LATEST REVIEWS

Co-cupper Andy Newbom (92) and Ken (91) both found ways to admire this Kenya. Andy's descriptors circle enthusiastically around flowers and citrus; "gardenia and lemon-blossom" in the aroma, "pears - orange butter and complex mild citrus" together with "gardenia and rose" in the cup. Ken reported parallel, if more generalized, descriptors of black currant, blackberry and hints of lemon, aromatic wood and night flowers. The mouthfeel was "fat and silky" for Ken, "creamy and fruity" for Andy. Ken was slightly disappointed by what he felt was a slight astringent imbalance in the finish, which for Andy was "long ... smooth and lingered romantically."

Both Ken (93) and co-cupper Andy Newbom (92) admired the deep, profoundly fruit-toned character of this coffee. "Very sweet, richly but discreetly fruity coffee" for Ken, displaying "butter, honey, nut, aromatic wood, night flowers, a hint of herb." Andy read more excitement and less discretion in the fruit character, in which (prepare yourself) "a menage a trois of raisins, dates and butterscotch got together with tangerine, clover honey and some lemons and raspberries and threw the sexiest block part ever." Incidentally, sweetly bright acidity, "round and juicy" (Andy) mouthfeel, and a finish that resolved the profile with profound sweetness and "the slightest hint of savory complexity" (also Andy).

Same admiring scores from Ken (93) and co-cupper Andy Newbom (93) for this smoothly complete, complexly balanced coffee. "Sweet fruit and spice" in the aroma for Andy, which provokes ideas of "stewed jasmine and apricots." Ken finds flowers and apricot also, along with a little pungent note he calls butterscotch. The acidity is "smoothly delicate" for Ken, "luxurious and suave" for Andy, who suggests the acidity "combined the best of both red and golden apples." Refined flavor with a fine balance of dry and sweet fruit tones. Andy elaborates with an avalanche of allusions to apricot, casaba melon and "touches of red currant and candied grapefruit." Rich, deep, "long and glorious" (Andy) finish.

Co-cupper Andy Newbom (94) admired this pungent yet lushly sweet Bourbon slightly more than Ken (92) did. Certainly Andy found more ways to describe its engaging contrast of lush sweetness and almost savory spice. For Andy "root beer, lemon peel" in the aroma, "fruit leather" in the acidity; a "complex blend of tangerine and cinnamon oil, clarified butter and sweet red pepper rounding into guava and gooseberry" in the cup, plus "hints of cocoa nib." The finish impressively resolved the pungent/sweet paradox running through the profile: "astoundingly clear and bell-toned" for Andy; "long, sweetly flavor-saturated" for Ken.

"An absolutely mind-blowing coffee" for co-cupper Andy Newbom (93). "Utterly pure yet soaringly intense," for Ken (97). "Say fruit ten times," Andy reports, and then he does, mainly variations of grapefruit, apricot and melon with green apple and Bartlett pear thrown in for the finish. For Ken that entire nuance is wrapped up in the extraordinary, singular explosion of cedary, pungently sweet berry, the quintessential Bourbon character. The acidity is enveloped in sweetness; in Andy's colorful language it "startles and snuggles all at once." For mouthfeel Andy suggests "crème fraîche Meyer lemon chiffon"; Ken sticks with a pedestrian "syrupy." Ken awarded a perfect 10 to the long, balanced, deeply flavor-saturated finish.

Intriguing mid-tones throughout the profile: mainly a sort of orangy, floral citrus with a backgrounded complex simultaneously suggesting fresh earth, mushroom and decomposing leaves. All of this takes on a vaguely chocolaty tone in the finish. Gently smooth acidity, medium body.

Rich, very intense aroma: dark chocolate, aromatic wood, nut, hints of citrus: orange, tangerine. The cup is influenced by a moderately dark roast, which nicely rounds acidity and turns the celebrated Kenya dry berry notes toward a crisply sweet cocoa or dark chocolate, with a continued shimmer of citrus. The berry-toned chocolate carries into a simple, rich finish. The only limitation of this graceful coffee is a lean, almost thin mouthfeel, though that could be admired as another expression of its complex delicacy.

An exciting, rather unusual complex of sweet but pungent citrus, nut and flowers animates the profile from aroma through finish. The citrus in particular is complex and engaging, one moment suggesting Meyer lemon, another especially sweet grapefruit. One cup of five we sampled displayed a very slight hint of bitterness; otherwise the rating for this exotic coffee would go higher.

