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.
Evaluated as espresso. Sweetly tart, fruit-toned and floral. Pomegranate, narcissus, sandalwood, molasses, an intriguing hint of cayenne in aroma and small cup. Plush, syrupy mouthfeel; resonant, flavor-saturated finish. Three parts milk tempers and rounds the tart fruit notes, while florals remain deep and pungent.
Evaluated as espresso. Attractively roast-prominent, deeply sweet and complex. Scorched cedar, baking chocolate, blackberry jam, blood orange zest, marjoram, violet-like flowers in aroma and small cup. Lightly creamy, almost fluffy mouthfeel. Finish consolidates around an herb-toned chocolate enveloped in a smoky resonance. In three parts milk, intensely sweet and aromatically vibrant, supported by a rich, smoky depth.
Evaluated as espresso. Quietly perfumed, richly dry and tart. Scorched cedar, baking chocolate, dried mulberry, wisteria, almond paste in aroma and small cup. Crisp, lightly satiny mouthfeel. The finish is sweetly roast-toned and redolent with aromatic cedar notes. Rich cocoa and delicate florals animate the roast-toned milk shot.
Southern Ethiopia coffees like this one are largely produced from indigenous Ethiopian varieties of Arabica long grown in the region. This is a “natural” or dry-processed version, meaning the beans were dried inside the fruit rather than after the fruit has been removed, as is the case with wet-processed or “washed” coffees. In addition to […]
Delicate, intricately sweet, vibrant and impeccably balanced. Rose, crisp fruit (green apple, Bing cherry, wild strawberry), honey, tangerine zest, dragonwell green tea, fresh juniper in aroma and cup. The structure is incredibly sweet and juicy, yet zesty and richly tart. Light, but very silky mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates in the finish with a delicately crisp, sweet resonance.
Evaluated as espresso. Richly sweet, chocolaty and floral. Narcissus, dark chocolate, cedar, black cherry, almond paste in aroma and small cup. Full, syrupy mouthfeel; resonant, chocolaty finish. In three parts milk, chocolate and narcissus notes bloom, and almond paste with hints of cedar balance the lyrical sweetness at the top.
Crisply sweet, fruit-toned. Raspberry, fresh-cut fir, maple syrup, cocoa powder, freesia-like flowers in aroma and cup. Sweet in structure with brisk acidity; satiny-smooth mouthfeel. Gently drying finish centers around quiet notes of raspberry and fir.
Bizarre, beautiful, shocking, intricate. Tropical fruit (lychee, passionfruit), sweet herb (clove, cilantro, dill, spearmint), dark chocolate, musk, yogurt. In structure quite sweet, roundly tart (think unsweetened yogurt), deeply savory. Lightly syrupy in mouthfeel. Passionfruit, chocolate, dill all make distinct appearances in the drying but sweetly and richly complex finish.
Crisply sweet, richly tart-savory. Dried apricot, marjoram, wild honey, oak, narcissus in aroma and cup. Balanced sweet-tart structure with vibrant, juicy acidity; satiny-smooth mouthfeel. The finish consolidates to dried apricot and marjoram with undertones of honey.
Richly spicy, musky, chocolaty. Mexican chocolate (cocoa nib, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar), dried parsley, nutmeg, musk in aroma and cup. Crisp and piquant in structure; light, silky mouthfeel. The impressive finish is drying yet quite sweet, saturated with chocolate, cinnamon and musk suggestions.
Intense, original, sweet-spicy. Walnut, gardenia, clove, sandalwood, ripe lemon, a hint of yogurt-like tartness in aroma and cup. Balanced and sweetly pungent in structure. A clove-toned spice lifts and invigorates an otherwise heavyish finish.
Intense, spicy-sweet, chocolaty. Mexican chocolate (cocoa nib, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar), oak, orange zest, juniper berry or a light whiff of gin in aroma and cup. Sweet but crisp and balanced in structure, with a savory bottom. Light, though quite syrupy, mouthfeel. Cinnamon dominates in the short finish, but cocoa comes forward in a sweet and long-lasting finish.
Bright, intensely pungent, oddly engaging. Spearmint, blueberry, fresh yogurt, sweet cocoa, musk in aroma and cup. Tart and bittersweet in structure; in mouthfeel, syrupy and plush. The finish consolidates richly around suggestions of sweet cocoa and fresh yogurt, with a very slight suggestion of earthy decay.
Sweet, heavy, musky and perfumy. Elderflowers, fresh cilantro, strawberry-flavored yogurt, lime, musk in aroma and cup. Intensely sweet in structure but balanced by a distinctly crisp, bitter edge. Light, satiny mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates in a sweet though drying finish.
Richly sweet-savory, spice- and floral-toned. Black cherry, tangerine zest, gardenia, marjoram, a hint of bay leaf in aroma and cup. In structure, sweet-tart and juicy with a savory depth. Syrupy and plush in mouthfeel; spicy flowers lead in a quietly flavor-saturated finish.
Richly sweet-savory. Black tea, dried lavender, baking chocolate, fresh peach, fresh sugarcane in aroma and cup. Sweet-tart-savory structure with rich, vibrant acidity; plump, syrupy mouthfeel. The gentle finish centers around savory notes of black tea with sugarcane and a hint of lavender.
Sweetly tart, very lightly fermenty. Chocolate liqueur, lime zest, hints of peach and strawberry, mint, cedar in aroma and cup. Very sweet but crisply bitter/tart in structure; light, plushly buoyant mouthfeel. Drying but deep in the finish, with pleasing liqueur-like chocolate notes persisting.
Evaluated as espresso. Richly chocolaty and floral-toned. Chocolate fudge, gardenia, almond, cedar, molasses in aroma and small cup. Crisp, satiny mouthfeel; finish consolidates to notes of chocolate fudge and gardenia with cedar undertones. In three parts milk, chocolate and gardenia notes are further amplified with hints of cedar and almond, as well.
Roundly bright, flowers and cocoa. Baking chocolate, passionfruit, roasted pecan, molasses, honeysuckle in aroma and cup. Delicately but intensely sweet-tart but poised in structure; light but very silky/supple in mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates in a sweet though drying finish.
Bright, richly sweet-savory. Blackberry, jasmine, oak, cocoa nib, pink peppercorn in aroma and cup. Sweetly savory structure with lively, juicy acidity; satiny-smooth mouthfeel. The flavor-saturated finish leads with blackberry and jasmine in the short; pink peppercorn and cocoa nib resurface in the long.
