LATEST REVIEWS

Understated to the point of self-effacement. The aroma is subdued but sweet and enlivened with a tickle of dry, fruit-toned chocolate. In the cup round, rather deeply dimensioned, with just enough acidity to keep the cup subtle rather than banal.

Gently and sweetly acidy with crisp, pear-like fruit tones that round toward sweet cocoa in the finish. The cup is shadowed by an underlying astringent bitterness.

Sweet, balanced, restrained. The fruit and vegetal cocoa notes are faint but pleasant, the roasty tones understated.

A rather striking dark-roast coffee in its disconnected extremes of abandoned sweetness and charred bitterness. The only relief from this (to some exhilarating) contradiction are dry cocoa notes in the finish.

Woody, dominated by a rather thin, roasty bitterness. Attenuated floral notes play at the top of the profile, dry cocoa-toned fruit toward the middle, but a rather shallow roast taste dominates.

The aroma is sweet, rather full in dimension, the cup pungent and roasty with a balancing hint of acidity. Limited but satisfying.

When hot, an impressive dark-roast cup: balanced, sweet modulating to bittersweet in the finish; dry, prune-like fruit complications with a pleasant roasty bite. As the cup cools, however, distinct (and rather unpleasant) rubber tones emerge.

About half of a classic American breakfast cup. The acidy brightness, gently complicated by a touch of nut-toned sweetness, is there. Nevertheless, shallow in dimension and limited in range, with a hint of musty, grainy robusta lurking not very far beneath the traditional brightness.

The intentions of this blend announce themselves in the nose with extremely roasty, explicitly burned notes. In the cup the charred tones fade, giving way to a rather neutral woodiness with sweet undertones that suggest pungent spice.

Flat, feeble, tea-like aroma. The cup is sweet but the acidity is weak-kneed and a bit sour. A pleasant hint of fruit, but not enough to save the cup from its general dull listlessness.

Low-key to the point of neutrality. The interesting wood, leather and spice tones in the aroma are overwhelmed by a dominating woody character in the cup. Literally tastes as though it had just dribbled off a board into the cup.

The aroma is thin, faintly sweet and tea-like, with mildewed nut notes. The cup is, well, thin, faintly sweet and tea-like, with mildewed nut notes.

Densely bitter; heavy rather than full. Some sweet, raisin-like fruit struggles to get out from under the bitter weight of the cup.

Dominated by sweet grainy nut tones overlaid with a sour, musty ferment. I can think of no analogy for this odd combination of sensations because human beings normally don't consume products that are both fermented and mildewed-tasting.

Cloyingly sweet and sharply musty - imagine the taste of mildewed nuts left sitting in a damp basement closet for a few weeks. The musty tones hint at cocoa but don't come through.

A purists cup: big, authoritative, powerfully but sweetly acidy, complete. The roast rounds the dry fruit tones toward chocolate but leaves the robustly rich acidity intact.

Extraordinary high-toned aromatics grapefruit, flowers, blueberry, fresh grape all carry exhilaratingly from nose through cup, where the fruit tones soften toward chocolate. Appropriately medium-bodied, with the aromatics supported by a gentle balance of sweetness and acidity.

Acidy but balanced; clean, sweet, direct. Nuanced with floral and dry chocolate notes. Rich finish with a hint of roasty bittersweetness.

Simultaneously intensely sweet and intensely acidy, producing a heady, high-toned cup laced with rich, tartly sweet citrus tones reminiscent of Meyer lemons

Low-toned, round, full but lively. The dry, acidy sensation is enveloped in fruit-toned sweetness. Perfectly displays what I think of as fruitcake finish, a dry yet opulently fruity aftertaste that leans toward chocolate.