Blind Assessment

Co-cupper Jim Reynolds and Ken both admired this coffee, but Ken, at 90, was less admiring than Jim at 95. Essentially, Jim found everything he wanted in an African coffee of this style - a combination of complexity, balance and deep dimension - whereas Ken liked what he found but wanted more of it, more intensity and a more pronounced, distinctive character. Both admired a bright, citrusy but delicate acidity, silky mouthfeel, and a mildly pungent chocolate that Jim described as "smoky chocolate" and Ken as "cocoa and aromatic wood." Jim found the aftertaste "lingering," Ken found it pleasing but short.

Notes

Rwanda's tremendous potential as fine coffee producer has only come to fruition over the past four to five years owing to generous support from international aid agencies, the specialty coffee community and the industry of its growers. This coffee, from the Bufcafe (also Bufcoffee) Cooperative, is produced entirely from trees of the heirloom Bourbon variety of Arabica. Zingerman's Coffee is a specialty roasting company associated with Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, praised as "one of the top 25 food markets in the world" by Food & Wine magazine. It offers a relatively small but sensitively sourced and roasted menu of specialty coffees. Visit www.zingermanscoffee.com or call 734-929-6060 for more information.

Who Should Drink It

A darkish (but not dark) roast style is felt but not tasted in this subtly complex Bourbon-style Africa coffee, making it a cup both comfortable yet distinctive.

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