three small in-store roasters produces "great coffee." I found this light-roasted version of the
Graffeo blend acidy but sweet, rich, with a broad flavor range including delicate orange and floral
notes. Both aroma and finish showed a slight bitter edge which rounded and softened as the cup
cooled.
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Reader Derick Miller called Graffeo to my attention, testifying that this group
of three small in-store roasters produces "great coffee." I brewed this dark-roasted version of the
Graffeo blend as espresso and found it medium-bodied, smooth in mouthfeel, sweet but crisply
roasty. In small milk the bittersweetness read as a dry, smoky chocolate; in larger milk as a
delicately sweet but rather dilute chocolate.
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A balanced, straightforward West-Coast American espresso. In the demitasse bittersweet with a slant toward the bitter side, complicated by brisk cocoa tones. Medium-bodied but smooth. The cocoa tones turn agreeably fruity in milk, where the shot softens without losing character. | |
A ripe, almost overripe, sweetness carries giddily from aroma to finish, anchored by a discreet touch of roast pungency. The lush fruit tones flirt with ferment but stay on the sweet side. A wonderfully juicy, deeply dimensioned coffee. | |
Most members of the panel loved this coffee. Favorite adjectives: Aroma: caramelly and floral. Acidity: sweet and bright. Body: creamy and full. Flavor: floral, fruity, complex, balanced. Aftertaste: clean and resonant. Two panelists dissented, one of whom acknowledged the floral notes but dismissed them as "past-their-prime lilacs." | |
A classically bright yet sweet cup shimmering with seductive floral and wine-like fruit notes. This coffee attracted lavish praise from the panel: "fruity, floral, working well together"; "noble fruit notes!"; "[light] body but very clean like a great Pinot"; "rich, sweet, very aromatic." Given such enthusiasm, why didn 't this fine coffee attract a higher aggregate rating? Perhaps owing to its relatively light body, perhaps owing to the barest hint of astringent imbalance in the acidity. | |
Low-key, with a pungent intrigue in the nose that most panelists identified as nut, but which hinted at something more carnal. I was reminded of a combination of bouillon and prunes. Another panelist was less specific but more evocative: "Odd perfume notes that linger on the tongue. Musky, sweaty flavor." | |
I suspect only a slight astringency in the aftertaste prevented this Papua New Guinea from pushing up near the top of the ratings. Panelists liked its smoky aroma ("brownies baking" said one), its soft sweetness, and its understated character. Its rather metallic, salty astringency was barely detectable, but, once observed, distracting. | |
This sweet, deep-toned coffee with its pruny fruit notes edging toward chocolate attracted considerable praise, though some panelists expressed ambivalence: "some character but not too interesting next to others"; "[a kind of] sweet, fruity flavor that I don 't much care for." Perhaps a faded mustiness restrained this coffee 's considerable potential. | |
Panelists described a clean-tasting, agreeable coffee that was perhaps too agreeable, low-key to a fault. "Good balance, but not much to balance," complained one panelist. "Nothing really to grab onto," wrote another. Finished well, with a hint of chocolate, and the cup seemed to strengthen in character a bit as it cooled. | |
A coffee whose interesting sweet fruit tones ("apricot" hazarded one panelist) edge into ferment, the overripe-cum-rotten flavor caused by sugars that prematurely ferment in the coffee fruit, tainting the bean inside the fruit. Complicating the ferment is a related off taste that some panelists tolerated and described with terms like "tobaccoey" and others condemned as "animal-like" and "skunky." In short, a promisingly sweet, complex coffee gone wrong. | |
An unusually full body gives the dominating pungency of this extreme dark roast solidity and substance. Some smoky notes and high-toned sweetness survive the rigors of the roast. | |
A understated but profoundly complex coffee that rewards patience. The nose is restrained, but in the cup a roundly rich pungency is balanced by pronounced sweetness and nuanced by subtle wine tones. The finish is resonant, the aftertaste long, sweet and clean. | |
An unexceptional but comfortable Pacific profile: pungent but not sharp, round, medium-bodied, with a hint of dry, wine-like fruit as the cup cools. | |
The earthy flavor dominates the profile. Fortunately, the earth tones are pleasingly sweet and fresh, with just enough herby pungency to complicate rather than distract. The sweetness intensifies toward the finish. The hardness that sometimes sits on the profiles of back-yard-processed coffees like these is barely detectable here. | |
High, wild, winy notes rip through this coffee, first thrilling us, then turning uncomfortably lush in the finish, finally leveling out in a relatively clean aftertaste. American coffee culture hasn't made up its mind about this overripe, edge-of-compost taste. Is it a strange and wonderful gift of nature to be treasured, like the carefully cultivated mold in certain cheeses? Or do we dismiss it as a symptom of poorly-handled coffee? | |
My rating for this coffee rose steadily as it cooled. At first the profile seemed pleasant yet inert, without lift or innuendo. But as I came back to it the coffee seemed to elevate, lighten and sweeten, and in the end the combination of substantial body and unassuming sweetness won me over. | |
Some winy notes flirt from inside the dark-roast pungency. Otherwise an unremarkable but solid dark-roast coffee: balanced, without sharpness, and nearly carbon-free. | |
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