Boston Reviews

Evaluated as espresso. Crisp, sweetly gentle, suave. Honey, orange, grapefruity citrus, fresh-cut fir in the aroma. Light, silky mouthfeel. Turns chocolaty and more distinctly citrusy in the light-bodied, silky cup. Superb flavor-saturated, sweetly clean finish. In two parts milk the chocolate is nuanced by ripe citrus and a deeper, apricot-toned fruit.

Honey, sweet clover and multi-layered, grapefruit-like citrus in aroma and cup. Brightly tart acidity; light but silky mouthfeel. Suggestions of berry complicate the cup. The finish is rich, with a zesty citrus enveloped by continued honeyish sweetness.

Evaluated as espresso. Co-taster Sean Kohmescher (94) and Ken (94) both admired this sample’s refined complexity and chocolate-toned depth. Ken cited crisp fir and lemon complication, whereas Sean’s reading of nuance inclined more toward berry and wine. Both found the sample slightly more impressive in the small cup than in milk, but nevertheless honored its sweet chocolaty balance in two parts milk, nuanced (for Ken) by hints of flowers and lemon.

Low-toned, balanced aroma: nut, ripe citrus, flowers. Tart, lemony acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Aromatics turn rounder and riper in the cup: sweet citrus, gently tart berry, nut-toned cocoa. The cocoa and lemon in particular linger in a rich, clean finish.

Complex and almost giddily sweet-toned. Flowers, crisp black currant, lemon, blackberry, roasted nut carry from aroma to cup. Sweetly tart, refined acidity; light body but very smooth, silky mouthfeel. Resonant, flavor-saturated short finish simplifies just a bit in the long.

Aromatics expand and deepen in subtle but extraordinary flavor and finish: buttery milk chocolate; sweet, lily-like flowers; ripe orange, all resonating in a long, impeccably clean but rich finish. Round, vibrant acidity; syrupy mouthfeel.

Pungently sweet aroma: ripe lemony citrus, backgrounded nut. Round, soft acidity, medium body, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Nut moves forward in the cup, complicated pleasingly by dry berry, lemon, flowers, fir. Sweet-toned finish, with some flavor persistence.

Soft, round aroma: muted notes of lemon and flowers. In the cup balanced, gently tart acidity, lightish body, silky mouthfeel, continuing lemon and flowers. Some flavor carries into a clean, simple finish.

Round notes of butter, caramel, molasses and a hint of citrus in the aroma. Silky to lightly syrupy mouthfeel, softly tart acidity. Fruit moves forward in the cup – apricot, a more distinct lemon – with continued suggestions of caramel and molasses. Flavor simplifies a bit in the quiet finish.

Delicate, sweet-toned, giddily bright. Honey and rose-like flowers dominate in aroma in cup, with hints of ripe orange and moist pipe tobacco. Fruit-saturated acidity, light but very smooth mouthfeel, richly resonant finish in which the honey and floral notes turn vaguely but pleasingly toward milk chocolate.

Elegant, sweet-toned, balanced. Buttery dark chocolate, flowers, crisp hints of nut and orange. Well-integrated acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel, cleanly rich finish.

Grandly pure and sweetly acidy. Symphonic citrus notes range from ripe orange to tart lemon to pungent bergamot, with a softening hint of flowers and a rounding hint of cocoaish nut. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The cocoa note turns decisively chocolate in a richly dry finish.

Depth and syrupy opulence in an extravagant aromatic profile: heavy-scented dusk flowers, rich, almost carnal fruit (apricot, plum, cherry), a brightening hint of lemon, crisp cocoa intensifying toward a resonantly flavor-saturated finish.

A sweet, well rounded cup. Cherry and citrus mix with chocolate, nut and cedar in aroma and cup, along with a distant hint of lavender. Perfectly balanced, sweet-toned and smooth acidity. Fruit diminishes in the finish focusing the flavor on unsweetened chocolate.

Soft, sweet fruit tone in the aroma broadens in the cup, displaying distinct notes of blackberry, black currant and apricot. Bright-toned, fruit laden acidity and silky mouthfeel. Long lasting honeyed fruit flavors simplify only slightly in the finish.

Evaluated as espresso. High-toned aroma combining flowers and very ripe orange with a distant hint of fresh-cut grass. In the small cup smooth, lightly syrupy mouthfeel and a complex range of flavors that maintain the floral and ripe citrus theme with complications of black cherry and sweet nut. The flavors carry into a sweet short finish and linger delicately in the long. The flavor complex carries intact into two parts milk cushioned by a rich, caramel-like sweetness.

Pure, intense aroma: flowers, orange, apricot, a hint of aromatic wood. In the cup big sweet-toned acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel, continued floral and fruit notes that round toward blackberry and a nut-toned baker's chocolate. Flowers in particular carry into a sweet-toned, rich finish.

Classic cup: pure, lush, powerful. Molasses sweetness in the aroma with hints of nut and flowers. In the cup grandly but sweetly acidy, syrupy mouthfeel, continued molasses and night floral notes with hints of honey and nut. Long, rich finish.

Crisp walnut and cherryish chocolate in the aroma, together with spicy aromatic wood. Sweet, deep, powerful acidity, rich and lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The spicy aromatic wood and walnut notes carry into the cup, taking on a caramel-like sweetness complicated by hints of fruit and layers of dark and milk chocolate. Rich in the short finish with lingering chocolate tones and a slight astringency in the long.

Evaluated as espresso. Simple, sweet and rich in the aroma; caramel with a hint of flowers. In the small cup deep, balanced, complex: peach-toned fruit, dark chocolate, orangy citrus, continued floral top notes. The flowers and chocolate in particular persist into a long finish. Dense mouthfeel. In two parts milk, muted hints of the flowers and peach-toned fruit survive to complicate the predictable chocolate-caramel bloom.