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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.
A classic Sumatra balance of sweet fruit and rich earth notes animate aroma and cup. The fruit displays a distinct black-cherry and orange character, particularly in the aroma, though flavor fades rather quickly in the very mildly astringent finish.
Low-toned, simple but resonantly deep coffee, with variants of smoke and chocolate notes running from aroma to cup. As the cup cools the smoky character subordinates itself to delicate chocolate and orangy floral notes. Very clean, sweet finish. The smoke notes, by the way, appear to be a variant on the musty/malty character of the unroasted monsooned beans, not a symptom of a darker roast.
Sweetly rich in aroma and cup, with ripe orange, clayish earth, caramel, roasted nut and grapefruit notes. The body is medium but the mouthfeel silky. The finish is particularly impressive: rich, sweet and long, saturated to the end with distinct, pleasing grapefruit notes.
Evaluated as espresso. Muted, nicely modulated fruit ferment notes read as a brandied chocolate in the aroma. In the small cup sweet and deep with fullish body, slightly rough mouthfeel and cedar, flowers and continuing brandied cherry and chocolate. Long, flavor-saturated finish. Sweetens nicely in milk with good chocolate character, though fades and thins a bit toward the finish.
Evaluated as espresso. Crisply sweet though rather simple aroma with some complicating hints: fruity chocolate, fresh leather. In the small cup fullish body, smooth mouthfeel, roundly rich but rather neutral in nuance: cedar, semi-sweet chocolate, nut. Recovers in a sweet, clean, distinctly chocolate-toned finish and blooms opulently in milk: round, deep, chocolaty, long-finishing.
Evaluated as espresso. In the aroma rather bright, high-toned, fruity: cherry, cherry-toned milk chocolate. In the small cup medium-bodied with a lightly syrupy mouthfeel and a continued tart sweetness that reads as a citrus-toned cherry. Clean, rich, simple finish. In milk softens to a delicate milk chocolate with a continued slightly tart edge.
Crisp, intense, yet sweetly lyric coffee. In both aroma and cup black currant, blackberry, orange, cherry; in the cup hints of cocoaish chocolate and merlot-like red wine as well. Long, sweet finish just on the rich side of astringent.
Sweet-toned, delicate aroma: distinct flowers (lilac?) orange, hints of honey and muted cedar. In the cup soft, sweet acidity, flowering grass, cocoa, orange. A slight grassy astringency in the finish suggests that at the time we cupped this coffee it was a bit too young. It may improve in the months following this review.
Deep, complex aroma: smoke, grapefruit, berry, hints of butterscotch and dark chocolate. In the cup delightful in front: crisply sweet, delicately roasty with grapefruit, dry berry and cocoaish chocolate notes. Remains quite sweet and rich in the short finish; grows slightly heavy in the long.
Sweet-toned, deep aroma with cedar, flowering grass, earth notes. Full-bodied in the cup, where the earth notes intensify (think moist, freshly fallen leaves) with nuance that suggests butterscotch and perhaps walnut. Rich, simple finish.
Deep, sweet-toned, roasty aroma: smoke, butter, flowers, cedar. Simplifies in the cup, where the roast dominates, though with some delicacy: continued smoke, cedar, butter, flowering grass notes. The aromatic notes soften and consolidate toward chocolate in the rich, sweet finish.
Crisply roasty in the aroma: gently scorched cedar, cardamom, with a softening hint of semi-sweet chocolate. In the cup lean but silky mouthfeel and a simple but properly robust impression of scorched cedar, spicy nut and a suggestion of dark chocolate. Finishes on the impressively rich side of astringent with good flavor persistence.
Sweet-toned, deep aroma: cedar, walnut, hints of orange, chocolate and flowers. In the cup sweet, roasty but delicate, with continued walnut, orange, and a cocoaish chocolate. The mouthfeel is silky but a roasty astringency begins to dominate as the cup cools. The finish is rich, sweet and chocolate-toned; it grows slightly heavy as it fades but a sweet chocolate has the last word.
Sweet-toned, quietly intense aroma: jasmine, sweet citrus, cocoa. In the cup the mouthfeel is silky, almost syrupy, the acidity intense but delicate with shimmers of white wine. Orange, lemon, cocoaish chocolate, floral notes. Long, deep, flavor-saturated finish.
Intense, exuberantly complex aroma: orange, grapefruit, honey, cedar, black currant. In the cup the acidity is intense and sweet, the mouthfeel syrupy, the flavor continuingly complex, dry yet lush: black currant, grapefruit, wine, a hint of milk chocolate. The finish is superb: saturated with grapefruit and chocolate, sweet, rich, long.
The surprise here is how well this blend performs in longer milk drinks. As a straight espresso it is agreeable enough, dominated in the aromatics by low-toned, musty notes that read as a raisiny semi-sweet chocolate or perhaps a spicy, cantaloupe-like fruit. The body is medium to full, the finish simple and rich with a slight astringent edge. The blend exerted a powerful though heavy dark-chocolate presence in short milk, but with more latte-like quantities of milk it bloomed with great sweetness and vivacity.
A very light-roasted, naturally sweet coffee that stays just on the rich side of raw. Low-toned but intense aroma: nut notes (raw cashew?) with hints of flowers and butter. In the cup soft acidity with a shimmer of wine, substantial body, continued sweet raw nut notes with hints of butter, chocolate and flowers. Rich, long, slightly heavy finish.
Ambiguous flavors associated with fruity mustiness run through the profile. Co-cupper Miguel Meza (87) describes them as: "Sweet-smoky and medicinal. A pungent and musty full-bodied coffee with exotic hints of eucalyptus, sassafras and bakers' yeast." Ken (86) is more conventional and more positive: "Rich, raisiny dark chocolate with a pungent cedar and herbal edge in aroma and rather syrupy cup."
Both co-cupper Miguel Meza (88) and Ken (89) agreed that this coffee was low-toned, but for Ken it displayed a quietly resonant depth whereas apparently for Miguel it was simply quiet. Miguel found chocolate and citrus in the aroma, Ken chocolate and a distinct ginger note. Miguel read "blueberry, over-ripe fruit and toast" in the crisply fruity cup, Ken dry chocolate, brandy, blueberries, apricot, flowers. Both noted a persistence of berryish fruit in an otherwise rather thinnish finish.
Co-cupper Miguel Meza's (88) description is succinct: "Cherry liqueur, smoke and chocolate." Ken (90) finds a similar palette: dark raisin-toned chocolate, red wine, cherry, flowers. Ken interprets Miguel's smoke notes as a slight hint of complicating mustiness. Altogether a quiet, wood-panels and leather easy chair sort of coffee.
