The World's Leading Coffee Guide
We have published thousands of coffee reviews and espresso reviews since 1997. The reviews below appear in reverse chronological order by review date. Older reviews may no longer accurately reflect current versions of the same coffee. To search for a specific roaster, origin or coffee use the Advanced Search Function.
A richly sweet, almost overripe, berry-like aroma, with hints of earthiness. Full and smooth mouthfeel with soft, moderately sweet acidity. Though not quite as intense as in the aroma, the berry notes carry into the cup, joining a fruit-toned chocolate note that can be found in cocoa nibs. The long, dry, baker's chocolate finish turns slightly bitter as the coffee cools.
An easy cup to describe but a difficult one to rate, given that canned blends of this kind are hardly coffee at all in the traditional understanding of the term, rather another kind of beverage altogether: no acidity or brightness, sweet but woody, with an herby, peppery pungency and a molasses note that aspires to chocolate but doesn't quite make it past the wood and herb. Smoothes out in a neutral but pleasantly sweet finish. We gave it the benefit of the doubt at 81.
A balanced aroma combining mild tanginess with a mild, toasty sweetness. The acidity is balanced as well, softly sweet yet brisk. Medium to full bodied, with flavors of bright summer fruit and sweet chocolate. The sweet chocolate carries into a delicate finish.
A sweet-toned aroma with hints of caramel, milk chocolate and a soft roasty note. In the cup, mild floral brightness, medium body, good sweetness enveloping distinct walnut-like notes. The nut tones persist pleasantly into the long finish.
Simple, balanced, quietly rich coffee. Sweet-toned and gently pungent in the cup with silky mouthfeel and limited but pleasing nuance: hints of chocolate, banana-like fruit, honeyish flowers.
Low-toned, rich aroma: molasses, nut, floral topknots. In the cup smooth, deep, simple. The roast-influenced sweet caramel and molasses notes grow crisper under the influence of a gentle acidity, taking on a dark chocolate nuance.
Sweet berry-toned aroma with deepening hints of aromatic wood. Balanced sweet, winy acidity, with a smooth and syrupy mouthfeel. Concentrated dried blueberry and a fruit punch-like sweetness in the cup are balanced by a slightly musty note that reads as pleasant nuttiness. Long, dry finish with lingering notes of nut and cedar.
A light floral aroma mingles with hints of tangy fruit as well as sweet toast and nuts. Bright, balanced, somewhat winy acidity, lean but silky mouthfeel. Complex flavors combine mild citrus, jasmine, and berries with roasted nuts, chocolate and a hint of juniper. A sweet baker's chocolate finish lingers.
A complex aromatic profile with hints of caramel, honey, fruit, toasted grains and chocolate. Bright, tangy acidity, with a full, elegant mouthfeel. A well balanced cup, tangy Key lime and juicy orange-like tones fade toward a round, satisfying sweetness. A clean aftertaste overall, with slight hints of melted milk chocolate lingering in the long finish.
Simple, lush aroma with nut and molasses notes. In the cup syrupy mouthfeel, smooth acidity, powerful sweetness. The molasses notes round richly toward a floral-toned honey, balanced by a crisp, dry walnut. Finishes richly with a continued dry, edge-of-astringent walnut note.
Sweet-toned, deeply pungent aroma: blackberry, black currant, nut. In the cup soft acidity, lightly syrupy body, great depth and sweetness. The dry berry notes take on a crisp dark chocolate character that carries into the long, rich finish.
Sweet-toned, gently bright aroma: flowers, flowering grass, honey, a hint of cocoaish chocolate. In the cup lushly tart, deeply floral (jasmine, honeysuckle), with continued honey and crisp cocoa notes. The flowers in particular carry into a sweet finish.
Sweetly bright aroma, with tight-knit complexity: flowers, cocoa, honey, aromatic wood. In the cup lightly syrupy in mouthfeel, sweetly and lushly acidy but superbly balanced, with deep-toned night floral notes, orangy citrus and continued hints of cocoa and aromatic wood. Rich, flavor-saturated finish with a very slight astringency essentially lost in flowers.
Richly and sweetly bright aroma with aromatic wood, peach-toned fruit and cocoa notes. In the cup quietly acidy, elegantly crisply sweet, deeply floral, with distinct peach-toned fruit and hints of cocoaish chocolate that carry into a long, flavor-glistening finish.
Sweet, fruit-floral aroma, with a distinct blueberry note and a hint of black currant. In the cup, bright fruit-toned acidity, with juicy, medium to full body. Intense sweet blueberry continues in the cup, with light hints of citrus and night flowers. Dry berry tones linger in the finish.
Rich, bitter-sweet chocolate aroma, with a sweet, round tone and a hint of nuts. In the cup, balanced acidity, with medium body. Straight forward, yet intense bitter-sweet chocolate notes carry into the cup, with a slight hint of earthiness. Cocoa tones linger in the finish.
Sweet-toned, deep, slightly smoky aroma: aromatic wood, a hint of dark chocolate. In the small cup medium-bodied, but the pungent dark chocolate notes amplify and move forward, complicated by aromatic wood, walnut, even licorice. Long, resonant, chocolate-saturated finish. Dominates milk with a smoky heaviness that resolves quickly into a milk-sweetened version of the now familiar dark chocolate note.
An almost miraculously fine decaffeinated straight-shot espresso. In the nose crisp, elegant: leather, aromatic wood, hints of chocolate and yellow-fleshed fruit - peach or papaya. In the small cup syrupy mouthfeel, with intensified fruit, fresh-cut aromatic wood, butter, caramel, cocoa. The finish is balanced, sweet, deep, long. Predictably sweet and chocolate-toned in milk, though perhaps a bit too delicate.
A sweet tangerine aroma predominates, with a light floral quality reminiscent of Muscat dessert wine. Bright floral toned acidity carries into a subtly complex cup; hints of sweet caramel, citrus, cocoa and aromatic wood. A delicate candy-like sweetness in the finish.
Quietly bright in aroma and cup: orange, black currant, blackberry, cedar, a hint of cocoaish dark chocolate. Balanced acidity, medium body. The dark chocolate grows more explicit in the rich finish.
