Back in 1975, when I wrote my first book on coffee, Sumatras were a revelation: long, tawny-colored beans with a wonderful deep-toned, bass-tickling richness. The cup was heavy, but alive with fruit and smoke. The bags came marked with sonorous names like Mandheling and Lintong. It was easy to project Conradian into those names and that dark luxuriousness. Those archetypal Sumatras I first
Tasting Reports – Asia-Pacific
Coffee Review has published more than 250 monthly coffee tasting reports since February 1997. The tasting reports below, focusing on coffees from the Asia-Pacific region, appear in reverse chronological order. You may refine your search by using the key word search feature that appears in the page header. The content in tasting reports and associated reviews was correct at the time of publication but may not remain accurate over time.
Hawaiian Coffees
A blind cupping of Hawaiian coffees provokes two interesting issues: First, how good is Kona? Is it a rip-off at $ 16 a pound green and $25 to $35 per pound retail? Or is this most traditional of Hawaiian coffees simply a very fine origin that has the further good luck to be scarce and expensive? Second, how good are the "other island" coffees, the new "non-Kona" Hawaiis from Kauai and
Sumatra Coffees
Sumatra is one of the world's most distinctive coffee origins. Full-bodied, resonant, low-toned and elegantly comfortable, it attracts coffee drinkers who find the powerfully acidy coffees of Kenya and Central America too high-pitched and softer coffees like Konas, Mexicos and Brazils too delicate. Sumatra's relaxed power doesn't depend on acidity, rather on depth, weight and echoing
Mocha-Java Blends
Buying Mocha-Java blends is like listening to jazz ensembles cover Autumn Leaves; the melody may be the same but the interpretations sure aren't. Kevin Knox of Allegro Coffee tells a story from the early, pre-corporate days at Starbucks, when the company named its Mocha-Java blend "Revolutionary" Mocha-Java. Revolutionary because people were actually told what was in it. Both the enduring
