Coffees from Taiwan Reviews

In structure sugary sweet yet dry in the mouthfeel. Aromatics are shifting and complex: cedar, raspberry, pineapple, spicy rose, unsweetened cocoa. Brisk, gentle acidity; silky to lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Sweetness prevails in a fruit- and spice-toned finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Richly and sweetly tart in aroma and small cup: fresh-cut cedar, dark chocolate, zesty orange, hints of flowers and pipe tobacco. Full yet buoyant, lively mouthfeel. Flavor carries into a long, deep finish. Tart fruit, softened by a backgrounded chocolaty sweetness, continues to dominate in two parts milk.

Unusual citrusy, savory character. Flowers, grapefruit and peppery aromatic wood in aroma and cup. Sweetly tart, wine-toned acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The savory edge is particularly prominent in the rich, resonant finish.

Complex, richly and sweetly crisp. Strawberry and lemon, night flowers, honey, fresh-fallen leaves in aroma and cup. Gently bright and balanced acidity; lightly syrupy, lively mouthfeel. Sweet-toned, flavor-saturated finish.

Very sweet but quite tart, on the edge of sour, with an underlying savory hint. Aroma and flavor notes suggest green apple, molasses, plum, cocoa, agave syrup. Full, smooth mouthfeel. The sweet tendency prevails in an agreeable finish.

Quiet, delicately lush, gently tart. Peach, a crisply dry version of blackberry and night flowers dominate in aroma and cup. Softly bright acidity; full, plush mouthfeel. Peach carries into a balanced finish.

Complex, explosively fresh aroma: ripe strawberry, watermelon, sweet lemon, raspberry. In the cup the fruit simplifies and turns zesty and bittersweet, dry yet juicy. Lean-bodied; dry-finishing.

Evaluated as espresso. Pungent, deep. Cocoa-toned cedar, earth-toned nut, caramel, orange, a hint of flowers in aroma and small cup. All express with particular sweetness in the aroma, and persist nicely in the long, round finish. In two parts milk the flavor turns delicately chocolaty and butter-like.

Evaluated as espresso. Impressive range and complexity. Pungently sweet grapefruit, blackberry, rose-like flowers, fresh-cut fir in aroma and small cup. Full, buttery mouthfeel. Rich, flavor-saturated finish; a hint of astringency in the short smoothes out to cocoaish chocolate in the long. Delicate, berryish fruit and sweet milk chocolate dominate in two parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet, pungent citrus – grapefruit, orange – and crisp cocoaish chocolate in aroma and small cup. A hint of roses. Full, buttery mouthfeel. The cocoa and sweet, ripe citrus carry into the finish and persist with graceful softness in two parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Deep and balanced aromatics that suggest tart green apple, sweet plum with jasmine-like flowers that follow into the small cup and comingle with cocoa powder, citrus zest, walnut and a spicy note that is reminiscent of cinnamon or ginger. Leanish mouthfeel with a slightly syrupy edge. Cocoa powder turns to a bakers chocolate and the spicy note transforms into cedar-like aromatic wood in a dry finish. Nicely balanced in two-thirds milk; bakers chocolate persists while the steamed milk adds a sweet nuttiness.

Impressively complex in both structure (sweet, bitter, savory) and aromatics. Pungently rich aroma: black currant, grapefruit, cedar, roses. All carry into the cup, where the pungent, cedary citrus notes are enveloped in almost sugary sweetness. Gently bright acidity; the mouthfeel is lightish in weight but impressively silky in texture. Flavor, particularly sweet citrus, carries deeply into the finish.

Deep, sweet night flowers, lemon and grapefruit and backgrounded cocoaish dark chocolate in aroma and cup. In the cup a savory hint emerges: bay leaf perhaps. Rich, resonant acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Rather dry but intensely flavor-saturated finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Crisply complex from aroma to finish: tart orange, flowers, dark chocolate, almond. Lightish but silky mouthfeel. Fades just a bit in two parts milk, but maintains its tartly orangy milk chocolate presence.

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.