South America Reviews

Evaluated as espresso. Although Ken (90) and co-taster Sean Kohmescher (90) produced identical ratings, they read this coffee a bit differently, with Sean emphasizing its brightish citrus and floral tendencies while Ken added dark chocolate and hint of brandy. Sean was citrus inclined more toward lemon and lime, Ken toward a deeper-toned orange. Both read the small cup as medium in weight though slightly lean in mouthfeel, but admired the sample performance in two parts milk, finding it smooth, creamy, complex: berry, flowers, lemony cocoa.

Crisply balanced with a shifting, tight-knit complexity. Flowers, nut, fir, and a dark chocolaty fruit in aroma and cup. The flowers and chocolate carry long into the finish. Gentle acidity, silkily smooth mouthfeel.

Quiet introduction: soft notes of fir, flowers and milk chocolate in the aroma. All of this soars in the cup, intense yet perfectly balanced. The floral notes, which take back seat to the milk chocolate and gently pungent fir in the cup, move forward again in a very sweet, clean finish. Delicately tart acidity, silky mouthfeel.

(As brewed in a Keurig B70 Platinum single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule to produce 6-ounce serving): Sweet-toned, soft, balanced, with a grapy, Riesling-like fruit and hints of dark chocolate and flowers. Muted aroma and short (if rich) finish. Best in the cup: bright, delicate acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel and gently complex flavor.

Complete, balanced structure, complex aromatics, classic. Deep, sweet-toned aroma: lemon, orange, nut. In the cup gently bright, fruit- and fir-nuanced acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Continued lemon, orange and nut notes with a rounding suggestion of stone fruit. Rich, long, flavor-saturated finish.

Intense cedar tone dominates the aroma. Silky mouthfeel and soft flavors that hint at cherry-chocolate, malt and walnut. Wood-toned chocolate in the softly astringent finish.

Notes of sweet nut, caramel and aromatic wood in aroma and cup. Full body, syrupy mouthfeel and a finish enlivened by a bitter-edged chocolate and more aromatic wood.

Evaluated as espresso. Rich and round in the aroma with soft hints of milk chocolate, stone fruit and baking spice. In the small cup the flavors broaden: apricot and honeydew melon deepened by dark chocolate and fresh tobacco. Flavors soften and persist rather deeply in the finish. In two parts milk, candied citrus peel and caramelized fruit maintain rich authority.

Refined fruit-toned acidity points up flavors of ripe lemon, orange, honey and a toasty chocolate that becomes more pronounced in the finish. Syrupy mouthfeel, bright but balanced overall.

Evaluated as espresso. Deep dark chocolate and hints of fruit in the aroma. In the small cup the fruit becomes richer and distinct, showing cherry-like and floral complications that carry into a softly nuanced finish. Sweet and balanced in two parts milk, with sustained hints of fruit, butter and toast.

Deep, pungent cup. Spicy, peach-toned fruit, dark chocolate, tart cherry with a hint of flowers in aroma and cup. Low-toned but rich acidity, syrupy mouthfeel. Long, resonant, almost sugary finish.

Both co-cupper Wendy De Jong (89) and Ken (90) found pleasingly and sweetly tart notes (coffee cherry for Wendy, ripe lemon for Ken) complemented by apricot-like stone fruit and a rounding milk chocolate in aroma and cup. Both cuppers were impressed by a “lightly syrupy” (Ken) mouthfeel and a sweet, cocoa-toned finish.

Sweet, rich, almost fermenty fruit character. In the aroma dark chocolate, molasses, raisin and a hint of fresh-cut fir. In the cup backgrounded acidity, syrupy mouthfeel, continued raisiny chocolate and pungent fir notes. Simplifies as the cup cools.

Lemon-toned apricot in the aroma supported by flowers and a crisply sweet, cocoaish chocolate. All are sustained in the cup, supported by clear fruit-toned acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel and fine balance. The finish is flavor-saturated with a slight, bracing astringency.

Gently opulent night flowers, orangy fruit and a hint of fresh-cut aromatic wood in aroma and cup. Soft aroma, sweet acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel, rich, round balance. Simplifies slightly in the finish.

Sweet, distinctly nut-toned aroma with hints of aromatic wood and flowers. In the cup soft acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Simple and balanced, with a roundly gentle mix of nut and molasses-toned chocolate. Both carry into a sweet-toned finish.

Rich, deep aroma: nut, a hint of chocolate. In the cup soft acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel, and a distinct and pleasing sweet cocoa note complicated by roasted nut. Gently rich, though rather short finish.

Aromatically deep, with richly round caramel, toast and milk chocolate notes. In the cup penetrating acidity and flavor. Intense fruit-toned chocolate gives way to layers of fruit (peach, orange, black currant?) that soften and grow in complexity as the cup cools. Pungent dark chocolate dominates in the finish.

Evaluated as espresso. High-toned, sweet aroma: caramel and hints of orange, lemon and aromatic wood. In the small cup the fruit brightens and the suggestions of lemon and aromatic wood become more distinct, though still softened by caramel. Two parts milk deepen the caramel to a dark chocolate nuanced by continued hints of citrus and aromatic wood.

Round, aromatic sweetness, highlighted by candied nut and caramel. A delicate cup, with balanced acidity, soft mouthfeel, and continued sweet nut complemented by softer citrus and chocolate nuance. All carry into the finish along with a hint of aromatic wood.