Pacific Reviews

The dark roast style leans toward carbon here but remains on the flavorful side of it, turning the Sumatra richness pungent and darkening the sweet tones with hints of what a publicist might call chocolate. If this coffee had showed some development I would have rated it higher, but the profile made its statement and stood pat from there. As with the other Café d'Alma coffees in the cupping, I suspect a loss of aromatics in shipping.

Low-toned, full-bodied, absolutely solid at the center (maybe too), with slight hints of fruit and sweetness at the edges. In other words, a typical Sumatra. Would be a classic Sumatra if there were something more going on inside that center or a little more shimmer or lift around those edges. As it is, substantial, satisfying, but a touch inert.

An understated sweet liveliness lifts the rather stolid heart of this coffee. I can't cite any grace notes, simply a very pleasant, sweet lift. Good dimension, but (for a Sumatra) a rather shallow bottom.

Another solid, heavy-centered Sumatra. Here, however, the dark center reveals hints of wine and a character more complexly pungent than sweet. The pungency is free of earthy or hard notes, and reads as the very quintessence of rich.

Not entirely typical for a Sumatra, but something of a revelation: an almost Latin-American brightness up front before the deep Sumatra tones prevail, pulling us down into a broad, deep, sweet vanilla-tinged center. An amazing range, from the fleeting floral top notes to a pungently rich bottom, plus a long, satisfying development that carries straight through to the vanilla memories in the aftertaste.

Still another solid, deep Sumatra, but lacking range or dimension. Clean, one-dimensional, with little resonance in the heart of the coffee or shimmer around the edges. The aromatics seemed a bit tired; perhaps the problem here is a loss of aromatics in shipping.

Another heavy-centered Sumatra, this one with hints of sweetness and vanilla all but buried under an herby, earthy character. The earthiness is rough but rather pleasant, with only the barest hint of hardness.

An interesting but atypical Sumatra profile: Distinctly, almost distractingly sweet vanilla tones float over the Sumatra depth, which you only sense through a kind of echo. Perfumy, at turns suggesting flowers and then nuts, the vanilla notes may be too intense for elegance, lingering straight into the aftertaste, where they turn slightly cloying.

"Distinct fruity, pruny carbon tones; not much else," I wrote the first time I cupped this coffee. I used almost the same words the second time around. Simply not enough going on here. The carbon is not the thin, burned-out sensation of overdone French roasts, by the way. More the taste of very dark toast with a memory of marmalade.

My rating for this coffee rose steadily as it cooled. At first the profile seemed pleasant yet inert, without lift or innuendo. But as I came back to it the coffee seemed to elevate, lighten and sweeten, and in the end the combination of substantial body and unassuming sweetness won me over.

High, wild, winy notes rip through this coffee, first thrilling us, then turning uncomfortably lush in the finish, finally leveling out in a relatively clean aftertaste. American coffee culture hasn't made up its mind about this overripe, edge-of-compost taste. Is it a strange and wonderful gift of nature to be treasured, like the carefully cultivated mold in certain cheeses? Or do we dismiss it as a symptom of poorly-handled coffee?

A sweet-toned acidity, a sort of subdued brightness, enlivens this medium-bodied coffee. The sweetness reads with considerable complexity: as vanilla in the nose and fruit-toned chocolate in the cup. Once these nuances have pleased us, however, nothing further turns up. No depth, no teasing secrets. Still, the elegantly complex top notes make this coffee one of the standouts in the cupping.

Little acidity and not much at the top, but balanced and complete in the middle ranges. Rich, particularly in the nose, although the rich impression doesn't develop beyond the first impression, and tends to fade in the finish.

Depending on whether your palate reads the fermented notes as pleasantly fruity or disagreeably cloying, you could love or loath this coffee. If you think you might love it, ignore the rating, which deducts for the ferment. Under the impact of the dark roast the ferment turns lush, almost spicy. Displays the usual Indonesia virtue of solid body.

Hard, high notes surprise in both aroma and cup, persisting into the aftertaste. But if you taste attentively the fundamental, Indonesian matrix of the coffee emerges beneath the sharpness: rich, subtly low-toned, balanced, with some tones that even could be called chocolate. In the first round of cupping the sharp notes seemed to energize the coffee; in the second they just tasted sharp.

Dark fruit (prune?) tones complicate a solid, balanced, dark-roast character. Some carbon at the top of the profile, but good Indonesia richness underneath. The carbon dominates in the aftertaste.

This ingratiating dark roast comes straight at us, forgoing drama and intrigue. Not much Sumatra-style resonance behind its first sweet-pungent impression, but balanced and pleasing.

Extends from a deep, rich bottom to acidy, wine-elevated notes at the top. The usual Starbucks carbon tones are pleasantly lost in the expansive complexity of the coffee until the aftertaste, when they surface after the rest of the profile has passed into memory.

A model Mandheling: Low-toned, heavy-bodied, balanced, mouth-filling. Some carbon, but buffered by depth and richness. Enough acidity makes it through the roast to keep the deep bottom of the coffee from sagging into boredom.

Spicy, perhaps smoky tones enliven the rich top notes of the aroma and carry into the cup. Surprisingly clear acidity, fine body, long finish, superb aftertaste.