LATEST REVIEWS

In the aroma cocoaish chocolate with floral top notes. In the cup Ken (89) and co-cupper Ted Stachura (87) both found continued baker's chocolate notes with a lean toward nut. Complications for Ken were hints of flowers and white wine, for Ted faint suggestions of citrus and pipe tobacco. Round and chocolaty in the short finish, fading toward a mild astringency (Ted: "dry wood") in the long.

Roasty notes in both aroma and cup: pungent cedar, dark chocolate, caramel. For co-cupper Ted Stachura (88) further hints of nut and pipe tobacco; for Ken (88) dusk flowers. Full body, lightly syrupy mouthfeel, a slight hint of astringency in the otherwise rich, sweet, cocoa-toned finish.

A very sweet-toned coffee with a balancing crisp pungency. Roasted nut notes turned up in aroma and cup for both Ken (89) and co-cupper Ted Stachura (86) with low-acid fruit notes that Ken read as raisin and Ted as cherry. Ken found cocoa and dusk-floral notes in both cup and finish, which perhaps accounts for his higher rating.

Ken (89) and co-cupper Ted Stachura (88) both found cocoa, black-cherryish fruit and nut notes running from aroma through finish. Soft acidity, medium body, silky mouthfeel. Rich finish with fruit notes persisting through a very slight hint of astringency.

Caramelly, wine-like aroma with ripe, perhaps overripe, fruit notes. Dense, heavy presence in the cup. Both Ken (89) and co-cupper Ted Stachura (89) found bittersweet chocolate notes. Ted also noted nut, pipe tobacco, hints of leather. Long, nut-toned finish.

Co-cupper Ted Stachura (91) and Ken (88) both admired the honeyish, crisply fruit- and floral-influenced aroma. Ken, however, found the cup very slightly sharp with a mild but distracting astringency. Ted, however, had no complaints: "bright, tangy acidity with floral tones. Flavor: floral, sweet, [with] notes of tangerine and fruity white wine. Mild, nutty finish."

Ken (91) was more attracted to this coffee's sweet, deeply low-toned, big-bodied character than was co-cupper Ted Stachura (89), who found the dominant nut and bittersweet chocolate character marked by a hint of woodiness. But both cuppers describe a deep, dark-chocolaty, nutty coffee with a balancing hint of citrus and a rich if slightly heavy finish.

Little difference in rating or description between Ken (92) and co-cupper Ted Stachura (91) in regard to this exceptional Brazil natural. Ted's assessment: "Big, floral aroma - lavender, fruit and sweet-leaning white wine. Floral and fruit qualities carry into the bright, yet fine, acidity. Complex flavors with more floral upfront, subtle, tart citrus tones and lots of sweetness. Clean finish with lingering floral hints."

Ken (91) was struck by the pungently sweet berry or black currant notes, which carry straight through from aroma through cup to finish. Co-cupper Ted Stachura (also 91) was a bit more general in his characterization, finding "sweet, winy tones and fruit" in the aroma and "bright acidity with floral qualities and sweet tangerine, cherry blossom and chocolate" in the cup. For both Ken and Ted the finish was slightly heavy but nevertheless pleasantly rich and flavor-saturated.

In the aroma roasted nut and honey for co-cupper Ted Stachura (91), plum, cedar and nut for Ken (92). In the cup softly acidy, gently bittersweet, quietly complex: cocoa, roasted nut, (walnut for Ted), hints of flowers, citrus and plumy fruit. The cocoa turns chocolaty in a surprisingly rich finish.

Balanced, complex, complete. The quiet but assertive acidity was praised as "balanced" by co-cupper Ted Stachura (93) and "sweet, rich, integrated" by Ken (94). The mouthfeel was "juicy" (Ted), the aroma and cup showed a crisply sweet complex of dry berry, cocoa, flowers, citrus, nut. Long, deep, chocolate-toned finish.

Exquisitely lyric aroma: flowers, tart cherry, honey, a suggestion of milk chocolate. In the cup sweet acidity and continued meadowy flower and flowering grass notes, honey, tart cherry, all of which carry into a delicate but ringing finish.

Exhilarating, fresh-toned aroma: jasmine, sweet herbs. In the cup crisply sweet-toned acidity, medium body, continued flowers, sweet herb and a tingly, cocoa-toned chocolate. Deep, flower-saturated finish.

Deep-toned and roasty in the aroma: dark chocolate, fir, floral top notes. In the cup heavy bodied, low-toned, continued dark chocolate and aromatic wood notes with the barest hint of flowers at the top. Smooths out nicely in the finish: rich, sweet, chocolaty.

A quiet but distinctive Ethiopia wet-processed profile. Distinct orange blossom and honeyed orange notes in the aroma, with hints of nut and caramel. In the cup delicate, balanced acidity, silky mouthfeel, continued honeyed orange and orange blossom with a balancing, slightly pungent nut note, walnut perhaps. Sweet, flavor saturated finish. The cup stiffens and simplifies slightly as it cools.

Unusual profile. Intensely and pungently roasty but quite sweet, with the dominant note licorice or fennel with hints of rosemary, roasted nut, molasses, raisin, dark chocolate. The chocolate lingers most clearly in the clean, richly long finish. Some mild inconsistency from cup to cup.

Deep-toned, cherryish fruit and pungent aromatic wood in the aroma. In the cup pronounced, citrus-toned acidity, full mouthfeel, bittersweet structure, with continued hints of cherry, cocoa, and a pungent wood or tomato note. The cocoa turns toward chocolate in the long, rich finish.

A paradoxical coffee, thin and subdued, but with considerable suggestions of richness and complexity. In the aroma muted suggestions of night flowers, butter, black cherries. In the cup lean but silky mouthfeel and delicate hints of spicy nut, cocoa, more flowers and cherry, perhaps of a rather dullish aromatic wood. The flavor persists nicely into an otherwise short, fast-fading finish.

Crisp, cocoaish dark chocolate with nut and floral hints in the aroma. Soft, muted acidity in the cup, medium body, with a very sweet, molasses-toned character balanced by the walnut-like crispness of the pervasive cocoa notes. Continued hints of flowers. Short but nicely flavor saturated finish.

Janus-like coffee: sweet, rich, and lushly fruity with an herby bitter note that, depending on taste, either complicates or shadows the main event of the fruit. In the aroma the lushly fermented fruit reads as rich, cherryish chocolate with a hint of flowers and pungent cedar. In the cup gently acidy, medium bodied, crisply sweet with continued cherry- and chocolate-toned fruit and the bitterish rosemary note. Sweetness and chocolate prevail in the surprisingly clean finish.