Estates Reviews

Sweet-toned orange and lemon aroma, with soft hints of nuts, cherry and caramel. A bright acidity is softened and rounded by a suggestion of fruit. The balance continues in the cup with sweet lemon and honey in front, fading to a pleasant nuttiness. Hints of chocolate and aromatic wood linger in the long finish.

Elegant floral aroma, with fruity hints of mixed berries and stone fruit, bright acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel and medium body. The floral tones carry into the cup with tart notes of Meyer lemon and strawberry rounding and sweetening to cherryish chocolate and nut. A mild sweet cocoa note lingers in the long finish softening a touch of astringency.

"An absolutely mind-blowing coffee" for co-cupper Andy Newbom (93). "Utterly pure yet soaringly intense," for Ken (97). "Say fruit ten times," Andy reports, and then he does, mainly variations of grapefruit, apricot and melon with green apple and Bartlett pear thrown in for the finish. For Ken that entire nuance is wrapped up in the extraordinary, singular explosion of cedary, pungently sweet berry, the quintessential Bourbon character. The acidity is enveloped in sweetness; in Andy's colorful language it "startles and snuggles all at once." For mouthfeel Andy suggests "crème fraîche Meyer lemon chiffon"; Ken sticks with a pedestrian "syrupy." Ken awarded a perfect 10 to the long, balanced, deeply flavor-saturated finish.

Very complex espresso in which forceful blend components were allowed full, if rather competitive expression. Co-taster Byron Holcomb (90) read the earthy and mildly musty side of the blend: earth and molasses in the aroma, "musty, cedar - a little confused" in the small cup. Ken (92) on the other hand, read the confusion as complexity and emphasized the Ethiopian elements, particularly the flowers and fruit, which for him gave the cedar and earth tendencies an anise-like liveliness. Both admired the mouthfeel, which Byron described as "the same weight as whole milk: buttery and round without heaviness." Impressive in four parts milk: "deeply, richly and cleanly chocolaty" for Ken; toffee-like for Byron, though his reservation persisted: "still a bit dirty."

Simple but softly rich aroma: sweet aromatic wood, caramel. In the cup balanced, soft acidity, delicately smooth mouthfeel, crisp nut and cocoa notes with a halo of cherryish sweetness. Lovely finish: clean, sweet, cocoa- and cherry-toned.

Intense, crisp, molassy sweet aroma: coffee cherry, aromatic wood, dusk flowers. In the cup soft but powerful acidity with a wine, or perhaps better, apple cider nuance. Delicate, silky mouthfeel, very sweet, continued coffee cherry, molasses, nut, aromatic wood, a hint of dusk flowers, all of which suggest at moments the most subtle milk chocolate imaginable. Smooth, clean, lightly flavor-saturated finish.

Elegantly delicate, lightly floral aroma, with tartly-sweet acidity and medium body. The delicacy carries into the cup with notes of sweet citrus rounding and softening toward candied-nut. Very clean finish, with a slight astringent note in the long.

Gracefully sweet in the aroma, with soft fruit and floral notes. In the cup, sweet-toned acidity, medium body and delicate flavors of blossoming flowers, honey and summer fruit. Very clean finishing with a lingering sweetness.

Round, sweet-toned aroma: flowers, molasses, spice. In the cup intense but sweetly balanced acidity, silky mouthfeel, lemon, floral and caramel notes. Sweet, rich, citrus-rind- and nut-toned finish.

A round, sweetly pungent coffee, deep in sensation. Plumy fruit and hints of lemon, flowers and molasses in aroma and cup. Rich, well-integrated acidity, long, resonant, tartly sweet finish.

A pungent but sweet fruit character, subtle but striking, carries from aroma to finish, suggesting at various moments black currant, grapefruit, fresh-cut fir, butter, raisin, perhaps something one could call butterscotch. Very rich, sweetly clean, long finish.

Sweet ripe citrus aroma with hints of flowers and mulling spices. Lively, assertive acidity, medium body, and a soft, round mouthfeel. Complex flavors range from flowers to sweet lemon to butter and toast. Clean, floral-toned finish, with a suggestion of milk chocolate in the long.

Richly and sweetly bright aroma with aromatic wood, peach-toned fruit and cocoa notes. In the cup quietly acidy, elegantly crisply sweet, deeply floral, with distinct peach-toned fruit and hints of cocoaish chocolate that carry into a long, flavor-glistening finish.

A sweet tangerine aroma predominates, with a light floral quality reminiscent of Muscat dessert wine. Bright floral toned acidity carries into a subtly complex cup; hints of sweet caramel, citrus, cocoa and aromatic wood. A delicate candy-like sweetness in the finish.

Mildly tangy aromatic notes, with soft hints of nuts and chocolate. A bright acidity is softened and rounded by faint suggestions of fruit. The balance continues in the cup with tart lime tones standing out in front, fading to a pleasant nuttiness. Hints of chocolate, spice and aromatic wood linger in the long, dry finish.

Both Ken (90) co-taster Heather Perry (89) found this sample pleasingly and crisply fruity; "Meyer lemon" notes dominated for Heather, spicy floral and orange for Ken. Despite a tendency to express itself in floral and fruit notes, the shot maintained balance throughout and showed well in milk, with attractive hints of chocolate and (for Ken) spicy, rose-toned flowers.

Little difference in rating or description between Ken (92) and co-cupper Ted Stachura (91) in regard to this exceptional Brazil natural. Ted's assessment: "Big, floral aroma - lavender, fruit and sweet-leaning white wine. Floral and fruit qualities carry into the bright, yet fine, acidity. Complex flavors with more floral upfront, subtle, tart citrus tones and lots of sweetness. Clean finish with lingering floral hints."

High-toned, simple, classic aroma: orange, sweet tomato, hints of cedar and milk chocolate. In the cup a rich, roundly sweet-toned acidity dominates, with continued orange and milk chocolate notes that grow more distinct as the cup cools and the acidity softens. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Long, tartly sweet finish.

Balanced in the aroma: orange, night flowers, a hint of cocoaish chocolate. The cup is dominated by a grandly classic acidity, tart yet lush, complicated by continued flowers, orangy citrus and a hint of cocoa. The tart fruit notes carry into a long, opulent finish.

Crisp but juicy in the aroma, with butter, honey, flower and marmalade-like orange notes. In the cup smoothly and gently acidy, delicate in mouthfeel, with a continued tart, marmalade-like, orangy sweetness complicated by cocoa, cedar, and continued flower and honey notes. Oranges and flowers carry into a cleanly sweet finish.