LATEST REVIEWS

The first of four Konas with identical scores of 79 and very similar flavor profiles. Overall assessments of this sample ranged from bland on the downside to balanced on the upside. Which side of the bland/balanced divide panelists settled on probably depended on their predispositions in regard to the Kona profile generally. Three panelists, including me, detected subtle but pleasant wine tones. Three called the acidity sweet, which I assume was praise as well as description. No taints or defects cited; consensus on body: medium.

To say this coffee has an atypical profile for a Hawaii coffee is an understatement. Comparing it to the other coffees in the cupping is worse than comparing apples and oranges - more like comparing apples and cocker spaniels. The Kaanapali dry-process Moka is, as one panelist called it, a "Yemen wannabe." The trees that produced it are Yemen varietals, and the coffee has been processed in the simple, put-it-out-in-the-sun-to-dry approach used in Yemen and parts of Ethiopia. Which means that, like a Yemen or dry-processed Ethiopia, it is fruity, winy, complex, with a disturbingly lush, overripe aftertaste that lovers of these coffees call gamy or wild and people who don't like Yemen or dry-processed Ethiopia coffees call fermented.Five panelists labeled this coffee fermented and dismissed it with very low scores; three recognized the Yemen/Ethiopia characteristics and treated it like a middle-of-the-road dry-processed Yemen/Ethiopia coffee, giving it scores in the high seventies. Four didn't call it anything but gave it low scores.If this coffee had been presented to the panel in the context of similar dry-processed coffees from Yemen or Ethiopia I don't think it would have provoked quite the same level of criticism. For this reason we're not publishing its scores. However, it did not fare well in the context of this particular cupping.

An interesting coffee that provoked a wide range of reaction. Everyone agreed that it was a soft coffee with medium body. The controversy centered on the flavor complex at the heart of the profile, which elicited characterizations ranging from "delightfully spicy" and "richly chocolaty" to "harsh, burned and disturbing" and "burned seaweed, or something I had in a sushi bar(!)." Scores also varied wildly. The nays didn't outnumber the yeas, but the naysayers nayed with more conviction than the yeasayers yeaed, culminating in a low average score. Readers who like low-acid profiles may want to try this coffee anyhow. At a moderately dark brown or full-city roast I suspect the controversial flavor complex will lose its slightly hard edge and turn definitively complex and rich.

Majority opinion: Nutty or lightly herbal in the nose, with an acidity both bright and sweet, medium body, flavor nuanced with tones variously described as chocolaty, spicy, or nutty, and a fresh aftertaste. In other words, a classic Kona with dry rather than fruity nuance. One dissenting panelist described the flavor as tinny, and several others ho-hummed their way through the cup without comment. I was impressed by this coffee, particularly by its sweet nuance and what I call dimension -- the way it opened up in repeated little waves of sensation rather than making its statement and standing pat.

This medium-bodied, fruit-toned coffee attracted strong support from several panelists, who apparently admired its solid acidity, balanced, low-key intensity and fruity nuances. Two panelists detected a faint hardness or bagginess in the aftertaste, although both assigned the coffee respectable scores anyhow.

The clear winner in this cupping, as it was in the 1997 Kona Coffee Cultural Festival Cupping Competition. The reason: it clearly transcends the pleasantly mellow limits of the classic Kona profile. It displayed power, complexity, and an uncompromising, authoritative acidity, laid right on top of the usual soft, brightly sweet virtues of a typical Kona. Even the Kona-bashers on the panel liked this coffee. (Well, all but one.) Nobody raved, but there were lots of approving noises: "excellent," "very interesting, very clean on the palate," "nice depth." However, this excellent coffee might be too authoritative for those who like to slip into the softness of a more typical Kona. Lovers of Kona's sweeter, gentler side may prefer one of the less acidy profiles like the Guyer, Hamasaki, or Bayview Farms mill selections. The rather powerful acidity of this coffee casts doubt on the specialty coffee truism that only high growing altitudes (usually defined as over 4,000 feet) can produce solidly acidy coffees. The average elevation of the Fitzgerald Estate is around 1,600 feet. Apparently microclimate can mimic the conditions that, at higher altitudes, produce acidy profiles.

