Top-Rated Coffees (94+ points)

Quiet introduction: soft notes of fir, flowers and milk chocolate in the aroma. All of this soars in the cup, intense yet perfectly balanced. The floral notes, which take back seat to the milk chocolate and gently pungent fir in the cup, move forward again in a very sweet, clean finish. Delicately tart acidity, silky mouthfeel.

Big, deep, syrupy. The aroma and flavor express the complexity of the pure coffee fruit: sweetly tart, lemon- and cherry-toned, with a crisp, backgrounded nut and fresh-cut fir, all of which soften in a long, resonant finish.

Deep, intense, pungently fruity aroma; think grapefruit. Rich, balanced acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Continued complexly sweet yet pungent fruit dominates in the cup: grapefruit, lemon, blackberry, black currant. Rich, flavor-saturated finish.

Complex and unusual. Flowers, lemon, cocoaish nut, with a very distinctive pungent, stewed fruit note, sweet yet savory. Rich acidity, syrupy mouthfeel. Long, flavor-saturated finish.

Delicate hints of orange, flowers and roasted nut in the aroma. Gently bright-toned acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel with juicy suggestions of lemon, orange, stone fruit and more flowers with a pungent hint of fresh-cut fir. Superb finish: Long, sweet, complex, fruit-toned.

Bright, balanced, delicate. Tart cherry, peach, black currant, rose-like flowers in aroma and cup. Giddily and sweetly bright acidity; light, silky-textured mouthfeel. Sweet, gently rich finish deeply saturated with flavor.

Delicate, sweet-toned, giddily bright. Honey and rose-like flowers dominate in aroma in cup, with hints of ripe orange and moist pipe tobacco. Fruit-saturated acidity, light but very smooth mouthfeel, richly resonant finish in which the honey and floral notes turn vaguely but pleasingly toward milk chocolate.

Grandly pure and sweetly acidy. Symphonic citrus notes range from ripe orange to tart lemon to pungent bergamot, with a softening hint of flowers and a rounding hint of cocoaish nut. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The cocoa note turns decisively chocolate in a richly dry finish.

Depth and syrupy opulence in an extravagant aromatic profile: heavy-scented dusk flowers, rich, almost carnal fruit (apricot, plum, cherry), a brightening hint of lemon, crisp cocoa intensifying toward a resonantly flavor-saturated finish.

Deep, rich and pungent in aroma and cup. Roundly sweet with flavors that layer dried berries, apricot and spicy tea rose atop dark chocolate. Flavors penetrate deep into a long, resonant finish.

Bright and crisp, with aroma and flavor notes that balance honey and lavender with tartly sweet lemon and bergamot. Fruit and flowers gently linger in a long, clean finish.

Notes of tea rose, honey and orange in the aroma. Long, sustained flavors in the small cup, displaying a deeper, more complex variation of the aroma profile (including brandied fruit, flowers and chocolate) with the flavors persisting in the long, sweet-toned finish. Lean but smooth mouthfeel. Retains impressive complexity in two parts milk: lemon and flowers softly layered on deeper chocolate, nut and caramel tones.

Balanced, complete, yet wildly distinctive. Very sweet-toned aroma: table grape, spicy nut, flowers. All carry into the cup, where a crisp cocoa (dry, nut-toned chocolate) contributes complication and depth. Tart but softly fruit-toned acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Nut and cocoa in particular carry into the finish.

Deep, complex and layered. Night flowers, molasses, lemon, crisp cocoa in aroma and cup. Sweetly tart acidity, smooth, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Richly balanced, flavor-saturated finish.

Symphonically fruit-toned and shimmeringly bright. An “underlying crushed grape sweetness” (co-cupper Wendy De Jong, 94) supported an array of lemon and berry suggestions. Ken (94) found deepening hints of fresh-cut fir and dark chocolate as well. Forward but accessible acidity, silky mouthfeel, sweetly tart finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Savory-sweet, syrupy and deep in the small cup: cherryish fruit, dark chocolate, brandy, aromatic wood. Simplifies a bit but remains rich in two parts milk: Dark chocolate and aromatic wood dominate; the fruit rounds toward apricot.

Complex and balanced flavor and aroma: orange-toned citrus, cherry, cedary aromatic wood, a hint of baking spice. The acidity is extraordinary: deep, powerful yet roundly rich and sweet. The mouthfeel is full and syrupy, the finish long and fruit-saturated.

Evaluated as espresso. Opulent, complex and big-bodied. Night flowers and a pronounced brandy-like fruit dominate aroma and the small cup, with a crisp, drying hint of cedar. Plump, syrupy mouthfeel. Long, flavor-saturated finish. Two parts milk turns the brandied fruit toward a minty dark chocolate with a continuing floral complication.

Aroma and flavor are lush yet crisply authoritative. Tartly sweet notes of berry and lemon, white floral notes and a hint of milk chocolate in both aroma and cup. Buoyantly juicy acidity, syrupy mouthfeel, long, sweet finish with continued suggestions of berry and milk chocolate.

A juicy fruit-toned cup, combining notes of black currant and citrus with honey and butter. Intense, penetrating acidity, syrupy body and long lasting flavors. The fruit flavors continue into the finish, taking on a tartly-sweet quality.