LATEST REVIEWS

Distinct musty notes in the aroma read as aromatic wood, black pepper, orange, grapefruit. In the cup medium body but syrupy mouthfeel, with continued musty notes that are more explicit here than in the aroma, with aromatic wood, pepper and raw nut dominating. Simple, sweet, mildly astringent finish.

Sweet-toned, deep, complex aroma: spice notes (ginger, cardamom) and sweet clayish earth that suggests a sort of butterscotch. In the cup syrupy mouthfeel, very sweet, almost candyish. Some surprising floral hints surface, and the spicy earth notes turn toward a dark chocolate. The finish is sweet with a slight astringency. A hint of an off note resembling raw potato in some cups discouraged a higher rating for this complex, interesting coffee.

The aroma is sweet and soft with surprising and agreeable floral and fresh orange notes that carry into a heavy, sweet, lushly floral-toned cup. An odd note in both aroma and cup that for me suggested raw, unroasted nuts dampened my enthusiasm for this otherwise distinctive and impressive coffee. This background note struck me as cloying and on the edge of unpleasant, but if you like it then you will no doubt like this coffee, because the dominating floral and orange notes are both unusual and attractive.

Impressive and unique aroma: sweet-toned, delicate yet heavy with notes of night flowers, orange, honey, and moist fallen leaves. In the cup soft acidity, silky mouthfeel, and continued lush notes of honey, fresh fallen leaves and night flowers. The sweetness carries into the finish though the flavor fades quickly. A hint of a note that I associate with raw nuts surfaced now and then. I do not care for this note and neither do most coffee cuppers; otherwise I would assign a rating of well over 90 to this quite unique sensory profile.

A classic Sumatra balance of sweet fruit and rich earth notes animate aroma and cup. The fruit displays a distinct black-cherry and orange character, particularly in the aroma, though flavor fades rather quickly in the very mildly astringent finish.

Low-toned, simple but resonantly deep coffee, with variants of smoke and chocolate notes running from aroma to cup. As the cup cools the smoky character subordinates itself to delicate chocolate and orangy floral notes. Very clean, sweet finish. The smoke notes, by the way, appear to be a variant on the musty/malty character of the unroasted monsooned beans, not a symptom of a darker roast.

Sweetly rich in aroma and cup, with ripe orange, clayish earth, caramel, roasted nut and grapefruit notes. The body is medium but the mouthfeel silky. The finish is particularly impressive: rich, sweet and long, saturated to the end with distinct, pleasing grapefruit notes.

Evaluated as espresso. Muted, nicely modulated fruit ferment notes read as a brandied chocolate in the aroma. In the small cup sweet and deep with fullish body, slightly rough mouthfeel and cedar, flowers and continuing brandied cherry and chocolate. Long, flavor-saturated finish. Sweetens nicely in milk with good chocolate character, though fades and thins a bit toward the finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Crisply sweet though rather simple aroma with some complicating hints: fruity chocolate, fresh leather. In the small cup fullish body, smooth mouthfeel, roundly rich but rather neutral in nuance: cedar, semi-sweet chocolate, nut. Recovers in a sweet, clean, distinctly chocolate-toned finish and blooms opulently in milk: round, deep, chocolaty, long-finishing.

Evaluated as espresso. In the aroma rather bright, high-toned, fruity: cherry, cherry-toned milk chocolate. In the small cup medium-bodied with a lightly syrupy mouthfeel and a continued tart sweetness that reads as a citrus-toned cherry. Clean, rich, simple finish. In milk softens to a delicate milk chocolate with a continued slightly tart edge.

Crisp, intense, yet sweetly lyric coffee. In both aroma and cup black currant, blackberry, orange, cherry; in the cup hints of cocoaish chocolate and merlot-like red wine as well. Long, sweet finish just on the rich side of astringent.

Sweet-toned, delicate aroma: distinct flowers (lilac?) orange, hints of honey and muted cedar. In the cup soft, sweet acidity, flowering grass, cocoa, orange. A slight grassy astringency in the finish suggests that at the time we cupped this coffee it was a bit too young. It may improve in the months following this review.

Deep, complex aroma: smoke, grapefruit, berry, hints of butterscotch and dark chocolate. In the cup delightful in front: crisply sweet, delicately roasty with grapefruit, dry berry and cocoaish chocolate notes. Remains quite sweet and rich in the short finish; grows slightly heavy in the long.

Sweet-toned, deep aroma with cedar, flowering grass, earth notes. Full-bodied in the cup, where the earth notes intensify (think moist, freshly fallen leaves) with nuance that suggests butterscotch and perhaps walnut. Rich, simple finish.

Deep, sweet-toned, roasty aroma: smoke, butter, flowers, cedar. Simplifies in the cup, where the roast dominates, though with some delicacy: continued smoke, cedar, butter, flowering grass notes. The aromatic notes soften and consolidate toward chocolate in the rich, sweet finish.

Crisply roasty in the aroma: gently scorched cedar, cardamom, with a softening hint of semi-sweet chocolate. In the cup lean but silky mouthfeel and a simple but properly robust impression of scorched cedar, spicy nut and a suggestion of dark chocolate. Finishes on the impressively rich side of astringent with good flavor persistence.

Sweet-toned, deep aroma: cedar, walnut, hints of orange, chocolate and flowers. In the cup sweet, roasty but delicate, with continued walnut, orange, and a cocoaish chocolate. The mouthfeel is silky but a roasty astringency begins to dominate as the cup cools. The finish is rich, sweet and chocolate-toned; it grows slightly heavy as it fades but a sweet chocolate has the last word.

Sweet-toned, quietly intense aroma: jasmine, sweet citrus, cocoa. In the cup the mouthfeel is silky, almost syrupy, the acidity intense but delicate with shimmers of white wine. Orange, lemon, cocoaish chocolate, floral notes. Long, deep, flavor-saturated finish.

Intense, exuberantly complex aroma: orange, grapefruit, honey, cedar, black currant. In the cup the acidity is intense and sweet, the mouthfeel syrupy, the flavor continuingly complex, dry yet lush: black currant, grapefruit, wine, a hint of milk chocolate. The finish is superb: saturated with grapefruit and chocolate, sweet, rich, long.

The surprise here is how well this blend performs in longer milk drinks. As a straight espresso it is agreeable enough, dominated in the aromatics by low-toned, musty notes that read as a raisiny semi-sweet chocolate or perhaps a spicy, cantaloupe-like fruit. The body is medium to full, the finish simple and rich with a slight astringent edge. The blend exerted a powerful though heavy dark-chocolate presence in short milk, but with more latte-like quantities of milk it bloomed with great sweetness and vivacity.