Organic Reviews

Lindsey Bolger was all positive on this one: "One of my favorites in the cupping. Chocolate laced with cinnamon punctuates the aroma. More sweet spice and cocoa, even some floral notes, emerge in the flavor. A fine specimen of a Sumatra -- tamed but not over domesticated!" (88) Ken was attracted by "an opulent, deep-toned fruity chocolate" that nevertheless hinted at various flavor ambiguities like ferment. Ultimately, though, a "rich, clean finish" convinced him to go with a very positive reading (89) of this complex Sumatra.

Lindsey Bolger: "Fantastic! Sweet, floral aroma accented with cinnamon and just a suggestion of earthiness. Cools to a sweet and clean display of balance and harmony" (88). Ken read Lindsey's "earthiness" as a touch of musty ferment, but he nevertheless liked the way the ferment worked in the darkish roast, describing the outcome as "pungent, bittersweet fruit that suggests dark chocolate with a little mild, brandy-like ferment." Like Lindsey, he was impressed with how elegantly the coffee cooled, to a "long, sweet, clean chocolate finish" (90).

Lindsey Bolger: "Depending on tolerance for fruitiness with wild tendencies, this coffee will either delight or dismay. Lovely floral aromatics complemented by flourishes of warmed butter, brown sugar and citrus were the first hint that something interesting was going on in the cup. Upon first sip, the coffee displayed overt ferment, the kind that makes your toes curl. Then, after subsequent passes, that overripe fruitiness evolved to the engaging blueberry note so prized in Ethiopia Harrars" (84). Ken also wrestled with ambiguous flavor notes that for him suggested both fermented fruit as well as a hint of mustiness, but he too settled on a positive reading: "sweetly acidy, with lush ferment tones that, as the cup cools, resolve richly and pleasantly to fruity chocolate and brandy" (87).

Lindsey Bolger: "One of my favorites of the darker roasts in the cupping, largely owing to an aromatic note that always gets my attention. I describe it as "zatar," a mix of spices (sumac, thyme, marjoram and salt) used in Middle Eastern cooking. An odd pairing with coffee, but at the right roast and with other complementary flavors, it can contribute to a truly distinctive cup" (83). Ken: "Most cups were dominated by sweetly and pleasantly fermented tones, the kind that suggest wine- or fruit-toned chocolate. In other cups, additional smoky, spicy tones edged toward a soapy bitterness" (84)

A typical shape-shifting Sumatra that gives us something different in every cup. Lindsey Bolger: "Characteristic of a Sumatra prone to schizophrenia, with multiple personalities ranging from toasted grains and nuts to chocolate and spice. This confusing, sometimes combative complexity seems to improve and stabilize as the coffee cools" (82). Ken: "Some cups rich, sweet, fruity chocolate with an utterly clean finish; others still sweetly chocolaty but with leathery, spicy undertones and a heavy finish" (84).

Lindsey Bolger: "A coffee with some interesting twists and turns. While dominated by a less desirable woody flavor, a sweet and chocolaty aroma and clean finish redeems what may be an otherwise ordinary coffee" (82). Ken: "Bittersweet, with dry chocolate and nut tones. A little too bitter and not quite sweet enough for me. The finish is astringent but rich." (83)

A rather aggressive roast contributes distinct charred notes, but they are richly charred notes, with a leathery twist and a tickle of dry fruit. The astringent finish is pleasantly complicated by dry chocolate.

Intense, rich, straightforward. The aroma is deep-toned bittersweet chocolate with a slight roasty edge. Simplifies in the cup, perhaps under the impact of the roast, but expands again in the finish, with chocolate and hints of flowers.

Rich, round and balanced, with a sweetly understated acidity. Not a lot of nuance, but a hint of mustiness reads as an agreeably peppery chocolate. The finish is smooth, clean and long.

Ken (rating 81) reports: "Full-bodied, rather rich, but simple, with little nuance and a hint of bagginess." Kevin (rating 82): "Nice body, but the quakery appearance of the beans is reflected in a rather dull cup. Roasted at or past its limit given the modest inherent acidity of the green coffee."

Splendid aroma: voluptuously rich, chocolaty and perfectly balanced. In the cup deeply dimensioned with a pruny dry fruit edging toward chocolate, but marred by a slight but pervasive bitterness.

A purists cup: big, authoritative, powerfully but sweetly acidy, complete. The roast rounds the dry fruit tones toward chocolate but leaves the robustly rich acidity intact.

A rather simple but pleasingly balanced cup: bittersweet, with a low-toned shimmer of acidity. Prune or dried fruit notes in the cup and cocoa in the finish. Holds up very well as it cools.

The aggressive roast agreeably dominates the coffee here. A delicate, floral-toned, buoyant sweetness sings over a pungently charred center. The sweetness fades and the charred tones dominate in the finish.

Rich, sweet, with a gentle lift from the acidity, complicated by pronounced chocolate fruit tones (think chocolate-covered cherries). The body reads as bigger than it is owing to the general richness of the cup. Not much range or complexity, but a fundamentally pleasing cup.

Subdued, low-toned, smooth, full, round. Very little at the top of the profile, but a rich, fat fruitiness in the middle. Giddy suggestions of guava darkened toward cocoa and cherry as the cup cooled.

The smoky tones are sweet and floral in the nose, but rather sharply pungent in the demitasse, where the flowers transform to pruny dry fruit with a hint of burned tones. Excellent in milk, which softens and sweetens the sharpness.

Floral notes float shimmering atop the rather sharp, bitter, burned tones of the roast. Not much sweetness, but the subtle perfume of the flowers compensates.

Nicely balanced sweetness and chocolate-toned roast pungency, complicated by a touch of pruny fruit. A bit simple and monotoned, but pleasantly and deeply so, like good minimalist music.

A light-bodied but complexly nuanced coffee: brightly acidy, floral toned, with fruit tones that hint at chocolate in aroma and aftertaste. Not quite enough sweetness to offset the roast-induced bitterness, however.