Green Reviews

A fine coffee in the India mode; almost all panelists had something positive to say about it. Sweet, deeply resonant, softly acidy, long in the finish, gently nuanced with tones variously read as spice, nut, and citrus. Sustained its virtues beautifully when cold. Given the enthusiastic written assessments, I have no idea why this coffee was not more highly rated.

A coffee flawed by a veritable anthology of processing taints: harsh, musty, dirty, with an unpleasant old vegetable taste that one panelist described as "dirty carrots." Somebody was not minding the mill when this coffee came in from the fields. A traditionally wet-processed or "washed" coffee grown under shade at elevations of 3,000 to 3,500 feet. From the contemporary hybrid variety S4345.

Most of the panel found this coffee defective; "medicinal, nose-wrinkling," said one. Others acknowledged the defect but found some virtue in the cup, reading the mustiness as cedar or cardamom.

The panel was divided on this coffee. Some admired its sweetness and rich, deeply dimensioned balance; others were put off by a slight off-taste read variously as soapy, bitter, or sour. A small and subtle flaw, but it apparently dragged down the rating of an otherwise quietly complex and sweetly resonant coffee.

This pleasant but monotoned coffee prompted little comment from the panel. Most detected a mild grassy or astringent note. I found the aroma sweet but grassy, the cup agreeable and balanced but unremarkable.

A sweet, voluptuous, full-bodied coffee, though almost aggressively neutral. Consensus found the acidity soft, the aroma caramelly, the body creamy or buttery. I found no nuance and little dimension, but some on the panel detected a hint of India: “spicy, A traditionally wet-processed or “washed” coffee grown under shade at elevations of over 4,000 feet. […]

Is the fruit character of this coffee ripely spicy or disturbingly overripe? Panelists apparently admired the complex lushness of this organically grown coffee, but were put off by a whiff of slightly bitterish ferment A traditionally wet-processed or “washed” coffee grown under shade and certified organically grown. Nuggets Extra Bold is a meticulously sorted super […]

I found this coffee pleasantly sweet but flat to a fault. Other panelists complained of a subdued but clear defect, mustiness perhaps. One complainant found this shadow defect ambiguously interesting: "harmonic earthy & aromatic woods?" he asked himself.

When hot, this cup impressed many of the panel with its light-footed, teasing nuance of lemon, flowers and cocoa. Complex in the nose, but as the cup cooled it flattened disappointingly.

A paradoxical coffee: A slight bitter edge (drying fault?) led two panelists to dismiss this coffee; the majority praised its sweetness and depth and either overlooked the shadow bitterness or read it as an agreeable pungency.

Clear, dry fruit that reads pleasingly as cocoa graces this agreeable but understated coffee. Some panelists praised its gentle complexity; others found the cup too gentle.

Panelists found this coffee interesting but ambiguous. They were attracted by its combination of nuanced, caramelly softness and bright, aggressive acidity; put off by a smoky, slightly bitter pungency that hinted at a drying fault.

A luxuriously sweet, full, suavely rounded cup enlivened by nut and spice tones and a tickle of flowers. "Rich, saturated butter," exclaimed one panelist. Slightly sharp when hot, but as the cup cools the bitter edge swoons into the enveloping sweetness.

Winner in the 2000 Specialty Coffee Association of Panama Cupping Event. Gently lively acidity rides a full, buttery body toward a splendid, complex, wine-toned finish.

An intensely contradictory coffee. On one hand: full, smooth body, expressively and deeply sweet, long, vibrant finish. On the downside: grassy undertones and an odd edginess to the fruit that grew more obvious as the cup cooled. Some panelists went exclusively with the upside, others only with the down, while a few celebrated the paradox, sometimes in rather unconventional language: "bold, rough, strong -- Neanderthal ancestors," wrote one. One thing is certain: This coffee is considerably more interesting than its rating suggests.

Soft, sweetly brisk, balanced, but edging on bland. "No flaws, but not many grace notes. Good, inoffensive cup," wrote one panelist. "Nice combo of sweet & floral ... just missing intensity," offered another.

The panel put this light-bodied coffee somewhere between bland and defective. Four panelists reported at least one cup of the several they sampled displayed defective aromatics, their descriptions ranging from soapy to beefy to sour. Apparently I was lucky: all of my cups were light-footed but sweetly acidy and agreeable.

Soft, low-key coffee with a twisty undercurrent of dark vegetative notes: wood or grass at worst; at best spice, tobacco or smoke. I found that, as the cup cooled, these notes sweetened pleasantly toward cocoa and cedar.

"Very pleasant, sweet, solid cup -- milk chocolate," reported one panelist. Another pursued the same theme with more enthusiasm: "sweet; soft, creamy, beautiful to behold, subtle yet complete, ... understated." Apparently too understated for the majority of the panelists, who felt the virtues of this coffee stopped with the impressive sweetness.

A splendidly smooth Harrar with persistent, understated power. There is plenty going on in the nose, particularly fruit, but the real strength of this coffee is its smooth, supple presence, particularly as it cools. "It is what it says it is -- friendly, honest, easy to read, pleasant & enjoyable, [though] not sophisticated," concluded one panelist. I loved this coffee, and found its resonant roundness sufficiently sophisticated, even elegant.