Best Value Coffees Reviews

Delicately rich, crisp, balanced. Dried apricot, baker’s chocolate, rhododendron, orange zest, cinnamon in aroma and cup. Lively, juicy acidity; velvety mouthfeel. Cinnamon-like spice leads in the short finish; dried fruit and vanilla-like flowers resonate in the long.

Sweetly pungent, rich-toned. Apricot, pipe tobacco, narcissus, dark chocolate, pink peppercorn in aroma and cup. Gentle, round acidity; plush, satiny mouthfeel. The flavor-saturated finish opens with spicy chocolate tones in the short, followed by intimations of deep pipe tobacco and sweet narcissus in the long.

Sweetly tart, deeply floral. Honeysuckle, mango, sarsparilla, butterscotch, pipe tobacco in aroma and cup. Juicy, buoyantly tart acidity; full, syrupy mouthfeel. The quietly resonant finish centers around sarsparilla and butterscotch.

Luscious, deeply sweet, sumptuous. Blackberry, lavender, marjoram, roasted cacao nib, grapefruit zest in aroma and cup. Rich, juicy acidity; smooth, syrupy mouthfeel. The long, flavor-saturated finish is zesty and sweet, offering a surprise appearance of tropical fruit notes (coconut) that resonate for a long while.

Richly and sweetly pungent. Concord grape, roasted cacao nib, cedar, hazelnut, lemon blossom in aroma and cup. Brisk, lightly juicy acidity; delicate, satiny mouthfeel. The crisp, nut-toned finish leads with Concord grape notes in the short and cedar in the long, with hazelnut throughout.

Evaluated as espresso. Balanced, sweetly tart. Dark chocolate, pomegranate, Oolong tea, rose-like flowers, almond in aroma and small cup. Delicate, silky mouthfeel. Clean, sweet finish, with a savory resonance. In three parts milk, chocolate tones re-emerge, along with hints of roasted almond.

Deeply rich, sweetly spicy. Butterscotch, pipe tobacco, rhododendron, juniper berry, roasted cacao nib in aroma and cup. Lively, juicy acidity; plush, velvety mouthfeel. The engaging finish is laden with notes of sweet pipe tobacco and butterscotch.

Intensely sweet and savory, exotic. Passionfruit, frankincense, grapefruit zest, rose, roasted cacao nib in aroma and cup. Bright, lyrical acidity; plush, syrupy mouthfeel. The rich, long, cocoa-toned finish is flavor-saturated, all the notes from the cup persisting, passionfruit and grapefruit zest in particular.

Evaluated as espresso. Smooth, fragrant, lively. The three reviewers for this coffee lined up nicely in respect to rating: John DiRuocco at 93, Jen Apodaca at 93, and Ken at 94. All found the buoyant, richly silky mouthfeel particularly impressive (Jen: “light and airy on the tongue like a meringue cookie”). All three reviewers additionally cited caramel notes, and two sweet flowers. The subtle but explicit sweetness attracted a range of candy-toned positives, from vanilla marshmallow (Jen) to, in three parts milk, dulce de leche (John).

Evaluated as espresso. All three reviewers praised this espresso for its clean, citrusy/orangy sweetness: “orange hard candy” for co-taster Jen Apodaca (94); orange and brown sugar for John DiRuocco (93); tart but juicy blood orange for Ken (93). All found notes that rounded and complicated the citrus: the brown sugar for John, caramel for Ken, Concord grape for Jen. Jen was most enthusiastic and explicit about what this coffee brought to three parts milk: “tasted like cherry pie.”

Complex, deeply pungent, sweetly savory. Lavender, pink peppercorn, gooseberry, lemongrass, baker’s chocolate in aroma and cup. Juicy, sweet-tart acidity; lightly creamy mouthfeel. Cocoa and lavender tones lead in a resonant, flavor-saturated finish.

Rich, intricate and layered. Lemon zest, roasted cacao nib, violet, mulberry, frankincense in aroma and cup. Delicately tart acidity; satiny-smooth mouthfeel. The crisp, richly drying finish is cocoa-toned, with hints of citrus.

Delicate, intricate, deeply sweet. Butterscotch, papaya, roasted cacao nib, plumeria-like flowers, myrrh in aroma and cup. Juicy, rich acidity; velvety-smooth mouthfeel. Butterscotch notes carry the resonant short finish, with hints of plumeria around the edges and a crisply inviting myrrh suggestion in the long.

Intensely rich, deeply sweet. Halvah, cedar, rhododendron, lime zest, fresh pipe tobacco in aroma and cup. Sweet-savory acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The gently drying finish centers around sandalwood and pipe tobacco.

Delicately sweet, intricate. Butterscotch, almond butter, orange zest, vanilla, honeydew melon in aroma and cup. Sweetly tart, quietly balanced acidity; full, satiny mouthfeel. The gently drying finish consolidates around almond and butterscotch.

Deeply pungent, richly sweet-savory. Pink grapefruit zest, cashew, red currant, butterscotch, fine musk in aroma and cup. Intense, crisp but juicy acidity; delicate, silky-smooth mouthfeel. The finish consolidates around floral-toned musk notes in the short while an attractive new element, coconut, emerges in the long.

Complexly layered with great sweetness. Ginger flower, mangosteen, frankincense, lemon zest, roasted cacao nib in aroma and cup. Vibrant, intricate acidity; lightly satiny mouthfeel. The rich, resonant finish is carried by rich, cocoa-toned florals and deep, sweet fruit notes.

Refined, richly complex. Spice box, cocoa powder, lemon zest, pineapple guava, walnut in aroma and cup. Gentle, backgrounded acidity; crisp, silky mouthfeel. The rich-toned, flavor-saturated finish is redolent of spice box and lemon zest in the short, with cocoa-toned walnut lingering in the long.

Dark chocolate, almond, vanilla, dried apricot, mesquite in aroma and cup. Gentle, balanced acidity; full, satiny mouthfeel. The gently drying finish consolidates to chocolate and dried apricot.

Rich, sweetly spicy. Black cherry, spice box, tamarind, oak, lantana-like flowers in aroma and cup. Juicy, lively acidity; syrupy mouthfeel. The sweet, resonant finish centers around deep black cherry in the short complicated by spicy oak and sweet-tart tamarind in the long.