Central America Reviews

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet, balanced, engagingly layered. Driven by sweet ripe citrus—co-taster John DiRuocco (92) associated it with orange, Jen Apodaca (93) with tangerine, Ken (93) with sweet grapefruit—and intriguing floral/herbal notes: Jen wild fennel, Ken lavender. Everyone was particularly impressed with a general resonant complexity and balance in flavor and finish. Jen felt the sample faded a bit in three parts milk, but Ken and John read continued quiet intrigue, especially Ken, who found delicate grapefruit and chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso. Sturdy, balanced, chocolaty. All three reviewers (John DiRuocco 92, Jen Apodaca 94, Ken 92) cited caramel and chocolate; two read a particularly sweet orange (Ken called it orange marmalade). A “chocolate bomb” for John in three parts milk; for Ken the chocolate continued ripely orange-toned.

Evaluated as espresso. Clean, sweet, gently tart, honey-toned. All three reviewers were impressed by the clean, sweet balance of this espresso, delivering almost identical scores: John DiRuocco 92, Jen Apodaca 93, Ken 92. Honey figured in everyone’s descriptors; Ken and John also found berry and a backgrounded cocoa butter. Citrusy in three parts milk, with an enveloping chocolate. “I could drink this every day,” Jen added.

Evaluated as espresso. Of three reviewers, Ken (93) was most supportive of this crisply chocolaty, silky-bodied espresso, citing its balanced range of baker’s chocolate, flowers and fruit. Jen Apodaca’s (92) descriptors overlapped Ken’s. For John DiRuocco (89), however, the sample was “a bit bipolar,” lacking coherence, although he praised the baker’s chocolate and pleasing mouthfeel. Everyone liked this one in three-parts milk, which help the chocolate sweeten and blossom.

Evaluated as espresso. Of three reviewers, John DiRuocco (95) most admired this crisp, floral-toned espresso: “complex and complete … floral, red fruit and stone fruit flavors … the body … light but sufficient, the finish clean and resonating.” Jen Apodaca (89) was considerably less enthusiastic and more terse: “There was a lot going on in this espresso … it finished like a dry red cabernet.” For Ken (91) this coffee represented a certain style of dried-in-the-fruit coffee: bittersweet, intriguingly anise- and lavender-toned, yet not quite sweet and fat enough for him.

Evaluated as espresso. Complexly bright, citrus- and chocolate-toned. All three reviewers – Jen Apodaca (92), John DiRuocco (91) and Ken (91) – cited the dynamic, citrusy acidity, rounding chocolate, crisp floral hints and surprisingly full mouthfeel. Continued bright and briskly chocolaty in three parts milk.

Sweet, crisp, deeply floral. Wisteria, dried mango, blood orange, almond butter, clove in aroma and cup. Bright, juicy-tart acidity; silky-smooth mouthfeel. The crisp, clean, deeply flavor-saturated finish is sustained and resonant.

Deeply sweet, fruit-forward. Dried raspberry, apple brandy, freesia-like flowers, roasted cacao nib, molasses in aroma and cup. Crisp, sweet-tart acidity; plush, syrupy mouthfeel. Raspberry tones ring from the break through to the quietly resonant finish, with a supporting array of spicy florals.

Sweet-toned, delicately rich. Maple syrup, ripe persimmon, orange zest, roasted cacao nib, gardenia-like flowers in aroma and cup. Juicy, balanced acidity; plush, syrupy mouthfeel. The rich-toned finish is saturated with crisp cacao nib and deep orange zest notes.

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.

Quietly rich, harmoniously sweet. Caramel, green grape, rhododendron, baker’s chocolate, walnut in aroma and cup. Crisp, sweet acidity; satiny mouthfeel. The richly drying finish consolidates around chocolate and walnut.

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.

Subtly complex, sweetly nut-toned. Almond, caramel, gardenia, tangerine zest, roasted cacao nib in aroma and cup. Lively sweet-tart acidity; satiny mouthfeel. The resonant finish consolidates around caramel and almond tones.

Lively, sweetly floral. Peach, honeysuckle, almond, roasted cacao nib, orange zest in aroma and cup. Round, lightly juicy acidity; lean though satiny-smooth mouthfeel. The gently drying finish leads with honeysuckle in the short, following with crisp almond and cocoa tones 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.

Delicate, subtly sweet. Dried honeysuckle, cocoa powder, elm, baked apple, almond in aroma and cup. Soft, gentle acidity; full, creamy mouthfeel. The mild, quiet finish is carried by cocoa and nut tones.

Invitingly sweet, richly composed. Candied papaya, Brazil nut, lilac, sarsparilla, dark chocolate in aroma and cup. Juicy, sweet-tart acidity; lightly satiny mouthfeel. The crisp, gently drying finish consolidates to nut-toned chocolate.

Delicately rich, with a hint of sweet ferment. Dried blueberry, rum cordial, tamarind, elderflower, a hint of cumin in aroma and cup. Brisk, sweet-tart acidity; buoyant, satiny mouthfeel. The crisp, gently drying finish is carried by notes of elderflower and tamarind.

Subtly direct, sweet-toned. Blueberry, lavender, myrrh, baker’s chocolate, candied orange zest in aroma and cup. Round, balanced acidity; satiny-smooth mouthfeel. The richly drying finish is saturated with sweetly exotic notes of lavender and myrrh.

Deeply sweet, delicately rich. Maple syrup, freesia-like flowers, green grape, hazelnut, cedar in aroma and cup. Delicate, sweetly tart acidity; velvety mouthfeel. The balanced, sweet-toned finish consolidates to maple syrup, cedar and hazelnut.