Blind Assessment: The aroma is dominated by a very sweet scorched cedar and a spicy banana-toned fruit. Both carry nicely into the cup, which retains sweetness and a relatively rich mouthfeel despite the very dark roast. In the finish the sweet roastiness manages to outlast a slight astringency. One reader calls this the "best coffee I've ever had."

Notes: An extreme dark-roasted coffee, about as dark as a coffee can be roasted without literally burning it. Maintains a surprisingly substantial body and complex aromatics given the terminal darkness of the roast, probably owing in part to the capacity of traditionally processed Indonesian coffees like Sumatras to stand up to a very dark roast without losing character, and in part to a technique often called "aroma roast," which shuts down the convection through the roasting drum for a brief interval at the end of the roast cycle. Visit www.sloroasted.com or call 800-382-6837 for more information.

Who Should Drink It: A nice choice for lovers of extreme dark roasts, bracingly roasty without bitterness or distracting astringency.