San Diego Reviews

Elaborate, vibrant, exhilarating. Dark chocolate truffle, strawberry guava, candied ginger, lilac, myrrh in aroma and cup. Crisply sweet-tart structure with bright, succulent acidity; very syrupy mouthfeel. The finish is zesty in the short and cocoa- and floral-toned in the long.

Richly bittersweet with pleasing savory undertones. Milk chocolate, hop flowers, apricot, narcissus, sandalwood in aroma and cup. Savory-sweet structure with brisk acidity; plush, satiny mouthfeel. Crisp, resonant finish with notes of milk chocolate and hop flowers.

Richly fruit-toned, musky sweet. Raspberry jam, fine musk, apple brandy, hop flowers, almond in aroma and cup. Balanced, sweet-tart-savory in structure with vibrant, juicy acidity; buoyant, syrupy mouthfeel. Crisp, resonant finish with raspberry, brandy and hops carrying into the long.

Bright, juicy, sweetly and seductively tart. Blood orange zest, dried raspberry, ginger blossom, cocoa powder, sandalwood in aroma and cup. Balanced, sweet-tart structure with crisp, vibrant acidity; velvety mouthfeel. Citrus zest and dried berry notes bookend the cocoa-toned finish.

Delicate yet deep, crisply floral- and fruit-toned. Orange zest, black currant, cacao nib, fresh-cut fir, honeysuckle in aroma and cup. Sweetly brisk in structure; buoyant and satiny in mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates but sustains in a sweet, richly drying finish.

Wild, unruly, utterly brilliant and original. Intensely and intricately floral-toned: opulent lily through delicate violet with a shifting bouquet of possibilities between. At the heart of aroma and flavor is a cidery, brandyish compote of fruit--apple, passion fruit, lychee--rounded by a fine, cocoa-toned chocolate. The structure is shifty, simultaneously sweet, crisply bitterish and tart, the mouthfeel plump and syrupy. The finish rings on with continuing layers of fruit, flowers, cocoa and coconut.

Crisply floral and sweetly herb-toned. Dark chocolate, lavender, dried pear, tangerine zest, frankincense in aroma and cup. Sweet-tart in structure with lively, expansive acidity; crisp, syrupy mouthfeel. The finish consolidates to pretty notes of lavender and dark chocolate, with a hint of tangerine zest.

Spice-toned, deep, resonant. Dried persimmon, perique (fermented) tobacco, cinnamon, dark chocolate, gardenia-like flowers in aroma and cup. Sweet-savory structure with engagingly citrusy acidity; plush, syrupy mouthfeel. The finish leads with dried persimmon and dark chocolate, followed by pipe tobacco and cinnamon.

Delicate, sweetly tart. Lemon drop, roasted cacao nib, pink peppercorn, almond, orange zest in aroma and cup. Sweet-tart structure with bright, juicy acidity; satiny-smooth mouthfeel. The resonant finish consolidates to notes of lemon drop and cocoa, with a hint of pink peppercorn.

Complexly layered with sweet-savory depth. Wisteria, hop flowers, candied grapefruit zest, black cherry, pistachio butter in aroma and cup. Sweetly savory structure with gentle, rounded acidity; viscous, syrupy mouthfeel. The flavor-saturated finish is a mirror of the cup, carrying through on the coffee's savory-sweet resonance.

Sweetly herbaceous, richly cocoa-toned. Baker’s chocolate, lemon verbena, toffee, allspice, hazelnut in aroma and cup. Sweet-toned structure with brisk acidity; velvety mouthfeel. The finish leads with lemon verbena and toffee in the short, segueing to spice-toned chocolate and hazelnut in the long.

Richly sweet, fruit-toned. Dried apricot, roasted cacao nib, agave syrup, cedar, magnolia in aroma and cup. Sweet-tart structure with gentle, rounded acidity; crisp, satiny-smooth mouthfeel. Finish consolidates to notes of dried apricot and cocoa-toned cedar.

A ready-to-drink bottled black coffee tested over ice. Sweetly brisk yet juicy; original. Flavor notes of crisp, fruit-toned cocoa, fresh-cut cedar, raspberry, passionfruit, violet-like flowers. Satiny, lively mouthfeel. Long finish resonating with cedar, fruit and flowers. Whole milk turns the cedar toward almond, the cocoa toward full-on chocolate, the tart fruit jammy.

Crisp, deeply resonant, classic. Dried rose and lavender, cherry, roasted pistachio, a hint of marjoram in aroma and cup. The structure is sweet-tart with a savory bottom; syrupy and full in mouthfeel. Pistachio and flowers carry into a long, deep, perfumy finish.

A ready-to-drink bottled black coffee tested over ice. Briskly vivacious and intricate. Complex berry notes (blueberry, strawberry), almond, sandalwood, lilac-like flowers. Sweetly bright in structure; full and lightly syrupy in mouthfeel. Flavor persists without loss of distinction with added whole milk. A nitro (nitrogenated) version of this blend displayed a livelier mouthfeel though somewhat less clearly articulated flavor.

A ready-to-drink bottled black coffee tested over ice. Brisk, bittersweet, lively. Apricot, roasted cacao nib, walnut, blood orange zest, a hint of tea rose. Tart-sweet in structure with a bracing bitter edge; satiny in mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates around hints of apricot and walnut in a drying finish. Stands up to added whole milk with very little change in its defiantly brisk character and zesty array of flavor notes.

Evaluated as espresso. Richly sweet, brightly tart. Dark chocolate, lily-like flowers, blood orange zest, peach, cedar in aroma and small cup. Punchy, syrupy mouthfeel; crisp, cocoa-toned finish with lasting notes of citrus zest. In three-parts milk, the sweet-tartness of the shot carries through, bringing dark chocolate along for the ride.

Lush, high-toned, richly sweet. Apricot, bergamot zest, nougat, sandalwood, honeysuckle in aroma and cup. Deeply sweet in structure, with juicy, bright acidity; plump, syrupy mouthfeel. The finish is seemingly eternal, resonant with all the flavor notes from the cup: stone fruit, citrus zest, nutty caramel, aromatic wood and sweet florals.

Fruit-forward, delicate yet intense. Complex flowers (lily to lavendar), sandalwood, dark chocolate, plum, a hint of brandy in aroma and cup. Roundly and deeply crisp in structure; lightly satiny in mouthfeel. The finish is resonant and sweet with chocolate and a continuing hint of brandy.

Integrated, floral- and sweetly earth-toned. Lavender, perique pipe tobacco, tangerine zest, apricot, roasted cacao nib in aroma and cup. Sweet-savory in structure; syrupy-smooth body. The short finish is resonant with spicy floral and stone fruit notes and the long is earthy sweet, redolent of fine pipe tobacco.