The Kona song is the same, but this coffee sang it a little stronger and cleaner. No taints or weaknesses whatsoever were cited for this sample. Characterizations of overall flavor, which with the somewhat lower-rated Konas tended to be evenly divided between naysaying "bland" and yeasaying "balanced," here clearly settled on balanced. Occasional little pleasured exclamations turned up on the cupping forms: "very enjoyable"; "the nutty characteristics remained in the cup from beginning to end."

Several panelists described distinct wine tones, which seemed to be the main nuance that separated this Kona from the others clustered in the middle of the cupping. Otherwise, the familiar Kona profile emerges: bright yet gentle acidity, medium body, balanced flavor, clean aftertaste. Although one panelist felt the coffee generally left a "thin" impression, no taints or weaknesses were cited. In fact, the words "clean" and "fresh" each came up four times in respect to aftertaste.

Not entirely typical for a Sumatra, but something of a revelation: an almost Latin-American brightness up front before the deep Sumatra tones prevail, pulling us down into a broad, deep, sweet vanilla-tinged center. An amazing range, from the fleeting floral top notes to a pungently rich bottom, plus a long, satisfying development that carries straight through to the vanilla memories in the aftertaste.

Another solid, heavy-centered Sumatra. Here, however, the dark center reveals hints of wine and a character more complexly pungent than sweet. The pungency is free of earthy or hard notes, and reads as the very quintessence of rich.

An understated sweet liveliness lifts the rather stolid heart of this coffee. I can't cite any grace notes, simply a very pleasant, sweet lift. Good dimension, but (for a Sumatra) a rather shallow bottom.

Low-toned, full-bodied, absolutely solid at the center (maybe too), with slight hints of fruit and sweetness at the edges. In other words, a typical Sumatra. Would be a classic Sumatra if there were something more going on inside that center or a little more shimmer or lift around those edges. As it is, substantial, satisfying, but a touch inert.

The dark roast style leans toward carbon here but remains on the flavorful side of it, turning the Sumatra richness pungent and darkening the sweet tones with hints of what a publicist might call chocolate. If this coffee had showed some development I would have rated it higher, but the profile made its statement and stood pat from there. As with the other Café d'Alma coffees in the cupping, I suspect a loss of aromatics in shipping.

Another typically full-bodied, solid-centered Sumatra. Not much range or complexity, but good development: If you stay with the coffee the heaviness at the center seems to grow in weight and power, revealing reticent pruny, sweet-pungent tones in the finish. As it cools, the herby, earthy tones characteristic of some Sumatras emerge, carrying (perhaps) a hint of hardness. Without that hint I would have rated this Sumatra higher.

Another Sumatra carried to a dark roast with enough tact to avoid carbon. But, alas, not enought to save the sweetness and nuance. What's left is a balanced dry heaviness that can be read as richness.

Herbal, pungent tones, a bit too sharp for earthy, dominate the profile, reverberating in its characteristically solid Sumatra heart. Only a touch of sweet nuance, but the herbal tones are intriguing. They turn slightly hard as the coffee cools.

A darkish roast style asserts itself here, turning the heavy Sumatra center distinctly pungent. A slight sweetness emerges in the finish, but the mildly astringent pungency dominates in the aftertaste. A vibrant aliveness in the center of this coffee is its most attractive feature.

An interesting but atypical Sumatra profile: Distinctly, almost distractingly sweet vanilla tones float over the Sumatra depth, which you only sense through a kind of echo. Perfumy, at turns suggesting flowers and then nuts, the vanilla notes may be too intense for elegance, lingering straight into the aftertaste, where they turn slightly cloying.

Another heavy-centered Sumatra, this one with hints of sweetness and vanilla all but buried under an herby, earthy character. The earthiness is rough but rather pleasant, with only the barest hint of hardness.

Still another solid, deep Sumatra, but lacking range or dimension. Clean, one-dimensional, with little resonance in the heart of the coffee or shimmer around the edges. The aromatics seemed a bit tired; perhaps the problem here is a loss of aromatics in shipping.