San Francisco Reviews

Pungently rich aroma, with dark chocolate and spicy cedar notes. In the cup round, roast-muted acidity, smooth mouthfeel, continued cocoaish chocolate and cedar notes with a hint of raisiny fruit. Long, flavor-saturated finish.

A pungent fruit aroma with hints of flowers, cedar and red currant. In the cup, nicely balanced acidity, a lightly syrupy mouthfeel and flavors of peach and lemon that lean toward chocolate. The fruit-toned chocolate grows more distinct and lingers in the finish.

Intense floral, honey and blueberry-like aroma. Delicate yet sustained flavors of night flowers, lemon, peach and strawberry, with a lightly syrupy mouthfeel and rounded acidity. Finishes cleanly, with hints of the sweet floral and fruit notes found in the cup softly lingering in the long.

Densely sweet aroma, with soft hints of stone fruit, citrus and flowers. Brightly balanced in the cup. Medium body. Tart lime notes in front fade and sweeten to floral, blackberry and pungent cedar. The cedar note combines with bitter-sweet chocolate in the long, gently astringent finish.

Very complex espresso in which forceful blend components were allowed full, if rather competitive expression. Co-taster Byron Holcomb (90) read the earthy and mildly musty side of the blend: earth and molasses in the aroma, "musty, cedar - a little confused" in the small cup. Ken (92) on the other hand, read the confusion as complexity and emphasized the Ethiopian elements, particularly the flowers and fruit, which for him gave the cedar and earth tendencies an anise-like liveliness. Both admired the mouthfeel, which Byron described as "the same weight as whole milk: buttery and round without heaviness." Impressive in four parts milk: "deeply, richly and cleanly chocolaty" for Ken; toffee-like for Byron, though his reservation persisted: "still a bit dirty."

Sweetly pungent in the aroma: cedar, hints of dark chocolate and raisiny fruit. In the cup smooth mouthfeel but a little lean; richly bittersweet; continued hints of a rather dry dark chocolate and raisins. The flavor prevails over a mild astringency in the finish.

Sweet tangerine and jasmine aroma, balanced acidity and a soft, smooth mouthfeel. Tangerine and flowers carry into the cup along with notes of berries, apricot and mandarin. Finishes cleanly with soft fruit notes continuing in the long.

Simple but softly rich aroma: sweet aromatic wood, caramel. In the cup balanced, soft acidity, delicately smooth mouthfeel, crisp nut and cocoa notes with a halo of cherryish sweetness. Lovely finish: clean, sweet, cocoa- and cherry-toned.

Intensely pungent fir, sweet nut and fruit aroma; leanish but smooth mouthfeel; sweet, balanced acidity. Complex flavors of aromatic wood, pine needles and berries with hints of black currant and flowers. The flavor turns toward cocoa or fruit-toned chocolate in the long finish.

Improves as it moves along. The aroma is delicate, almost too delicate, with only slight hints of chocolate and flowers. Picks up energy in the cup: soft but vibrant acidity, silky mouthfeel. The dark chocolate and night flowers retain their delicacy but turn distinct and rich, carrying into a long, sweet-toned finish.

Pungent fir, nut-toned chocolate in the aroma. Rich acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. A spicy lemon dominates in the cup, supported by continued nut and chocolate notes. Long, deep-toned finish, fading to a very slight astringency.

Both Ken (89) and co-taster Heather Perry (87) admired the aroma: "creamy berry" for Heather, "bananaish fruit with floral top notes" for Ken. But for both the mouthfeel was a bit lean in the small cup and the flavor a bit sharp, though Ken admired the continued floral notes. For both tasters the profile smoothed in the long finish, with a sweet flavor persistence that suggested chocolate for Ken, "blackberry pie" for Heather. Heather found it lost sweetness in milk but Ken was pleased, finding it crisp with "true chocolate" notes.

A light-roasted coffee rather too bright and lean-bodied to fulfill conventional expectations for espresso, though shimmeringly floral and citrusy throughout the profile. "Very clean and floral in the aroma" for co-taster Heather Perry (87). In the small cup refreshingly if rather sharply citrus, with "delicate butter and floral notes" (Ken, 87) that carry into an impressive, sweetly dry finish. The delicate floral and citrus profile fades in milk, however, retaining a tart sweetness but quite lean in mouthfeel.

Ken (91) was struck by the pungently sweet berry or black currant notes, which carry straight through from aroma through cup to finish. Co-cupper Ted Stachura (also 91) was a bit more general in his characterization, finding "sweet, winy tones and fruit" in the aroma and "bright acidity with floral qualities and sweet tangerine, cherry blossom and chocolate" in the cup. For both Ken and Ted the finish was slightly heavy but nevertheless pleasantly rich and flavor-saturated.

Little difference in rating or description between Ken (92) and co-cupper Ted Stachura (91) in regard to this exceptional Brazil natural. Ted's assessment: "Big, floral aroma - lavender, fruit and sweet-leaning white wine. Floral and fruit qualities carry into the bright, yet fine, acidity. Complex flavors with more floral upfront, subtle, tart citrus tones and lots of sweetness. Clean finish with lingering floral hints."

High-toned, simple, classic aroma: orange, sweet tomato, hints of cedar and milk chocolate. In the cup a rich, roundly sweet-toned acidity dominates, with continued orange and milk chocolate notes that grow more distinct as the cup cools and the acidity softens. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Long, tartly sweet finish.

A quiet, very soft coffee with delicate but lush aromatics. In the nose distinct flowers, lemon, butter. The cup displays a gently bright acidity, silky, buttery mouthfeel, and a finely balanced bouquet of coffee fruit, cocoa and lemon. The cocoa softens toward chocolate in the long finish.

Rather simple aromatically, but sweet-toned, balanced and rich. In the aroma butter, cedar and a hint of white wine. In the cup gentle, deep acidity, round mouthfeel, continued cedar and white wine notes with a hint of flowers.

A slight musty fruit ferment serendipitously complicates this richly low-key coffee, reading as cocoa and cedar-toned ripe orange in both aroma and cup. A very slight astringency smoothes out in the long, sweet finish.

A slight, serendipitous hint of sweet ferment complicates the rich fruit, turning it toward a chocolaty, brandyish cherry or orange with a hint of blueberry. The chocolate takes on an almost minty character in the sweet, very low-acid cup. As the cup cools a bare suggestion of bitterness surfaces, the shadow side perhaps of the rich, fermenty sweetness.