Natural/Dry Reviews

Bittersweet, sharply pungent, earthy. Pungent fir, overripe plum, sweet earth that collectively leans toward chocolate in aroma and cup. Heavy, bitter-toned acidity; heavy mouthfeel. The overripe fruit and earth notes hint at chocolate in the short finish, but turn astringent and composty in the long.

Richly structured coffee with an intense balance of sweet, bitter and tart tastes supporting complex aromatics: lavender-like flowers, pecan, fresh-cut fir, and most strikingly, an unusual fruit note simultaneously suggesting mango and melon. Rich, deep acidity; lively, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The complex fruit note in particular carries into a drying but sweet finish.

Spicy floral notes (lavender, tea rose), dark chocolate, honey, hazelnut, and a pungent mango-like fruit in aroma and cup. Rich, juicy acidity; full, syrupy mouthfeel. The finish is bittersweet and drying in the short, but flavor and sweetness reassert themselves in the long.

Intense, lyric, complex floral character – tea rose, lily, lavender, honey – anchored by a crisp, cocoa-toned chocolate. Sweet-toned, floral acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Dry but rich, flavor-saturated finish.

Crisp baker's chocolate and heavy, lush, cherry-like fruit and brandy hints in aroma and cup. Wine-toned acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Rather heavy, sweet-salty finish.

Brandy, mint, cocoa and apricot in a quiet but clean dried-in-the-fruit profile. Tart, apple-toned acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Some flavor persists in the simple, savory-sweet finish.

Deeply and dramatically complex aroma and flavor: Pineapple- and berry-like fruit, milk chocolate, hints of brandy and mint. Richly bright acidity; very smooth, silky/syrupy mouthfeel. The finish is saturated with flavor, particularly with the minty brandy notes. Turns savory as the cup cools, perhaps a bit bitter; otherwise this would be a 94-rated coffee.

Rich, brandy-like fruit dominates the profile: cherry, blueberry, cocoaish dark chocolate in aroma and cup. Round, fruit-influenced acidity; syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor carries richly into the finish, where a very slight over-ripe note emerges as the cup cools.

Frank but brilliant in its complex fermented fruit character: cocoa, dusk flowers, butter, brandy, lemon all layer engagingly in aroma and cup. The sweet, exuberant ferment seems to turn the mouthfeel almost effervescent. Sweetness and flavor outlast a hint of astringency in the long finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Co-taster Sean Kohmescher (92) and Ken (88) split on this coffee and how to read its deep, ferment-toned fruit. Sean enjoyed the distinctive character of the fruit: “stone-fruited chocolate” with a hint of grapefruit. Ken read the same fruit but also picked up nagging musty/salty tendencies. Two parts milk smoothed things out a bit for Ken, developing a chocolaty sweetness, though Sean remained more committed here also, praising the shot’s “light, sweet, berries and cream” performance in milk.

Complex and balanced flavor and aroma: orange-toned citrus, cherry, cedary aromatic wood, a hint of baking spice. The acidity is extraordinary: deep, powerful yet roundly rich and sweet. The mouthfeel is full and syrupy, the finish long and fruit-saturated.

Dry berry or black currant, flowers, hints of lemon and aromatic wood in the aroma. All carry into a luxuriously sweet cup, with the lemon note dominating. Rich, complexly fruit-toned acidity, silky to lightly syrupy mouthfeel, clean, gently lemon-toned finish.

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.

Sweet and intense – stone fruit and honey complimented by silky milk chocolate. Fruit- and floral-toned acidity, medium body and a deeper chocolate-like sensation in a finish marked by a touch of drying astringency.

Sweet-toned aroma and flavor: caramel, dark chocolate, aromatic wood and a hint of fruit. Soft but distinct acidity and a round, silky mouthfeel. A richly sweet short finish gives way to a slightly papery astringency in the long.

Sweet and richly high-toned aroma: lemon, flowers, fresh-cut cedar, honey. Lushly bright acidity, medium body, silky mouthfeel. In the cup the lavish acidity registers first, followed by a softer impression of night flowers, lemon, and a cedar note that rounds toward cocoa. Extraordinarily long, resonant finish, deeply saturated with flavor.

Complications of fruit ferment are rich and complex in both aroma and cup: Deep, sweet, chocolaty molasses and moist pipe tobacco, a round apricot-like fruit, and a powerful suggestion of dusk flowers extend from aroma through a deeply flavor-saturated finish. The richness fades a bit as the cup cools, revealing a shadow composty edge to the ferment, but the main impression of opulence persists.

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.

In the aroma cocoaish chocolate with floral top notes. In the cup Ken (89) and co-cupper Ted Stachura (87) both found continued baker's chocolate notes with a lean toward nut. Complications for Ken were hints of flowers and white wine, for Ted faint suggestions of citrus and pipe tobacco. Round and chocolaty in the short finish, fading toward a mild astringency (Ted: "dry wood") in the long.

Co-cupper Miguel Meza (89) was rather faint in his praise of this coffee, finding a "floral and tropical citrus" character he associates with the more familiar washed or wet-processed Ethiopia profile, with added "chocolate and berry" nuance derived from dry-processing. Ken (91) wrestles with the detail a bit more, admiring a wine or brandy nuance to the chocolate and berry character, which he finds "lush but crisp."