Blind Assessment: The moderately dark roast takes on equal billing with the green coffee here. It preserves the essential sweetness of the coffee, but pushes the acidity toward a rich, pungent citrus, a sort of roasty grapefruit, if that can be imagined. The finish is mildly but bracingly astringent.

Notes: Pacamara (also known as maragogipe and elephant beans) is a variety of the Coffea arabica species with extremely large, showy beans. A cross between the local variety pacas, itself a selection of bourbon, and the very large-beaned variety Maragogipe, pacamara has been planted widely in El Salvador over the past several decades. Surprisingly, it often produces a better cup than either of its parents, although this sample exhibits one of the weaknesses of the Maragogipe side of the family, a thin, rather lean body. Produced by the Batres farm. Humboldt Bay Coffee Company is a quality-oriented specialty roaster on the scenic north coast of California. Visit www.humboldtcoffee.com or call 800-787-5282 for more info.

Who Should Drink It: A nice variation on the pungent roast profile favored on California's North Coast, in this case simultaneously sweet, tart and roasty.