The World's Leading Coffee Guide
The coffees and espressos that appear below demonstrate exceptional value relative to other coffees of similar quality and distinctiveness as reflected in their overall score. These best value coffees often sell out quickly and may no longer be available. Older reviews may no longer accurately reflect current versions of the same coffee.
Soft, balanced: cocoa and nuts. Baking chocolate, tangerine zest, nut (hazelnut, pistachio), fresh-cut pine in aroma and cup. Delicately brisk in structure; light though silky mouthfeel. Finish is resonant but drying, consolidating around unsweetened chocolate and nut.
Roasty-sweet, spice-toned. Banana, orange blossom, cocoa powder, scorched cedar, molasses in aroma and cup. Bittersweet structure with a brisk touch of acidity; plush, syrupy mouthfeel. The finish leads with notes of cocoa and orange blossom in the short, with scorched cedar and molasses in the long.
High-toned sweetness, crisply tart, pleasantly salty-edged. Dried apricot, tamarind, salted chocolate, cedar, magnolia in aroma and cup. Gently low-toned with balanced tart and salty/savory structure; briskly juicy acidity. Full, buttery mouthfeel. Flavor simplifies in the finish, with hints of salted cocoa and dry cedar carrying into the long.
Evaluated as espresso. Richly savory-leaning, deeply sweet. Tamarind, dark chocolate, sunchoke, wisteria, almond butter in aroma and small cup. Velvety-smooth mouthfeel; cocoa- and nut-toned finish. In three parts milk, sweet and savory present in particularly harmonious balance.
Richly sweet-savory, spice-toned. Baker’s chocolate, spice box, narcissus-like flowers, almond, peach in aroma and cup. Savory-sweet structure with gentle, round acidity; full, syrupy mouthfeel. The crisp finish centers on notes of baker’s chocolate and almond with a hint of sweet flowers.
Sweetly pungent, earthy. Moist, fresh-fallen leaves, orange zest, fresh-cut pine, cocoa, lily in aroma and cup. Richly tart in structure, with a savory edge. Light but buoyant mouthfeel. The finish consolidates around cocoa, orange and a deep, lily-like floral note.
Sweetly and deeply pungent: earth and chocolate. Rich dark chocolate, fresh-turned humus, black currant, magnolia, cedar in aroma and cup. Pungent, sweet-tart in structure, with a profound savory bottom. The mouthfeel is not particularly full, but smooth, satiny. Nothing is lost in a flavor-saturated finish.
Simultaneously citrusy and floral, yet deeply resonant and tobacco-toned. Cocoa, pink grapefruit zest, perique (fermented) tobacco, sandalwood, aromatic orchid in aroma and cup. Sweetly and exhilaratingly tart in structure; light, juicy mouthfeel. Grapefruit, sandalwood and flowers carry gracefully into a long, layered finish.
Crisply sweet-savory, balanced. Jasmine, toffee, peach, cedar, tamarind in aroma and cup. Sweet-savory structure with juicy, vibrant acidity; syrupy-smooth mouthfeel. All of the flavor and aroma notes are carried over into the finish, gently receding into the pleasing long.
Richly sweet, delicately fruit-toned. Strawberry, violet, cacao nib, cashew butter, fresh-cut cedar in aroma and cup. Balanced structure (sweet, tart, bitter) with vibrant acidity; satiny-smooth mouthfeel. Graceful, lingering finish that carries over all the flavor and aroma notes from the cup, particularly strawberry, violet and cedar.
Crisp, sweetly and richly roast-toned. Scorched oak, raisin, dark chocolate, roasted hazelnut, dried spearmint, bitter orange zest in aroma and cup. Sweetly brisk and roasty in structure; lightly syrupy in mouthfeel. The finish is drying and roast-dominated.
Sweetly herb- and spice-toned. Lemongrass, ripe plum, cinnamon, baker’s chocolate, sarsaparilla in aroma and cup. Tart-leaning structure with high-toned acidity; plush, syrupy mouthfeel. The finish leads with notes of lemongrass and cinnamon in the short, with the root-beer-like sarsaparilla note returning in the long.
Deeply rich, sweetly savory. Fine musk, toffee, red currant, sandalwood, narcissus-like flowers in aroma and cup. Bright, sweet-savory structure with juicy acidity; satiny-smooth mouthfeel. The crisp finish consolidates to toffee and narcissus.
High-toned, crisply sweet-tart. Apricot, almond, maple syrup, narcissus-like flower, cedar in aroma and cup. Sweetly tart structure with bright, juicy acidity; satiny mouthfeel. Resonant, flavor-saturated finish: apricot and narcissus in the short with cedar resurfacing in the long.
Evaluated as espresso. Dark chocolate, tangerine zest, black cherry, cedar, violet in aroma and small cup. Viscous, satiny mouthfeel; crisply sweet-tart finish. Chocolate and citrus zest are pleasingly amplified in three parts milk, with notes of black cherry and violet-like flowers carrying into the long finish.
Lush, deeply floral, resonantly tropical. Plumeria, coconut, dark chocolate, tamarind, frankincense in aroma and cup. The structure is superbly balanced among sweet, savory and tart, with juicy-bright acidity. Plush, syrupy mouthfeel. The seemingly eternal finish sustains all of the flavor notes from the cup in ringing harmony.
Deep, chocolaty, cleanly fruit-toned. Dark chocolate, cedar, black cherry, magnolia, molasses in aroma and cup. Sweetly tart structure with gentle, rounded acidity. Consolidates to resonant chocolate and cherry in the finish.
Richly and sweetly tart, chocolaty. Dark chocolate, hazelnut butter, lightly scorched cinnamon, date, fir in aroma and cup. Sweet in structure with gentle, rounded acidity; velvety mouthfeel. The chocolaty finish is complicated by date and hazelnut.
High-toned, richly sweet-savory. Red currant, dark chocolate, tangerine zest, hop flowers, sandalwood in aroma and cup. Richly bittersweet structure with vibrant, juicy acidity; plush, syrupy mouthfeel. Deep, flavor-saturated finish with red currant and dark chocolate carrying well into the long.
Deeply sweet, richly savory. Dark chocolate, pistachio, red currant jam, honeysuckle, a hint of marjoram in aroma and cup. Balanced, sweetly savory structure with elegant, lilting acidity; lush, syrupy mouthfeel. The resonant finish consolidates to notes of dark chocolate and red currant, with undertones of crisp marjoram.
