Blind Assessment: Evaluated as espresso. Bright, juicy, floral-toned. Chocolate fudge, black cherry, lemon verbena, brown sugar, sandalwood in aroma and cup. Satiny-smooth mouthfeel; the crisply sweet finish leads with black cherry and brown sugar suggestions. In cappuccino-scaled milk, black cherry and dark chocolate notes harmonize far into the long finish.

Notes: Coffees from the Yirgacheffe region are produced from distinctive, largely indigenous Ethiopian varieties of Arabica long grown in the region. Processed by the natural method (dried in the whole fruit). In addition to his retail roasting operation, Aroma Roast Coffees, Simon Hsieh also operates Soaring Phoenix Trading, a business focused on purpose-built commercial espresso blends and high-quality single-origin coffees. Customers can also visit the new showroom, Chateau Andy, in Taipei City. Visit www.facebook.com/4ArtsZeroDefectCoffees or call 886-0983-749876 for more information.

The Bottom Line: A pretty floral-toned single-origin espresso from Ethiopia with a developed enough roast profile to encourage deep fudge-like chocolate and resonant aromatic wood.

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