Blind Assessment:

Resonantly bright, floral-toned. Jasmine, frankincense, cardamom, toffee, apricot in aroma and cup. Balanced, sweetly tart structure with juicy acidity; crisp, velvety mouthfeel. The deep, flavor-saturated finish leads with caramel-toned apricot in the short, with rich florals resurfacing in the long.

Notes:

Regrettably, this fine coffee sold out before the publication of our review. Produced from trees of the rare Ethiopia-derived botanical variety Gesha (also Geisha) by farmer Roberto Brenes of Auromar Estate. With its generally elongated beans and distinctive floral and crisp, often chocolaty cup, the Gesha variety continues to distinguish itself as one of the world’s most unique coffees. This is a dry-processed or “natural” Gesha, meaning the beans were dried inside the fruit rather than after the fruit has been removed, as is the case with wet-processed or “washed” coffees. This sample also consists entirely of peaberries, a kind of bean that results when the coffee fruit develops only a single, oval bean rather than the usual pair of flat-sided beans. Peaberries produce a somewhat different (often better) cup than normal beans from the same crop, from which they may or may not be separated during grading. Based in the San Diego area, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters is a retailer and wholesaler focused on organic and socially responsible coffees; it was awarded the “2012 Micro-Roaster of the Year” title from Roast Magazine. Visit www.birdrockcoffee.com or call 858-551-1707 for more information.

The Bottom Line: A vibrant, exhilarating natural-processed peaberry Gesha saturated with rich floral, spice and fruit aromas and flavors throughout the profile.