Blind Assessment: Bright, crisp, deeply sweet. Honey, lilac, cedar, tea rose, mango in aroma and cup. Crisply sweet-tart structure; satiny-smooth body. Notes of mango and spice-toned florals carry the short finish, while honey lingers in the long.

Notes: This coffee tied for the fourth-highest rating in a tasting of holiday coffees for Coffee Review‘s December 2017 tasting report. Produced by Ricardo and Gonzalo Hernandez entirely of beans from the rare Sudan Rume, a presumably very old variety of Arabica originally selected from wild trees growing on the Boma Plateau of Sudan, close to the border with Ethiopia. This is a wet-processed or “washed” version, meaning that the fruit skin and pulp were removed from the seeds or beans before they were dried. OQ Coffee is a New Jersey-based small-batch roasting company that emphasizes its commitment to coffee quality and community-building. Visit www.oqcoffee.com for more information.

The Bottom Line: A fine introduction to a rare variety of Arabica, Sudan Rume: crisp, bright, sweetly tart.