LATEST REVIEWS

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule at a cup volume of 5.25 ounces): Delicately complex aromatics: suggestions of flowers, chocolate, peach, sweet orange, all of which take on a Riesling-like sweetness and delicacy in nose and cup. Gently bright acidity. Fades rather quickly in the finish.

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule at a cup volume of 5.25 ounces): Smoke and earth notes in the aroma are brightened by a hint of floral-toned vanilla. In the cup, low-toned acidity, substantial body, and continued smoke, earth and floral notes rounded by a quiet caramel sweetness.

Intense, deeply rich aroma dominated by cedar notes with hints of plum or prune that lean toward semi-sweet chocolate. In the cup smooth and substantial in mouthfeel, powerful and balanced, but limited in nuance. Like the cup, the finish is structurally impressive (rich, clean) but simple.

(Pre-ground coffee and roasted soy) The aroma is rich, rather deep, with notes that suggest a nut-toned chocolate. In the cup, however, an intense, rather cloying sweetness overlays an equally intense astringency, complicated by woody nut notes, unsalted peanuts perhaps.

(Whole-bean blend of coffee and roasted pi?on nuts) Very full nose with a sort of toasted apple and cinnamon character plus an odd, cloyingly sweet woodiness. In the cup quite full-bodied with a continued dominating sweet, soapy wood character overriding pleasant chocolate, molasses and perhaps apple and lemon notes.

(Pre-ground blend of coffee, cardamom and cinnamon) The spice sensation is intense and dominating throughout the profile, reading as a bitter, resiny orange with a sharp cinnamon overlay. In the cup the mouthfeel is full and the taste simultaneously sweet and brassily bitter.

(Pre-ground blend of coffee, dry honey and vanilla) Oddly muted aroma dominated by notes that read as a dry, caroby chocolate. Very sweet, sugary, cup with a limiting, drying astringency. The same combination of intense sweetness and heavy astringency marks the finish.

(Whole-bean coffee flavored with natural anise and vanilla extracts on an alcohol base) Intense anise character dominates in the aroma. When I cupped this coffee blind before it was identified for me, I read the anise as a combination of licorice and caraway seed and the vanilla as chocolate. In the cup the anise continues to dominate sharply, overpowering the softer vanilla-cum-chocolate notes. The vanilla/chocolate finally prevails over the sharp anise in the pleasant long finish.

(Pre-ground coffee and roasted chicory root) Strong chicory character in the aroma (woody, peppery prune). In the cup quite sweet, with continued, rather complex chicory influence: peppery prune, aromatic wood, hints of flowers and lemon. The fruit character is particularly pronounced in the tingly and perhaps cloyingly sweet finish.

(Pre-ground blend of coffee and cocoa nibs) Sweet-toned aroma dominated by what reads as nut (walnut?) notes with suggestions of chocolate and dried fruit, perhaps raisin. In the cup round and full in mouthfeel and gently acidy but limited in aromatic range, with a continued dominant nut character and sweet chocolate undercurrents that fade in the slightly tight finish.

(Pre-ground coffee and roasted chicory root) Chicory strongly influences but does not dominate the coffee in this rather lively blend. In the aroma warm, spicy fruit and aromatic wood notes. Brightly and sweetly acidy in the cup, with a gentle, peppery lemon complication. The chicory has the last, tingling word in the finish.

(Whole-bean coffee flavored with natural chocolate and habanero chile extracts on an alcohol base) The flavorings seem discreet and resonate well with the coffee, particularly in the quietly deep aroma. The chocolate reads as the semisweet kind with a dry walnut character; the chile is felt more than tasted, particularly in the warm, gently tingly finish.

(Pre-ground coffee and roasted chicory root) Bright, gently acidy aroma with distinct lemon notes and a hint of raisiny chocolate. In the cup delicately lively with a slight spicy, peppery character and clear lemon and floral top notes. Clean, rich finish.

Cocoa, banana and a hint of cedar in the fine aroma. In the small cup big-bodied, gently and sweetly pungent, with a rich, orange-toned cedar character and cocoa notes that round toward chocolate. Rich short finish, very slightly astringent in the long, but sweet chocolate suggestions persist throughout. Remains in sturdy control in milk, though it never quite sweetens and blossoms.

Hints of banana-toned fruit, chocolate, fresh-baked bread in the complex but rather listless aroma. Thin though silky mouthfeel. Pungent, gently burned cedar character in the cup, with floral and caramelly chocolate suggestions. Nicely malty finish, but a hint of burned building rubber.

Orange, raisiny chocolate, and pungent herbal notes in the aroma. Delicate in the cup, with continued orange-chocolate and pungent herb notes. Slightly bitter in the short finish, but smoothes out and sweetens nicely in the long.

A sweet fruit ferment contributes to an intense aromatic complexity that carries from nose to cup: Spicy, rose-like flowers, honey, blueberry, ripe peach, a hint of chocolate. The finish is rich and blueberry-toned, but cup and finish both stiffen just a bit as the coffee cools, revealing a hint of heavy astringency.

Nut, prune, cedar and citrus, perhaps grapefruit, in the rich, low-toned aroma. Very sweet in the cup, pungent, with continued walnut and citrus notes and suggestions of earth or moist leaves. Everything settles toward chocolate in the rich finish. The cup roughens very slightly as it cools.

Intense aroma: tart cherry, caramel, hints of lemon, flowers, chocolate. In the cup delicate and pure: brings the fresh, dusky floral and tart cherry notes of coffee flowers and fruit into the cup with continuing hints of chocolate and lemon. The finish is clean, simple, ingenuous.

A whisper of an aroma, but a complex one: flowering grass, caramel, honey, a hint of chocolate. Amazingly sweet and delicately lush in the cup, with the honey notes intensifying and the floral notes declaring as spicy tea rose. The honey and floral notes persist in the surprisingly long, resonant finish.