Boston Reviews

Very deep, complex profile that hints as much at Sumatra as it does at Colombia. Intense aroma dominated by earth and ripe, almost overripe fruit notes that together can be read as a dark, raisiny chocolate. Quiet acidity, medium body with syrupy mouthfeel, and continued richly earthy/fruity notes that at moments suggest pungent butterscotch, at other times elegantly cherryish dark chocolate. Lemon hints become more explicit in the sweet finish; a very slight hint of bitter astringency in the long.

Richly low-toned aroma: caramel, dark chocolate, fir. In the cup lightly syrupy mouthfeel, soft but vibrant acidity, with a deep, quiet, lavish complexity: distinct floral notes, dry wine- and berry-toned fruit, a hint of cherryish chocolate.

Richly and sweetly bright aroma with aromatic wood, peach-toned fruit and cocoa notes. In the cup quietly acidy, elegantly crisply sweet, deeply floral, with distinct peach-toned fruit and hints of cocoaish chocolate that carry into a long, flavor-glistening finish.

A sweet tangerine aroma predominates, with a light floral quality reminiscent of Muscat dessert wine. Bright floral toned acidity carries into a subtly complex cup; hints of sweet caramel, citrus, cocoa and aromatic wood. A delicate candy-like sweetness in the finish.

Sweet-toned, deep, slightly smoky aroma: aromatic wood, a hint of dark chocolate. In the small cup medium-bodied, but the pungent dark chocolate notes amplify and move forward, complicated by aromatic wood, walnut, even licorice. Long, resonant, chocolate-saturated finish. Dominates milk with a smoky heaviness that resolves quickly into a milk-sweetened version of the now familiar dark chocolate note.

Sweet-toned, softly acidy aroma, with crisp, cedary fruit notes (aka black currant) complicated by hints of flowers and dark chocolate. In the cup powerfully acidy, dry, pungent but juicy. with citrusy berry and a continued nod toward a cocoaish dark chocolate. The finish stays on the rich side of astringent.

In the aroma round and balanced, with dusk flowers, orange and nut notes. In the cup continued classic balance: quiet but assertive acidity buffered by great sweetness, crisp fruity cocoa and continued nut and floral notes. Clean, sweetly rich, long finish.

Intensely floral and cherry-toned aroma with rounding hints of chocolate and pipe tobacco. In the cup balanced acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel, and almost sugary berry-toned sweetness, balanced by a crisp, slightly vegetal dry edge, think cacao or (if you know it) tamarind. Long, opulently rich finish.

Symphonically rich coffee of extraordinary elegance. Crisp dry berry notes of the kind often characterized as black currant, orange, nut, dusk flowers run through the profile from aroma to cup. Powerful acidity enveloped in sweetness, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The black currant notes in particular carry into a long, pure, sweet-toned finish.

Caramelly, wine-like aroma with ripe, perhaps overripe, fruit notes. Dense, heavy presence in the cup. Both Ken (89) and co-cupper Ted Stachura (89) found bittersweet chocolate notes. Ted also noted nut, pipe tobacco, hints of leather. Long, nut-toned finish.

Intense, crisp yet sweet-toned aroma with honey, cedar and rose notes. In the cup soft acidity, medium body, and a lyric, delicate complexity: honey, sweet cherry, molasses, cedar, hints of milk chocolate and flowering grass. Clean, elegant, though rather short finish.

Deep-toned, cherryish fruit and pungent aromatic wood in the aroma. In the cup pronounced, citrus-toned acidity, full mouthfeel, bittersweet structure, with continued hints of cherry, cocoa, and a pungent wood or tomato note. The cocoa turns toward chocolate in the long, rich finish.

Balanced in the aroma: orange, night flowers, a hint of cocoaish chocolate. The cup is dominated by a grandly classic acidity, tart yet lush, complicated by continued flowers, orangy citrus and a hint of cocoa. The tart fruit notes carry into a long, opulent finish.

Crisp but juicy in the aroma, with butter, honey, flower and marmalade-like orange notes. In the cup smoothly and gently acidy, delicate in mouthfeel, with a continued tart, marmalade-like, orangy sweetness complicated by cocoa, cedar, and continued flower and honey notes. Oranges and flowers carry into a cleanly sweet finish.

Grand-gestured, complete coffee. Intense, rose-like floral notes dominate the aroma, with lush honey, molasses and coffee fruit. In the cup the mouthfeel has honeyish depth, the acidity is sweetly powerful, the flavor dominated by tart berry notes both dryly austere yet utterly and voluptuously juicy, complicated by continued honey, molasses and flowers. Smooth, balanced, flower-saturated finish.

Rich, gently pungent aroma with butter, floral and apricot-toned fruit hints. In the small cup medium body, syrupy mouthfeel, and rather sharply but sweetly cedary with continued apricot and flowers and an explicit moist, leafy earth note. At its best in milk: rich, strong-presenced but sweet with dark chocolate and sustained suggestions of moist earth and flowers.

Delicately but richly nuanced throughout the profile with cherryish fruit, flowers, honey, milk chocolate. In the cup the acidity is tart but luxuriously sweet and the mouthfeel lightly syrupy. Flavor saturated and flawless finish.

Crisp, intense, yet sweetly lyric coffee. In both aroma and cup black currant, blackberry, orange, cherry; in the cup hints of cocoaish chocolate and merlot-like red wine as well. Long, sweet finish just on the rich side of astringent.

In the aroma the fruity earth tones display an almost candied sweetness paired with a moist-leaf pungency. In the cup medium in body but silky in mouthfeel, with continued candied fruit and moist leaf notes that together hint at a host of associations ranging from chocolate to butterscotch to tartly sweet grapefruit. The flavor-saturated finish is a bit astringent when the cup is hot, but rounds nicely as it cools.

In the aroma deep-toned with moist earth and fruit tones that suggest molassy fruitcake or banana bread or a fruity dark chocolate. The candied fruit, molasses and moist earth complex carries into the cup, riding richly over a slight flatness introduced by decaffeination. Sweet, long, rich finish, very slightly astringent when hot but impressively smooth as the cup cools.