Africa Reviews

Delicate, sweet-toned, giddily bright. Honey and rose-like flowers dominate in aroma in cup, with hints of ripe orange and moist pipe tobacco. Fruit-saturated acidity, light but very smooth mouthfeel, richly resonant finish in which the honey and floral notes turn vaguely but pleasingly toward milk chocolate.

Grandly pure and sweetly acidy. Symphonic citrus notes range from ripe orange to tart lemon to pungent bergamot, with a softening hint of flowers and a rounding hint of cocoaish nut. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The cocoa note turns decisively chocolate in a richly dry finish.

Depth and syrupy opulence in an extravagant aromatic profile: heavy-scented dusk flowers, rich, almost carnal fruit (apricot, plum, cherry), a brightening hint of lemon, crisp cocoa intensifying toward a resonantly flavor-saturated finish.

Ripe lemon dominates, with rounding complications of apricot and nut-toned chocolate and a crisp hint of fresh-cut fir. Rich, dry acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel; deeply lemony finish.

Crisp, bittersweet: lemon, bergamot, dark chocolate, a hint of flowers. Brisk, dry acidity; silky mouthfeel. Flavors linger in the long, dry finish.

Evaluated as espresso. In the small cup exhilarating floral-toned aroma balanced by orange and caramel, light though smooth mouthfeel, and continued floral tones in the flavor with complications of tart berry, lemon and baking spice. The flowers become even more pronounced in two parts milk, deepened by notes of butter, citrus and cocoa.

Richly sweet in aroma and cup; notes of dry berry, citrus and stone fruit slowly emerge and become more prominent as the cup cools. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel and sustained fruit-toned acidity. The fruit character lingers in the lushly sweet finish.

Bright with bergamot and bittersweet lemon, crisp baker's chocolate and fresh-cut fir, this dried-in-the-fruit coffee cupped more like a fine Ethiopia washed coffee than a natural, though a rounding hint of cherry-blueberry sweetness complicated the profile and appeared to confirm its processing method. Delicate acidity; light, silky mouthfeel; long, lemon-and-cocoa-saturated finish.

Pungent, intense aromatics: ripe citrus, dark chocolate, raisin. Softly rounded acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The pungent flavor plumps out in a flavor-saturated finish.

Intensely bright with rich, dominating acidity. Pungent nut, dark chocolate, ripe tomato and flowers in the aroma, with the tomato note turning lemony in the cup and a hint of the admired black currant note emerging. Syrupy mouthfeel. The acidity brings a mild astringent edge to the finish, but one pleasingly enveloped in richness.

Sustained fruit- and floral-toned aroma and flavor, displaying notes of dried apricot, orange and honey. Tartly fruit-toned acidity and silky mouthfeel with flavor carrying deeply into the finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Forcefully bright in the small cup: a berry-like sweetness supports tangy citrus and tart cherry. An impressively flavor-saturated finish combines chocolate, aromatic wood and concentrated fruit. A softer version of the fruit complex carries into two parts milk.

Soft, sweet fruit tone in the aroma broadens in the cup, displaying distinct notes of blackberry, black currant and apricot. Bright-toned, fruit laden acidity and silky mouthfeel. Long lasting honeyed fruit flavors simplify only slightly in the finish.

Soft, smooth aroma combining night flowers, orange and molasses. Elegantly penetrating, fruit toned acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel and a lush, juicy complex of flavors: citrus, apricot, black currant and flowers. The flavors linger long into the crisp, clean finish.

In the aroma orangy citrus, molasses, nut, black currant. In the cup richly tart acidity, lightly syrupy body, and shifting, complex flavor: pungent aromatic wood, black currant, blackberry, ripe citrus, molasses. All saturate the long, resonant finish with an exquisite dematerialized essence of flavor.

The genius of this coffee is expressed in a grand but seductive acidity: big, juicy and tartly sweet-toned with black cherry and lemony complication. In the cup the acidity is enveloped in a background caramelly softness that assumes control in the rather quiet finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Distinct floral- and citrus-toned aroma, lightly syrup mouthfeel and crisp, concentrated fruit that combines suggestions of citrus, flowers, aromatic wood and a cocoaish chocolate. Clean, very rich finish; the cocoa rounds to a sweet lemony chocolate. The intense flavors simplify in two parts milk but retain character and balance.

Sweet and richly high-toned aroma: lemon, flowers, fresh-cut cedar, honey. Lushly bright acidity, medium body, silky mouthfeel. In the cup the lavish acidity registers first, followed by a softer impression of night flowers, lemon, and a cedar note that rounds toward cocoa. Extraordinarily long, resonant finish, deeply saturated with flavor.

Intensely floral aroma nuanced by suggestions of lemon, bergamot, and sweet herb. In the cup crisp acidity, light but silky mouthfeel, and continued vivid floral and lemon notes; the hints of herb soften. Very sweet, clean finish, with the flavor notes rounding toward a sort of floral chocolate.

Rich aroma: flowers, nut, a hint of citrus. In the cup crisply sweet acidity, silky mouthfeel, deep floral flavor complicated by pungent dry berry and grapefruit-like citrus. Pure finish: very sweet, very long.