Blind Assessment: Muted aroma with roasty pine and spice notes and a hint of low-key fruit. Delicate in the cup, with distinct and explicit spice notes ? cinnamon, nutmeg perhaps, with a continuing hint of apricot-toned fruit.

Notes: No decaffeination method is indicated, suggesting this coffee was decaffeinated by the conventional method, using a solvent that selectively unites with the caffeine before being steamed out of the green, unroasted beans. Any small residues of solvent surviving the steaming presumably are driven out during roasting. For every pound of whole-bean Sumatra or Sumatra Decaf sold in the month of January 2005 Starbucks will donate $2 or the equivalent in local currency to aid agencies benefiting victims of the December 2004 tsunami. Visit www.starbucks.com or call 800-782-7282 for more info.

Who Should Drink It : Those who prefer a quiet cup and a quiet nervous system.