Top-Rated Coffees (94+ points)

Balanced, sweet-toned, pungent. Tart berry – strawberry, cranberry – cedar and multidimensional sweet and tart citrus in both aroma and cup. Smoothly rounded acidity; slightly syrupy, almost creamy mouthfeel. Bittersweet chocolate and citrus zest in the finish.

Sonorously bright acidity and lush yet delicate aroma and flavor: flowers, orange, nut, fresh-cut fir with a rounding hint of milk chocolate. Silkily smooth mouthfeel. The finish is sweet but crisp, dominated by an orangy chocolate.

Strikingly distinctive profile: lavender-like flowers, crisp baker’s chocolate, strawberry-like fruit, richly pungent cedar. Crisply balanced acidity; silky, buoyantly lively mouthfeel. Rich, lavender-toned chocolate in the finish.

Superb balance and complex, distinctive aromatics. Richly pungent, sweetly tart structure with cocoa-toned berry – blackberry, black currant – and hints of orange and fresh-cut fir in aroma and cup. Quietly rounded acidity; silky to lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The finish is long, smooth and flavor-saturated.

Bright, pungent, complex. Fresh-cut fir, tartly sweet berry – strawberry, blackberry, cranberry – ripe orange and tomato in aroma and cup. Richly balanced acidity; syrupy, lively mouthfeel. Very sweet, deeply flavor-saturated finish.

Evaluated as espresso. In the small cup roundly balanced but engagingly complex. Melony fruit, apple, brandy, dark chocolate suggestions in both aroma and cup. Light-footed, creamy mouthfeel; deep, cleanly resonant finish with particular persistence of the dark chocolate note. Strong presence in two parts milk, dominated by a fruit-toned bittersweet chocolate.

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.

Evaluated as espresso. Great depth and complex range in aroma and flavor: crisp walnut and dark chocolate, cedary anise, lemon and floral top notes. Heavy, satiny mouthfeel; long, rich, sweetly resonant finish. Surprisingly delicate in two parts milk, but ultimately a sweet but complex chocolate, toffee- and mint-toned, impresses.

Full, deep, syrupy. Aromatic wood, dark chocolate, almond, orange in aroma and cup. Rich, roundly expressed acidity, big body. Long, sweet, slightly drying finish saturated with dark chocolate and orange.

Beautifully structured coffee: rich, tart, wine-toned acidity and syrupy mouthfeel. Ripe lemon, table grape and vanilla-toned nut are expressed with great depth and resonance in aroma and cup. Balanced finish.

Complex and distinctive in aroma and cup: fresh-cut fir, sweet flowers, berry, multidimensioned citrus, cocoa. Intense floral-toned acidity; delicately silky mouthfeel. Flavor persists deep into a smoothly balanced finish.

Very sweet, ripe lemon, rich cocoa, backgrounded lush flowers in aroma and cup. Vivacious acidity and a mouthfeel almost effervescent in its buoyancy and liveliness. Sweet, deep, flavor-saturated finish.

Deeply sweet and deeply pungent with round, complexly rich Kenya fruit: grapefruit, black currant, strawberry, supported by an undercurrent of fresh-cut fir. Ringing, resonant acidity, syrupy mouthfeel, flavor-saturated finish.

Intense and deep yet delicately balanced, saturated from aroma through finish with famous, sweetly tart Kenya black currant sensation, a layering of ripe lemon, honey, fresh-cut fir, blackberry, flowers and, depending on one’s memory bank, probably much more. Gently rich acidity, lightly silky mouthfeel. The black currant note rings on far into the 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.

Evaluated as espresso. Great depth and range of sensation. Between Ken (94) and co-taster Sean Kohmescher (94) about a dozen aroma/flavor descriptors surfaced, most circling around fruit (stone fruit, wine grape, berry) and nut-toned dark chocolate. Medium to full body; silky/syrupy mouthfeel; crisply dry, flavor-saturated finish. Balanced, chocolaty and berryish in two parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Co-taster Sean Kohmescher (94) and Ken (94) both admired this sample’s refined complexity and chocolate-toned depth. Ken cited crisp fir and lemon complication, whereas Sean’s reading of nuance inclined more toward berry and wine. Both found the sample slightly more impressive in the small cup than in milk, but nevertheless honored its sweet chocolaty balance in two parts milk, nuanced (for Ken) by hints of flowers and lemon.

Evaluated as espresso. Both Ken (94) and co-taster Sean Kohmescher (94) remarked on and enjoyed distinct and subtly unusual roasted nut and fudgy (Sean’s term) chocolate notes in aroma and small cup. Also some fruit complication (orange for Ken, berry for Sean). Medium to full body, smooth mouthfeel, and a superb finish that just keeps coming, carrying subtly transforming flavor notes far into the reaches of sensory memory. Fades just a bit in two parts milk, but remains pleasing and balanced.

Complex and almost giddily sweet-toned. Flowers, crisp black currant, lemon, blackberry, roasted nut carry from aroma to cup. Sweetly tart, refined acidity; light body but very smooth, silky mouthfeel. Resonant, flavor-saturated short finish simplifies just a bit in the long.

Aromatics expand and deepen in subtle but extraordinary flavor and finish: buttery milk chocolate; sweet, lily-like flowers; ripe orange, all resonating in a long, impeccably clean but rich finish. Round, vibrant acidity; syrupy mouthfeel.