Coffees from Taiwan Reviews

Intense, bright but balanced. Complex lime- and orange-toned citrus, night-blooming flowers, a hint of hazelnut and crisp roasted cacao nib in aroma and cup. Sweetly tart acidity; smooth, silky mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates but lingers in a quietly rich finish.

Sweetly tart, crisply juicy. Cedar, orange, blackberry, a hint of roasted cacao nib in aroma and cup. Bright but sweet acidity. Syrupy mouthfeel. Rich, deep, gently drying finish.

Sweetly bright, soaring. Juicy black currant, Concord grape, ripe grapefruit, crisp lavender in aroma and cup. Exhilarating, flawless acidity; silky, buoyant mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates but persists in a sweet, slightly drying finish.

Reviewed as espresso. Sweetly and roundly bright. Cherry, plum, cedar, buttery dark chocolate in aroma and cup. Lively, lightly creamy mouthfeel. The buttery dark chocolate moves forward in a balanced, gently rich finish. In three parts milk the chocolate triumphs again, fatter and roundly fruit-toned.

Evaluated as espresso. Pungently sweet. Fresh-cut cedar, caramelly dark chocolate, apricot, a hint of flowers in aroma and small cup. Light but smoothly silky mouthfeel; flavor consolidates in a rich finish. In three parts milk delicate and rather drying, with sweet chocolate notes nicely nuanced by apricot and flowers.

Evaluated as espresso. Aromatic cedar, dark chocolate, orange, fresh-turned earth in aroma and small cup. Velvety mouthfeel; flavor consolidates but persists in a rich finish. Orange and an earthy, cedar-toned chocolate in particular persist in three parts milk.

Complexly fruit- and cider-toned. Shifting, layered fruit – banana, grape, kiwi and more – in a cidery, brandyish expression rounded and anchored by dark chocolate and spicy pine. Round, softly vibrant acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor fades just a bit in an otherwise sweet, deep, long finish.

Crisply sweet; unusual aromatics: honey, star fruit, candied pecan, orange zest, a hint of pink peppercorn in aroma and cup. Brightly expansive acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Sweetly peppery, zesty finish.

Deep, richly spicy, balanced. Butter, hazelnut, pungently mango-like fruit, a hint of dark chocolate. Juicy, opulent acidity; very smooth, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor fades slightly in an otherwise sweet, resonant finish.

The crisp, understated fermented fruit notes suggest a pungent dry sherry with a backgrounded plum and night-flowers sweetness and a buttery, slightly savory edge. Brisk but juicy acidity; full, syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor fades a bit in a sweet but drying finish.

Reviewed as espresso. Quiet, round, chocolaty. Butter, dark chocolate, plum/apricot and a hint of raisin in aroma and small cup. Smooth, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. A hint of chocolate carries into a delicate, drying finish. In three parts milk the dark chocolate continues to dominate, with a backgrounded apricot-like fruit.

Evaluated as espresso. Both Ken (93) and his co-taster (91) enjoyed this crisp and rather cleanly wine- and brandy-toned dried-in-the-fruit profile, though Ken enjoyed it two rating points more. The co-taster read “berries, pineapple and dried fruits” in the small cup; Ken’s associations ran to parallel descriptors of grape, orange, apricot and fresh-cut cedar. Both admired the shot in three parts milk, citing a deep, balanced sweetness that for Ken was pleasantly viscous and “banana-like.”

Evaluated as espresso. Ken (93) and his co-taster (88) went rather different ways on this deep, sweet, brandyish, lightly herby dried-in-the-fruit profile. Ken enjoyed the overripe, fermenty fruit notes in aroma and cup; his co-taster was not greatly impressed. Both had good things to say about the mouthfeel (co-taster: “huge and enveloping”); on the other hand, neither were impressed by the rather astringent finish. Ken admired the impact in three parts milk (“juicy and rich”) more than did his co-taster, who found it pleasantly berryish but a bit too tart.

Evaluated as espresso. Ken (92) showed considerably more enthusiasm for this intense dried-in-the-fruit profile than his only mildly respectful co-taster (89). The co-taster associated the usual fermented fruit notes with wine and spiced cider, Ken with bourbon whisky (which he likes). The co-taster found the fermented fruit notes complicated by “sweet hay and malt,” Ken by a more decisive “fresh-cut cedar.” Ken rated the lightly syrupy, perhaps buttery mouthfeel a bit higher than did his co-taster. Both found the shot pleasantly chocolaty in three parts milk, additionally nuanced by malt for the co-taster, by cedar for Ken.

Evaluated as espresso. Deep, resonantly complex. Orange, jasmine, dark chocolate, hints of anise and fresh-cut cedar. Velvety, rich mouthfeel; flavor consolidates but persists in a long, gently drying finish. Full, substantial presence in three parts milk; orange, chocolate and jasmine notes in particular persist.

Crisply sweet, intensely complex. Honey, brandy, apricot, brandy, citrus flower, a hint of walnut in aroma and cup. Round, brandyish acidity; very lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Honey and walnut in particular persist in a deeply flavor-saturated, gently drying finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Crisp, finely structured, quietly distinctive. Dark chocolate and a shifty, anise-toned fruit (orange, blackberry, grape) dominate in aroma and small cup, with backgrounded complications of cedar and butter. Creamy, full yet buoyant mouthfeel. Berry and chocolate in particular persist in a rich, deep finish. Round, quietly balanced in three parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. In the straight shot a banana-like sweetness is balanced by bitterish orange zest and walnut with a rich dark chocolate hovering somewhere between. Very full, rather heavy mouthfeel; sweet, resonant though rather drying finish. Sustains complexity in three parts milk: cedar, raisin, banana, dark chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso. Bright but juicy. Orange, cedar, green grape, vanilla-toned caramel in aroma and small cup. Creamy, effervescent mouthfeel; sweet, long, citrusy finish. Maintains chocolate and orangy citrus character in three parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Big, deep, complex. Dark chocolate, lush night-blooming flowers, walnut, tangerine in aroma and small cup. Full, dense mouthfeel; chocolate and flowers dominate in a sweet, richly drying finish. Chocolate fudge, walnut and flowers in three parts milk.