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We have published thousands of coffee reviews and espresso reviews since 1997. The reviews below appear in reverse chronological order by review date. Older reviews may no longer accurately reflect current versions of the same coffee. To search for a specific roaster, origin or coffee use the Advanced Search Function.
The aroma doesn't provoke much anticipation: roasty, edge of burned, midtoned, without range or nuance. Softens and complicates in the cup, displaying a pleasantly wine-toned balance of sweet acidity and a discreetly bittersweet roastiness. Simplifies again in the rather sharp finish.
Impressive aroma: balanced, sweetly acidy yet gently roasty, with suggestions of chocolate and low-toned fruit - papaya or apricot. In the cup neither roasty nor acidy, however; simply bitter. Softens toward the finish but never completely recovers its opening balance and complexity.
Cleanly smoky and rather richly roasty, complicated by shimmers of sweetly tart, high-toned fruit - pineapple perhaps.
Massively roasty in the aroma: sweetly pungent with a sort of lush bar-b-qued apricot-toned fruit. Less impressive in the cup, where the main impression is simply the roast, heavy and burned but not rubbery. Given the weighty intensity of the roast sensation, surprisingly sweet and rich in the finish, with only a slight astringency.
Straightforward, simple but satisfying dark-roast: cleanly roasty, pleasantly smoky but without burned or excessive bitterness. In cup and finish the roastiness takes on a toasty, campfire chocolate character.
A gently roasty, light-bodied blend: sweet, balanced, with fresh leather, grapefruit and sweet herb notes, lemon thyme perhaps. Slightly astringent in the finish.
In the aroma roasty, sweet, slightly burned, complicated by a prune-toned fruit just on the dry side of chocolate. In the cup the chocolate inclination of the fruit clearly declares itself, particularly as the coffee cools. The roasty tones turn a bit astringent in the finish.
Sweetly balanced and gently roasty. Little distinguishable nuance, though the cup is pleasantly alive with an almost subliminal range of fruity sensation. Slight astringency in the finish.
A heartily roasty, herb-toned, bittersweet chocolate dominates both aroma and cup, though turning a bit flat and burned in the finish. Overall narrow in range but pleasingly intense. Maintains character as it cools.
Quietly complex aroma: sweet, discreetly roasty, with suggestions of leather, chocolate, apricot, perhaps pear. In the cup gentle, low-key, richly fruity with a lush apricot that flirts with chocolate.
In the aroma explosively sweet and exquisitely balanced, with chocolate and a gently gingery spice. In the cup complex and wide in range: roasty, pungent, with a tickle of lemony sweet acidity and a hint of musty earth. An underlying astringent heaviness weighs slightly on the finish.
Seductive aroma: sweet Meyer lemon, roasty chocolate, balanced and elegant. The lyric lemon and chocolate notes survive a sharp roastiness in the cup, but finally lose their way in the rather astringent finish.
Finely balanced cup: delicately roasty, very sweet, with a shimmer of dry acidity. Under the impact of the roast the crisp aromatics lean toward leather and an herb-toned chocolate.
Sweet and richly low-toned in the aroma, with shimmers of flowers, grapefruit and perhaps apples. In the cup the fruit turns opulently bittersweet under the impact of the roast: walnuts, dried apricots, bittersweet chocolate.
A delicate cup with impressive complexity: Lemon, smoky spice and milk chocolate notes carry with subtle variation from aroma through finish. In the cup, shows a fine balance of sweet acidity and a subtle roastiness, the roast making itself felt mainly in the smoky spice. The five cups I sampled displayed some unevenness; otherwise I would rate this silky, aromatic blend even higher.
Richly melodic coffee in which wine and apple notes carry from aroma through cup to finish. A tactful dark roast preserves a shimmer of acidity in the cup while contributing a slight herbal twist to the dominating apple-cider-like notes.
Odd profile: simple, monotoned and woody in aroma, with some hints of cocoa and orange. In the cup very flat and herby, dominated by a bitter nut sensation. The finish is both monumentally bitter and extremely astringent.
Shallow and thin throughout. Sweet, caramelly, high-toned, but without nuance or dimension in either aroma or cup. Thin, astringent finish.
Caramelly and burned in the aroma; in the cup mildly roasty, crisp and bittersweet with a tickle of acidity. The bitterness intensifies as the cup cools, exaggerating the flat, astringent finish.
The aroma is full and smokily roasty though monotoned. In the cup thinnish, smoky and simple, with rather unpleasant tobacco notes, the stale ashtray sort rather than the rich pipe tobacco kind.
