Coffees from Taiwan Reviews

Musty, mildewed notes read persuasively as sweet, freshly turned earth, strawberry-like fruit and fresh-cut fir. Soft, round acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The strawberry-like sweetness manages to outlast a mild drying astringency in the finish.

Intense aroma: fresh-cut fir, brandy, cherry, a hint of nut. Rich, deep-toned acidity; plush, syrupy mouthfeel. Continued intensity in a complex and juicily sweet cup: lush dusk flowers, berry, brandied fruit, a hint of dark chocolate and a continued hint of fir. In the finish the opulent sweetness fades but flavor persists nicely.

Evaluated as espresso. Ken, at 92, liked this unusual sample better than co-taster Sean Kohmescher (90) did, perhaps because Ken read more depth in the aromatics and flavor. Sean stopped at citrus, honey and caramel in aroma and small cup whereas Ken added dark chocolate and pungent fir. Ken also found a bit more going on in the finish, with flowers complicating a deep, bananaish chocolate. In two parts milk Ken and Sean read the cup about the same although applying slightly different language, with Sean citing lemon and ”light caramel” and Ken a “lemony chocolate.”

Round, candied orange peel and nut-toned chocolate in the aroma. Light in body but rich in flavor with pungent notes of walnut, aromatic wood and ripe orange. Sustained bittersweet chocolate pungency in the finish. Intensity of the small cup softens in two parts milk; sweet nut and orange tones dominate.

Delicate hints of orange, flowers and roasted nut in the aroma. Gently bright-toned acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel with juicy suggestions of lemon, orange, stone fruit and more flowers with a pungent hint of fresh-cut fir. Superb finish: Long, sweet, complex, fruit-toned.

Orange, bittersweet lemon, nut, aromatic wood in aroma and cup, with complicating floral top notes. Balanced, crisp acidity; silky mouthfeel. The citrus notes in particular carry into a rich, sweet finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Opulent, complex and big-bodied. Night flowers and a pronounced brandy-like fruit dominate aroma and the small cup, with a crisp, drying hint of cedar. Plump, syrupy mouthfeel. Long, flavor-saturated finish. Two parts milk turns the brandied fruit toward a minty dark chocolate with a continuing floral complication.

Evaluated as espresso. Rich, orangy dark chocolate, nut, and hints of flowers and aromatic wood in aroma and flavor. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. A nagging astringency betrays the cup in the finish, where it eventually overpowers a chocolaty sweetness. Round, balanced presence in two parts milk: Rich chocolate with a continuing hint of orange.

Rich aroma with layered nuances of sweet cherry, stone fruit, nut and chocolate. In the cup, gentle but sustained acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel and softer fruit flavors, tending toward tarter cherry and sweet citrus. Chocolate remerges in the finish along with a note of aromatic wood.

A juicy fruit-toned cup, combining notes of black currant and citrus with honey and butter. Intense, penetrating acidity, syrupy body and long lasting flavors. The fruit flavors continue into the finish, taking on a tartly-sweet quality.

Tartly fruit-toned in aroma and cup. Layers of apricot, blackberry and cherry; hints of tarter fruit in the cup: ripe tomato, black currant. Crisply bright acidity and lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor fades rather quickly in the finish.

Rich aroma: dark chocolate, toast and a hint of fruit. The flavors blossom in the small cup with a broad cherry-like fruit balanced by notes of aromatic wood, a suggestion of mint, soft roastiness and more dark chocolate. Flavors simplify in the finish. Sweet and round in two parts milk: nut-toned chocolate dominates, complicated by continued suggestions of fruit, caramel and aromatic wood.

The soft, sweet-toned aroma combines touches of toast and caramel with flowers and fruit. Complete in the small cup: full body, silky mouthfeel and flavors that balance an orange peel-like citrus quality with a pungent and penetrating dark chocolate. A mild astringency distracts slightly in the flavor-saturated finish. In two parts milk the orange note nicely balances the inevitable milk-rounded chocolate.

Deeply chocolaty and toasty aroma, with a faint hint of flowers. Simplifies in the small cup, with flavor notes settling toward aromatic wood and a mild smokiness. Aromatic wood and bittersweet chocolate in the finish. Rounds, sweetens and develops impressive complexity in two parts milk: milk chocolate, caramel, toast, a suggestion of cinnamon.

A rather original espresso. In the small cup full, syrupy mouthfeel and very complex flavor balancing savory and sweet tendencies: aromatic wood and butter on the savory side, hints of dark chocolate, dried fruit, flowers, banana on the sweet. The complexity carries into a rich finish. Two parts hot milk predictably fattens and sweetens the dark chocolate, but the aromatic wood and butter suggestions maintain their complicating presence.

Deep and penetrating floral aroma: orangy sweetness and blackberries. Gentle acidity, smooth mouthfeel, and an intense, flavor-saturated character in the cup: classic black currant notes mingle forcefully with the concentrated sweetness of dried berries and flowers. Long, intensely sweet finish with the flavor notes delicately lingering and softening toward a fruit-toned chocolate.

Startlingly intense, sweet-toned notes of ripe lemon, baker's chocolate and night flowers runs through the profile aroma through finish. Roundly rich acidity, plush mouthfeel. The baker's chocolate sweetens toward a crisp bittersweet chocolate in the cup and finish.

Round floral aroma with mild fruitiness and sweet vanilla. In the small cup the lightly syrupy mouthfeel compliments continued floral flavors and a sweet citrus that merges seamlessly with soft chocolate, nut and cherry notes. The citrus quality lingers in the finish with impressive balance between tartness and sweetness. In two parts milk the floral note surfaces again, along with soft toasty flavors mingling caramel and nutty, milky chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweetly aromatic in the small cup, with soft notes of toast, honey and fruit. Medium to full body with orangey chocolate notes and hints of flowers and caramel. The fruit toned chocolate persists in the bittersweet finish. In two parts milk, toast and cocoa dominate the cup at first, with the orange-like character re-emerging as the cup cools, lingering into the finish.

Aromatic notes of chocolate and toast, with hints of vanilla and flowers. In the small cup, a lightly syrupy body with complex flavors of berries, stone fruit, caramel, licorice and smoke and a long, mildly roasty, mildly astringent finish. Sweetens and simplifies in milk with pronounced caramel notes and hints of nut and milk chocolate.