LATEST REVIEWS

(As brewed in a Flavia Fusion Drink Station using a Flavia proprietary single-serve pouch at a cup volume of 7 ounces): Simple, smoky aroma with hints of flowers and fruit. In the cup shallow and sharply smoky, with muted complications of walnut and chocolate. The finish is heavy and rather astringent but rich, with continued hints of walnut and chocolate.

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule at a cup volume of 7.25 ounces): Distinct vanilla and caramel aroma with a hint of sweetly acidy fruit, orange perhaps. In the cup light in body and delicate in mouthfeel, soft and simple in flavor with dilute hints of caramel and orange. Moderately rich in the short finish, very slightly astringent in the long.

(As brewed in a Melitta One:One single-serve brewing device in a Podhead Arabica Express brand 44mm pod at a cup volume of 5 ounces): Subdued, faintly rich aroma, with wine and walnut notes and regrettable hints of cardboard. In the cup medium bodied with a roundly acidy, wine-like character and a touch of lush sweetness, though the cardboard still lurks. Rich in the short finish, mildly astringent in the long.

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule at a cup volume of 5.25 ounces): Sweet, round aroma complicated by cherry-toned fruit notes. Rather rich in the cup, with decent body and sweet, wine-toned acidity but little else in the way of nuance. Clean, round short finish, slight bitterness in the long.

(As brewed in a Bunn My Cafe single-serve brewing device using a 62mm pod at a cup volume of 5 ounces): Lovely aroma: balanced, delicately sweet, floral, with orange-toned citrus notes. Radically simplifies in the cup: turns ordinary, sweetly shallow, gently acidy, lean-bodied. The orange notes resurface in the thin but cleanly refreshing finish. (Same pod as brewed in the Krups 1010 at a cup volume of 6 ounces: Watery, shallow, delicately sweet acidity, remote suggestions of caramel and fruit, basically underextracted. Rating 79.)

(Tasted as produced by a Braun Tassimo Single Serve Coffee Maker brewing a Tassimo T-Disc at a cup volume determined by the coding on the capsule, in this case 3.5 ounces): Simple, sweetly smoky aroma, with some depth of sensation and floral and fruit hints. As would be expected given the short serving size, full-bodied in the cup, with a fermented musty fruit that reads as walnut and bitterish semi-sweet chocolate. Cardboardy undertones, perhaps owing to staling. Simple but surprisingly clean short finish, with some mild astringency in the long.

(As brewed in a Senseo single-serve brewing device in a Podhead Sensation 62mm pod at a cup volume of 5 ounces): Sweet, round, fairly deep aroma with hunts of chocolate and cherry. In the cup the chocolate and tart cherry notes grow more distinct, complicating a rather rich, sweetly balanced cup and carrying into the clean, round finish.

(As tasted in a Krups 1010 single-serve brewing device using a 62mm diameter "Home Cafe" pod at a cup volume of 7.5 ounces): Sweetly acidy, winey, high-toned aroma, with some rounding caramel and vanilla notes. In the cup surprisingly full-bodied, sweetly balanced, complicated by wine (more rose than cabernet), vanilla, floral notes. Cleanly sweet, cherry-toned finish. (In the Black & Decker One Cup Coffee Maker and Mr. Coffee AT13, lower-priced single-serve machines taking similar-sized pods, the same Folgers 100% Colombia pod attracted a rating of 81. In the Bunn My Cafe, a machine designed to take multiple sizes of pod, the same pod scored 82.)

(As brewed in a Bunn My Cafe MCP single-serve brewing device using a 62mm pod at a cup volume of 5 ounces): Distinct sweet cocoa notes in the aroma, along with hints of low-acid fruit, cherry perhaps. In the cup richly acidy, lean-bodied but rich, with continued sweet cocoa and tart cherry notes with a shimmer of vanilla. Rich, tart but not overly astringent finish. The same pod brewed in the Krups 1010 at a cup volume of 6 ounces scored an 85 with a basically similar profile and description.

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule at a cup volume of 5.25 ounces): Subdued aroma, with dry fruit (cherry?) and fresh leather notes. In the cup shallow in sensation but crisply balanced, with suggestions of Meyer lemon, white wine, tart cherry edging toward chocolate. Thin but pleasantly sweet, cherry-toned finish.

Sweet-toned aroma with a tightly knit, fruit-toned complexity: chocolate, dry berry, banana perhaps. Very sweet in the cup, almost sugary in impression, complicated by a classic African tart berry character: black currant or cassis, with hints of sweet lemon and chocolate. Tartly sweet, clean finish.

Elegantly high-toned aroma: lemon, peach, berry, a delicate hint of walnut. In the cup medium in body but silky in mouthfeel, with crisply sweet, delicately acidy dry berry and Meyer lemon notes. The finish hovers on the edge of astringency but stays on the rich, bracing side of the sensation.

An extraordinary coffee in the earth and fruit style of traditional Indonesias. In the aroma moist leaves turning toward fresh earth, together with buttery, candyish top notes. In the cup full-bodied, with pungent, moist earth tones and crisp, low-acid fruit notes suggesting pear and cherry. The pungent tones smooth out in a sweetly rich finish.

Dominated by a sweetly fermented fruit that reads as a rich, brandy-toned, cherryish chocolate. This lush flavor complex is heady in the aroma and sweetly refreshing in the cup. As the coffee cools, however, the ferment reveals a very slight bitter edge.

A rich and vividly fermented fruit dominates. The cherry-toned ferment is overlaid by a cedary roastiness in the aroma. In the cup the ferment deepens toward a dark chocolate and brandied cherry, but also displays a distracting pine or rosemary pungency. Smoothes out toward a cleanly rich chocolate in the short finish, though slightly astringent in the long.

A subtle, quietly complex profile. Delicate aroma, complicated by suggestions of spicy cherry and dry chocolate. In the cup sweetly and softly acidy, buoyant, with a tart chocolate complication; think pie cherries and milk chocolate. The chocolate persists in the simple but rich finish.

Intense aroma with a tightly knit complexity: muted spice, apple, pear, chocolate. In the cup sweet, delicate and balanced, with subtle but distinct chocolate notes and a quietly vibrant acidity. The chocolate turns toward cocoa in the mildly astringent finish.

Mild, pleasingly sweet fermented fruit notes complicate aroma and cup and read as chocolate, red wine, cedary cherries, perhaps with a hint of sweet herb. The acidity is low-toned and balanced, the mouthfeel roundly smooth. The finish is clean but slightly thin.

This light-to-medium-roasted coffee is gently acidy with a floral and high-toned fruit character that quite simply represents the fresh, delicate taste of the coffee flower and fruit itself, carried with a roastmaster's tact from coffee to cup. The downside of this respectful roast is a slight, residual vegetal or tea-like character that some palates will find elegant and refreshing and others, well, too tea-like.

Rich aroma complicated by smoky semi-sweet chocolate and caramel. The cup is simple but satisfying: very sweet, deep, roundly roasty. The real glory of this coffee is an extraordinarily long, lushly vibrant, deeply chocolaty finish.