San Diego Reviews

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.

In the aroma lemon, berry, and above all, delicate flowers - jasmine and lavender. In the cup crisp, floral-toned acidity, silky mouthfeel. The flowers and lemon deepen and turn richly pungent, sustaining into a long, deep finish.

Unusual aromatics and flavor: Spicy, peppery hints nuance distinct orangy and floral notes in aroma and cup, supported by a fresh, fir-like aromatic wood. Dry, spicy acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Clean and sweet-toned though rather simple finish.

Sweet floral-toned milk chocolate and raisiny fruit notes in the aroma. In the cup soft, round acidity, creamy mouthfeel, very sweet with complexly layered suggestions of dusk flowers and lush fruit that suggest the tropics: coconut, pineapple. Flavor carries into a rich finish with just a hint of dry astringency in the long.

Sweet and complex aromatically, combining round floral tones with stone fruit, toast and caramel. In the small cup medium-bodied and bright. The flowers persist, softening slightly, and the fruit turns toward crushed strawberry, carrying into a rich finish. The flavor profile is sustained in two parts milk, with a rounder, sweeter, chocolate-tinged version of flowers and fruit.

Delicate, round and balanced. Sweet fruit and floral notes saturate aroma and flavor. In the cup the fruit nuances are so dense and complex they defy specific association, but they roll out with crisp voluptuousness into the long, sweet finish.

Pungent, roast-influenced citrus reads as grapefruit in aroma and cup, supported by backgrounded aromatic wood and leafy earth notes. Round, resonant acidity, deep natural sweetness, syrupy body. The grapefruit and earth notes carry into a long, opulent finish.

Intense honey-like aroma, redolent of flowers and blueberry. Delicate in the cup with a soft, lightly syrupy mouthfeel, balanced acidity and fresh flavors of ripe stone fruit, lemon, tangerine and more flowery honeyed sweetness. Finishes cleanly, developing a quiet sweet fruit-toned chocolate in the long.