The World's Leading Coffee Guide
We have published thousands of coffee reviews and espresso reviews since 1997. The reviews below appear in reverse chronological order by review date. Older reviews may no longer accurately reflect current versions of the same coffee. To search for a specific roaster, origin or coffee use the Advanced Search Function.
Mild earth-toned aroma with hints of chocolate and soft nut. Full body, creamy mouthfeel and flavors that tend toward an earthy pungency with a pronounced dark chocolate complication. The pungent edge lingers long into the dry finish.
Classic dark-roasted Sumatra. Deep, pungent aroma: aromatic wood, molasses, raisin, a hint of earth. In the cup roast-rounded acidity, slightly leanish mouthfeel, rich bittersweet balance, with softly scorched aromatic wood notes that deepen toward baker’s chocolate. Rich and sweet in the short finish; a roasty astringency shadows the long.
Sweetly pungent aroma: fresh-cut aromatic wood and an orange- or peach-toned nut. Soft acidity, lightly syrupy body, balanced, perhaps a bit simple flavor, with continued suggestions of fresh-cut wood, orange peel, peach, nut. The peach-like fruit and nut take on a dark chocolate character in the rich, slightly heavy finish.
Round if somewhat subdued fruit- and aromatic-wood-toned aroma with a hint of orange-toned chocolate. A smooth cup: silky mouthfeel, crisp acidity and continued soft notes of aromatic wood, citrus and nut. Flavors simplify in the quietly rich finish.
Intense woodsy aroma suggesting fresh-cut pine with a hint of chocolate. Balanced acidity and smooth mouthfeel. In the cup sweet, mildly fermented fruit tones read as a heavy dark chocolate with continued crisp aromatic wood complication. Both tendencies carry into a finish in which sweetness outlasts a mild astringency.
Rich, sweet-toned aroma: flowers, hints of earth, aromatic wood, nut-toned chocolate. In the cup low-toned but vibrant acidity, silky mouthfeel, continued earth tones that take on a grapefruit-like pungency under the impact of the acidity. Some continuing hints of flowers and nut. Rich, simple finish with a hint of astringency.
Aromatic hints of berry-like fruit mix with aromatic wood and a deep, molasses-like sweetness. Rich acidity, continuing sweetness and cedary wood in the cup, rounding toward a ripe peach. The flavor mutes but hangs on in the sweet finish.
Classically sweet-fermented, dried-in-the-fruit profile. Rich, fermenty raisin-toned chocolate in the aroma with aromatic wood and pungent citrus complications. In the cup gently lively acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The ferment shows a rustic sweet apple-cidery character, with hints of fresh flowering grass, molasses and dark chocolate. The chocolate in particular carries into the finish, where the cup finally betrays its sweetness with a faint hint of salty herb.
Gentle, impressively balanced cup. Nut, milk chocolate hints in the aroma. Richly sweet-toned acidity, lightly syrupy body, softly lively flavor with continued hints of nut and chocolate and a black-cherryish fruit. Rich, long, resonant finish.
High-toned aroma combining elements of juicy, almost floral fruit with more pungent nuance of grapefruit, raisin and brandy. In the cup, distinctly lively acidity with continued sweetly pungent fruit, particularly a floral-edged white grape. Sweet finishing; hints of flavor reemerge in the long.
Roundly rich aroma dominated by intense, heady tones of fruit and aromatic wood. Silky mouthfeel, medium body and a bright-toned, though in no way sharp, acidity. In the cup a juicy impression and notes of cedar, grapefruit and sweet pipe tobacco, all persisting deeply into the long finish.
Intense aroma and flavor, dominated by one of the most distinctive notes in coffee, a kind of earthy, pungent citrus sensation that may suggest grapefruit to some, butterscotch to others, but essentially is a pleasure that belongs to this style of coffee alone. Complicated by flowering grass, nut, dark chocolate. Balanced, integrated acidity, silky mouthfeel, sweetly rich, resonantly flavor-saturated finish.
Crisp walnut and cherryish chocolate in the aroma, together with spicy aromatic wood. Sweet, deep, powerful acidity, rich and lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The spicy aromatic wood and walnut notes carry into the cup, taking on a caramel-like sweetness complicated by hints of fruit and layers of dark and milk chocolate. Rich in the short finish with lingering chocolate tones and a slight astringency in the long.
Fruit-nectar-like aroma with suggestions of peach, flowers, honey and perhaps sweet white wines such as Gewurztraminer. Lush acidity, medium to full body, silky mouthfeel and juicy, fermenty fruit flavors carrying from aroma into cup: lemon, dried berries, tangerine, cherry, balanced by a pungent hint of aromatic wood. Flavors soften in the finish but linger with a complex balance of sweet and savory.
Classic cup: pure, lush, powerful. Molasses sweetness in the aroma with hints of nut and flowers. In the cup grandly but sweetly acidy, syrupy mouthfeel, continued molasses and night floral notes with hints of honey and nut. Long, rich finish.
Sweet and complex aromatically, combining round floral tones with stone fruit, toast and caramel. In the small cup medium-bodied and bright. The flowers persist, softening slightly, and the fruit turns toward crushed strawberry, carrying into a rich finish. The flavor profile is sustained in two parts milk, with a rounder, sweeter, chocolate-tinged version of flowers and fruit.
Dark chocolate and aromatic wood with a hint of brightness in the aroma. In the small cup light-bodied but delicately plush in mouthfeel, pungently sweet, with continued hints of aromatic wood, dark chocolate, and a complex but muted fruit. The chocolate in particular carries into a rich, rather dry finish. Flavor maintains nicely in three parts hot milk, the chocolate rounding and softening predictably while the aromatic wood notes retain some crisp authority.
Rich aroma: flowers, nut, a hint of citrus. In the cup crisply sweet acidity, silky mouthfeel, deep floral flavor complicated by pungent dry berry and grapefruit-like citrus. Pure finish: very sweet, very long.
Sweet, round aroma with muted notes of nut and chocolate. In the cup restrained acidity and a soft, fruit-toned flavor that with patience yields suggestions of bittersweet chocolate, honey and cedar. The bittersweet chocolate note carries into a pleasant though short finish.
Sweet-toned, fresh aroma, with hints of orangy fruit, dry berry, dark chocolate. In the cup very soft acidity, plush mouthfeel, and an almost sugary sweetness with continued hints of dry berry. The sweetness carries into the finish, where a suggestion of the chocolate revives.
