San Diego Reviews

Spicy, delicate, complex. Orange, savory spice, honey, night flowers in aroma and cup. Gently lively acidity; very smooth, delicately syrupy mouthfeel. Orange in particular persists in a very sweet, long finish.

Very sweet, deeply and subtly complex. Lush night flowers, aromatic woods, tangerine, mint-toned cocoa in aroma and cup. Richly nuanced acidity; full, syrupy mouthfeel. A savory tendency is particularly noticeable in a resonant, gently drying finish.

Superb aromatics and flavor: A rich, fudgy chocolate sensation dominates, with flowers, vanilla, hints of brandy and tart, guava-like fruit. Round, crisp acidity; dense, full mouthfeel. The finish is very sweet and vanilla-laced in the short, though in the long it fades toward astringency.

Delicate and meadowy sweet. Honey and molasses, flowering grasses, lemon in aroma and cup. Deepens and develops a chocolaty hint in the cup. Brisk, floral-toned acidity; light but silky mouthfeel. Despite the delicacy of the cup, rich-finishing, with a continuing hint of chocolate.

Dry, crisply juicy. Tart berry, cocoaish nut, peach, lavender-like flowers in aroma and cup. Brisk acidity; light, silky mouthfeel. Long, dry finish.

Very sweet, resonant, gently tart. Tangerine, cocoa, brown sugar, floral top notes. Gentle acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The impressively sweet-toned, complex flavor carries deep into a long finish.

Crisply tart, dry berry and pungent grapefruit dominate in aroma and cup, with rounding hints of nut-toned cocoa and caramel. Intense, brightly balanced acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Rich, dry, flavor-saturated finish.

Smooth, quietly complex: orange, walnut, raisin, honeyish flowers in aroma and cup. Softly crisp, sweet-toned acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The finish is sweetly rich, with a drying hint in the long.

Quiet, deep aroma and flavor with suggestions of nut-toned chocolate, peach and sweet melon. Additional complications of black tea and cedar in the cup. Rich lemony acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Fruit notes in particular carry into a complex, tartly sweet finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Elegantly sweet aroma and flavor in the short cup suggests evening flowers, almond-like nut, dark chocolate and a nectarine-like stone fruit. The stone fruit develops a bright, citrusy edge in the cup. Lively, lightly syrupy mouthfeel; citrus and chocolate carry into the finish. Pronounced presence in two parts milk; the citrus and chocolate character show up with particular clarity.

Pungently sweet and deep in both aroma and cup. Very complex: black cherry, grapefruit, fresh-turned earth, cedar, a hint of night flowers. Rich, grapefruit-toned acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel, sweetly tart finish saturated with fruit.

Deep, rich, balanced. Pungent fruit – grapefruit, black currant – is enveloped in a nut-toned dark chocolate. Softly rounded acidity; full, syrupy mouthfeel. Sweetly resonant finish.

Deep, resonant with dry fruit notes. Baker’s chocolate, ripe citrus, pungently tart berry in aroma and cup. Round, syrupy mouthfeel; rich, impressively flavor-saturated finish.

Intense, complex, inimitably distinctive aromatics and flavor: crisp cocoa, cherryish fruit, brandy, spicy tea rose, fresh pipe tobacco. Rich, fruit-toned acidity; syrupy mouthfeel; long finish with an exquisite balance of dry cocoa and sweet fruit notes.

Intense aroma combining notes of peach, flowers and nut. The sweet peach and floral tones soften in the cup, complicated by suggestions of tart lemon and bittersweet chocolate. Citrusy acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Flavors simplify in a walnut-edged finish.

Complex yet delicate. Sweet lemony citrus and flowers overlay notes of brown sugar and rich almond in aroma and cup. Fine, crisply fruit-toned acidity and lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Deeper nut-toned flavors carry into the long, bittersweet finish.

Bright with bergamot and bittersweet lemon, crisp baker's chocolate and fresh-cut fir, this dried-in-the-fruit coffee cupped more like a fine Ethiopia washed coffee than a natural, though a rounding hint of cherry-blueberry sweetness complicated the profile and appeared to confirm its processing method. Delicate acidity; light, silky mouthfeel; long, lemon-and-cocoa-saturated finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Pungent and sweet in the small cup: brandy-toned dark chocolate, fresh-cut fir, cherryish fruit, a hint of flowers at the top. Lean though smooth mouthfeel; rich, fruit-toned finish. Two parts milk soften and diffuse the fir and brandyish chocolate notes without obscuring them.

A big winner in four parts milk. Co-taster Andy Newbom (90) had it at 9 in milk while Ken (93) went to the limit at 10. Both keyed on a big, round, peachy fruit complexity and fine balance of milk and coffee. As straight espresso dominated by fruit as well: ripe, apricot-toned, a little wine-like, with a tart "sparkle" (Andy) of citrus. But the whole sensory package bloomed in milk with particular power and completeness.

Pungent night flowers, lemon and a molasses-like dark chocolate dominate in aroma and cup. All simplifies slightly in the finish. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel, gentle, almost muted acidity.