Blind Assessment:

Sweet, deeply layered, complex. Toffee, black cherry, grapefruit zest, frankincense, dark chocolate in aroma and cup. Juicy, quietly tart acidity; plush, silky mouthfeel. The sweet-tart finish resonates with dark chocolate and toffee notes. Note: We deducted 3 points from our basic rating of 91 owing to one tainted cup out of five in the sample we tested.

Notes:

Produced by the Colbran family on its 25-hectare farm from trees of the Bourbon, Typica and Arusha varieties of Arabica. Counter Culture is a specialty roaster with an informative and lively website, a commitment to fine coffee, direct relationships with growers, transparency, and youthful, enthusiastic leadership. Visit www.counterculturecoffee.com or call 888-238-5282 for more information.

The Bottom Line: Displays the engaging, sweetly pungent, grapefruit-like nuance typical of many fine Papua New Guinea coffees. Taints caused by one or two bad beans in an otherwise sound batch of coffee are difficult to predict and control. Most likely, consumers who order this coffee will not encounter a tainted cup in their particular sample.