LATEST REVIEWS

(As tasted in a Krups 1010 single-serve brewing device using a 62mm diameter "Home Cafe" pod at a cup volume of 7.5 ounces): Sweetly acidy, winey, high-toned aroma, with some rounding caramel and vanilla notes. In the cup surprisingly full-bodied, sweetly balanced, complicated by wine (more rose than cabernet), vanilla, floral notes. Cleanly sweet, cherry-toned finish. (In the Black & Decker One Cup Coffee Maker and Mr. Coffee AT13, lower-priced single-serve machines taking similar-sized pods, the same Folgers 100% Colombia pod attracted a rating of 81. In the Bunn My Cafe, a machine designed to take multiple sizes of pod, the same pod scored 82.)

(As brewed in a Bunn My Cafe MCP single-serve brewing device using a 62mm pod at a cup volume of 5 ounces): Distinct sweet cocoa notes in the aroma, along with hints of low-acid fruit, cherry perhaps. In the cup richly acidy, lean-bodied but rich, with continued sweet cocoa and tart cherry notes with a shimmer of vanilla. Rich, tart but not overly astringent finish. The same pod brewed in the Krups 1010 at a cup volume of 6 ounces scored an 85 with a basically similar profile and description.

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule at a cup volume of 5.25 ounces): Subdued aroma, with dry fruit (cherry?) and fresh leather notes. In the cup shallow in sensation but crisply balanced, with suggestions of Meyer lemon, white wine, tart cherry edging toward chocolate. Thin but pleasantly sweet, cherry-toned finish.

Sweet-toned aroma with a tightly knit, fruit-toned complexity: chocolate, dry berry, banana perhaps. Very sweet in the cup, almost sugary in impression, complicated by a classic African tart berry character: black currant or cassis, with hints of sweet lemon and chocolate. Tartly sweet, clean finish.

Elegantly high-toned aroma: lemon, peach, berry, a delicate hint of walnut. In the cup medium in body but silky in mouthfeel, with crisply sweet, delicately acidy dry berry and Meyer lemon notes. The finish hovers on the edge of astringency but stays on the rich, bracing side of the sensation.

An extraordinary coffee in the earth and fruit style of traditional Indonesias. In the aroma moist leaves turning toward fresh earth, together with buttery, candyish top notes. In the cup full-bodied, with pungent, moist earth tones and crisp, low-acid fruit notes suggesting pear and cherry. The pungent tones smooth out in a sweetly rich finish.

Dominated by a sweetly fermented fruit that reads as a rich, brandy-toned, cherryish chocolate. This lush flavor complex is heady in the aroma and sweetly refreshing in the cup. As the coffee cools, however, the ferment reveals a very slight bitter edge.

A rich and vividly fermented fruit dominates. The cherry-toned ferment is overlaid by a cedary roastiness in the aroma. In the cup the ferment deepens toward a dark chocolate and brandied cherry, but also displays a distracting pine or rosemary pungency. Smoothes out toward a cleanly rich chocolate in the short finish, though slightly astringent in the long.

A subtle, quietly complex profile. Delicate aroma, complicated by suggestions of spicy cherry and dry chocolate. In the cup sweetly and softly acidy, buoyant, with a tart chocolate complication; think pie cherries and milk chocolate. The chocolate persists in the simple but rich finish.

Intense aroma with a tightly knit complexity: muted spice, apple, pear, chocolate. In the cup sweet, delicate and balanced, with subtle but distinct chocolate notes and a quietly vibrant acidity. The chocolate turns toward cocoa in the mildly astringent finish.

Mild, pleasingly sweet fermented fruit notes complicate aroma and cup and read as chocolate, red wine, cedary cherries, perhaps with a hint of sweet herb. The acidity is low-toned and balanced, the mouthfeel roundly smooth. The finish is clean but slightly thin.

This light-to-medium-roasted coffee is gently acidy with a floral and high-toned fruit character that quite simply represents the fresh, delicate taste of the coffee flower and fruit itself, carried with a roastmaster's tact from coffee to cup. The downside of this respectful roast is a slight, residual vegetal or tea-like character that some palates will find elegant and refreshing and others, well, too tea-like.

Rich aroma complicated by smoky semi-sweet chocolate and caramel. The cup is simple but satisfying: very sweet, deep, roundly roasty. The real glory of this coffee is an extraordinarily long, lushly vibrant, deeply chocolaty finish.

Intense, very deep aroma, with buttery or perhaps toffee-like notes and hints of flowers and wine. In the cup very sweet and very acidy, though never sharp. Continued hints of flowers and white wine. Rich, complex, slightly astringent in the finish.

A cabernet sort of coffee: boldly and richly dry, with fruit that reads as a wine-toned dry cherry or black currant with a rounding halo of chocolate. Tartly rich, long finish.

Deep, complex aroma: slightly smoky cedar, chocolate and vanilla with floral top notes. Settles out to a rich semi-sweet chocolate in the cup with shimmery hints of flowers and vanilla. Rounds and sweetens as it cools without losing complexity. Very rich in the short finish, slightly astringent in the long.

Sweet-impressioned, deep aroma complicated by dried cherry and hints of chocolate and cedar. Simplifies slightly in the cup, but a silky sweetness and quiet, vibrant acidity compensate. Almost sugary sweet in the long, clean finish.

A voluptuously sweet coffee, with roundly integrated acidity, great balance and elegance, and a resonant, cherry-toned fruit that carries through the profile from the intense aroma to the rich, finely clean finish. Complicating notes of fresh cedar, flowers and black currant in both aroma and cup. The fruit turns slightly chocolate toward the finish.

A simple, rich, deeply dimensioned dark-roasted cup. Sweetly roasty in the aroma with semi-sweet chocolate notes. In the cup the roast continued to dominate with mildly charred wood tones overlaying semi-sweet chocolate and perhaps some dry berry notes. Rich, clean finish with continued dry chocolate notes.

An exotic, almost violent cup. The aroma is lush with intense, shifting ripe to overripe fruit and floral notes, blueberry most distinctly, with pungent, sweet spice undertones. In the cup the fruit notes turn markedly winy, or perhaps cidery. A fermented version of blueberry remains dominant, but the rich, complexly suggestive fruit notes hint at chocolate as well. A slight, pungent saltiness shadows the cup, but smoothes out reassuringly in a convincingly smooth, long finish.