South America Reviews

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.

Soft but complex aroma, suggesting milk chocolate, caramel, nut, aromatic wood. Vivid fruit-toned acidity; a distinct orangy citrus brightens the soft chocolate and caramel tendencies of the aroma. Rich, flavor-saturated, rather dry finish.

Sweet-toned aroma with notes of toast, aromatic wood, nut, and a mild fruitiness. The fruit note becomes more pronounced in the cup, reading as stone fruit, along with continued sweetness and hints of chocolate and continued aromatic wood. The finish settles just on the bracingly rich side of astringent.

Complex aroma combining suggestions of orangy citrus and dried lavender with hints of honey and baking spices. In the cup rich, fruity acidy, medium body with a lightly silky mouthfeel and broad, juicy, floral-toned flavor notes with more citrus and complicating hints of chocolate and crisp white wine. Finishes cleanly with fruit and chocolate lingering and sweetening in the long.

Pure, flawless coffee, classic in its simplicity and directness. Tart, cherryish coffee fruit with a crisp, distinct cocoa complication runs through the profile from aroma to finish. Sweetly bright acidity, silky mouthfeel, balanced structure, rich, long, flavor-saturated finish.

Nut, flowers and blackberryish fruit in the balanced though slightly muted aroma. In the cup rich wine-toned acidity, silky mouthfeel, sweetly tart lemon and blackberry notes soften toward chocolate as the cup cools. The blackberry fruit nuance carries into a long, rich finish.