LATEST REVIEWS

Pungent chocolate in the nose. Slightly sharp in the cup, with distinct tobacco notes and a hint of dry chocolate. Solid body but little resonance.

A quietly dramatic coffee with a long development, in which a clear if understated acidity gives way to a sudden sweet lift in the cup, and nutty, pungent (perhaps smoky) notes are balanced by vanilla sweetness. All of the complex gestures remain in balance, and a silky smoothness envelops even the potentially sharp pungency.

Reactions to this coffee ranged from enthusiasm to mild approval to ambivalence. The enthusiasts and mild approvers both tended to cite gently bright acidity, full body, and nut-toned aromatics. The enthusiasts felt the coffee brought power to the cup ("packs a punch"), while the approvers felt it didn't ("mild, mild, mild; sweet and soft cup"). The ambivalencers also honored the virtues of the coffee, but detected a slight shadow taint. One suggested that the sample was a bit "faded," another "baggy." Both adjectives suggest this otherwise meticulously clean coffee suffered very mild damage, perhaps moisture-related, during transport or storage.

The most thoughtful assessments of this coffee characterized it as a potentially powerful but flawed coffee. "Although a little bit grassy, maybe due to lack of 'reposo' [resting the coffee after processing], this is a very good coffee," concluded one panelist. "Interesting undomesticated flavors," offered another. "One of those coffees that makes me scratch my head and say 'You're different, but do I really want to know you better?'" On the upside panelists cited this coffee's sweet fruit and richness. On the downside it elicited terms like weedy, oniony, or soapy. The most comprehensive attempt at describing the off-taste cited "Aromas of dried onions, grains and soy-sauce."

Another coffee whose assessment was dominated by roast issues. In this case, seven of eight panelists objected that the sample was roasted a bit too light. However, this complaint was offered as an aside to generally approving appraisals of the coffee itself. A general picture emerges of a well-prepared, clean coffee, sweet and balanced, with hints of fruit and nut. "Aroma of Spanish peanuts carries through to the flavor," concluded one panelist. "Pleasantly focused cup." Given the tone of approval in written comments, I can only assume that this coffee was not rated higher because it lacked power and dimension.

Although this is not quite the deep, almost syrupy sweet Haitian coffee I recall occasionally tasting before Haiti's latest run of political misfortunes, it is a good coffee, and a very promising one, given the relative newness of the admirable Cafeieres Natives project. On the upside, sweet, ingratiating aromatics. Three panelists called these high, delicate notes floral; three others mentioned cocoa or chocolate; one mint. The more tactile aspects of the cup disturbed some, however. Two used the word "gritty"; one "muddy." I found the cup (with patience) rich, but opaque and without dimension or resonance.

I found this coffee quite impressive when hot, with the sort of resonant dimension and long, gradually sweetening development I admire. However, for me the profile turned a bit grassy and hard as it cooled. The rest of the panel didn't have much to say about this coffee one way or the other. A few complaints surfaced suggesting roughness or hardness; one panelist reported "good intensity/balance, [though] not enough intensity for my taste." It would appear that a lack of character rather than taint or weakness doomed this coffee to a relatively low rating.

Something was slightly off with this coffee. Two panelists mentioned ferment but I doubt it. One called the taint grassy; "slightly harsh & earthy" wrote another; I had it as "a touch of hard tobacco, herb." Whatever it was, it brought down the rating of this otherwise ingratiatingly sweet, rounded coffee with subtle grace notes variously described as chocolate, vanilla, and (the favorite) caramel.

The majority of panelists dismissed this coffee as fermented, the flavor defect that results from the some of the beans picking up the rotten-fruit taste of fermenting sugars during processing or drying. "Trying to be constructive here but can't find any grounds for redemption," wrote one. However, three panelists were open to redemption, rating this coffee in the low 80s, perhaps reading the ferment tones as fruity or wine-like. Two of the three yea-sayers struggled with their ambivalence in their comments, finally coming down on the positive side of the fruit/ferment continuum. The matrix of sensation under and around the ferment definitely was full and complex.

This coffee manifested some brightness and acidity in the cup, which probably accounted for a higher rating than one would expect given that several panelists complained of a background shadow or taint. I called the problem a "slight, high, hard fruitiness." Another cupper identified it as grassiness; another detected a "rubbery" taste; still another concluded the coffee was "faded." Not much consensus in those descriptions, but clearly something was off. Two of us noted that the profile tended to vary from cup to cup, with some cups bright with a floral or fruit-toned acidity, and some dulled by the elusive taint.

Liveliest and most resonant of the dark-roast samples in the cupping: Less overbearingly pungent, sweeter, with a touch of vanilla in cup as well as aroma. The entire profile deepens, smooths, and balances in the finish.

Whether deriving from the unorthodox roasting style or the coffee itself, a spicy pungency weaves its way through this rather soft, medium-bodied profile. At moments this flavor complex suggests chocolate, at others the earthy tones associated with some Indonesian coffees, at others a dark fruitiness-just-short-of-ferment. In the context of the overall sweet, intriguing, broad range of this coffee I tolerated this taste, even liked it, though purists may find it distracting.

Pleasant though restrained aroma; outstanding cup. The acidity is floral, levitating, fresh, with the floral notes sweetening and carrying into the heart of the coffee. Pleasant nuance in the upper registers and a solid bottom with suggestions of richness. Medium body.

Balanced, refined, exquisitely complete, though a bit underpowered. Mild pungent tones are softened and rounded by sweetness. Clean yet resonant straight through to aftertaste.

Impressive because, unlike many of the coffees in the cupping, it displays some acidy brightness. May not generate enough sweetness to round the acidity, however, leaving the cup just a touch on the sour side. Not much nuance but solid body.

Like so many coffees in the cupping, solid overall but short on sweetness and nuance. In this case, splendidly rich, broad-ranged aroma, decent acidity with a hint of fruit, but generally pungent and rather opaque, with only a touch of sweetness in the finish. A trace of the vanilla-toned richness that dominated in aroma re-emerges in the aftertaste.

A low-toned sweetness balances a discreet acidity. Full body, rich spiciness in the cup. The vanilla-nut tones in the aroma resurface fleetingly in the aftertaste. Unfortunately, an additional odd taste also surfaces, particularly when the coffee is cold. This taste, perhaps a mild processing taint, lowered my rating of this otherwise excellent sample.

The exhilarating vanilla-nut tones in the aroma together with the heavy, buttery body are the main pleasures here. Otherwise the profile is solid to the point of stolidity. The acidity is pleasant but lacks nuance, the flavor a bit monolithic, and the aftertaste clean but simple.

Pleasantly full, rich, low-toned, complete in the bottom registers. Ambiguous grace notes, however: They read as earthy when the coffee is hot, but turn hard and mildly unpleasant as the cup cools. Probably a storage fault. Still, a coffee with power and dimension.

Like so many of the coffees in this cupping, a splendid overture in the aroma (nut, vanilla, caramel), then disappointment. A slightly hard, full-bodied but monotonal cup which softens and sweetens only in the finish.