Clean, complex, impeccable. Exhilaratingly dominated by crisp, nut-toned dry berry (blackberry, ripe black currant) in aroma and cup. Lush, lightly wine-toned acidity; medium body; syrupy mouthfeel. The underlying sweetness in the cup carries into the long, flavor-permeated finish.

Rich, complex fruit aroma, intensely sweet and full. Roundly balanced acidity, smooth body, with a hint of floral and fruit tones expanding in the cup: sweet citrus, berries, currants. A mildly astringent mouthfeel carries into the lightly bittersweet chocolate-toned finish.

Co-cupper Jim Reynolds (88): "This coffee had a complex, well-balanced aroma that reminded me of a vanilla flower, although I?ve never smelled a vanilla flower. I wish more of this had carried over into the cup, because the flavor was not as complex [nor] as interesting." Ken (92), on the other hand, found the floral and prune-toned fruit character of the aroma carried well into the cup, joined by cocoa and a slight, not unpleasant, salt or savory note. Ken and Jim agreed, however, in praising the richly resonant finish.

Balanced, pungent character - "smoky and nutty" for co-cupper Jim Reynolds (89), "prune, nut, aromatic wood" for Ken (90) with rich floral hints. Smooth mouthfeel, round, rich finish.

Rich, low-toned, deceptively simple coffee. Co-cupper Jim Reynolds (89) found it a quietly complete cup, though "somewhat shy" in acidity. Both Jim and Ken (90) wrestled with a very slight hint of what cuppers call "bagginess," a faint mildewed note that appears in coffees that have suffered exposure to too much moisture during shipment or storage. The coffee's essential richness and floral cocoa tendencies overcame this shadow note, however, allowing the underlying beauty of the coffee to resonate in cup and long, flavor-saturated finish.

For co-cupper Jim Reynolds (89) a smooth and essentially complete cup but too subdued, with "unassertive acidity." Ken (90) found the cup quiet as well, but enjoyed floral, apricot, chocolate, possibly butter notes in aroma and cup, with an acidity that was richly red-wine-like.

Co-cupper Jim Reynolds (91) praised a "spicy pungency" in the aroma and a smooth, balanced acidity. Ken (89) agreed. Both found the pungent character carrying into the cup, complicated for Ken by hints of flowers and cocoa. Simple but satisfying finish. Jim found the body "balanced in the light to medium range" but Ken found the mouthfeel a bit lean, accounting for his somewhat lower score.

Both co-cupper Jim Reynolds (90) and Ken (91) described a very sweet-toned aroma and pleasingly delicate acidity, which Ken glossed as "wine-toned." Lightly syrupy mouthfeel, clean and balanced in flavor, "nutty" for Jim, tartly fruity and floral for Ken. Very sweet-finishing.

Ken (93) favored this coffee considerably more than did co-cupper Jim Reynolds (89) despite the fact that both described it in similar terms. Ken was taken by floral qualities in aroma and cup, an essential sweetness, and what he called a complimentary "cocoaish dry fruit," doubtless the same sensation as Jim describes positively as "pungent" and "spicy and nutty." Both agreed that the acidity was gentle, though Ken scored it higher and described it as "crisp and sweet." Both found the mouthfeel attractively smooth and the finish long and flavor-saturated.

Ken (92) particularly admired this coffee's deep, night-blossoming floral character which he felt was balanced by an underlying crisp, cedary cocoa. Co-cupper Jim Reynolds (91) found the profile "mild" and caramelly with a soft ? for Jim, a bit too soft ? acidity.

Co-cupper Jim Reynolds and Ken both admired this coffee, but Ken, at 90, was less admiring than Jim at 95. Essentially, Jim found everything he wanted in an African coffee of this style - a combination of complexity, balance and deep dimension - whereas Ken liked what he found but wanted more of it, more intensity and a more pronounced, distinctive character. Both admired a bright, citrusy but delicate acidity, silky mouthfeel, and a mildly pungent chocolate that Jim described as "smoky chocolate" and Ken as "cocoa and aromatic wood." Jim found the aftertaste "lingering," Ken found it pleasing but short.

Both co-cupper Jim Reynolds (94) and Ken (91) particularly admired the "active acidity" (Jim) of this coffee with its rich berry and floral influences. Jim found the flavor "complex but balanced." Ken was more specific: "dark chocolate, cherryish fruit, a hint of dusk flowers." Both approved of mouthfeel ("lightly syrupy," Ken) and finish ("light, bright and very pleasant," Jim).