Reviews for California Coffee Roasters
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.
Intense, gently pungent aroma with great, low-toned complexity: vanilla, honey, caramel, banana, semi-sweet chocolate. In the cup a heavy bittersweetness and rough mouthfeel initially dominate, but as the cup begins to cool a honeyish sweetness and rich semi-sweet chocolate emerge and persist into the finish.
Deep, sweetly pungent aroma: cedar, banana-like fruit, a hint of flowers. Big-bodied in the cup, with continued pungently sweet character and limited nuance, mainly cedar and some cedar-toned chocolate. Simple but rich in the finish.
In the aroma sweet and pungent with aromatic wood notes and a whiff of fermented fruit. In the cup nutty and sweet; the fermented fruit tones intensify as the cup cools, landing in a potentially intriguing spot somewhere between chocolate and composted apricot.
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.
A delicate acidity is gently rounded though not obscured by a marvelously tactful dark roast, which also turns the fruit richly chocolate-toned. The chocolate nuance weaves through the profile consistently from aroma through finish.
A low-toned but resonant, agreeable blend, crisp with tart, berry-toned fruit. Rather lean-bodied but rich in impression. The finish is sweet and balanced.