South America Reviews

Complex aroma: toast, nut, cinnamon, caramel, cocoa and aromatic wood. Smooth acidity, creamy body, very nutty flavor with notes of fresh-cut wood and chocolate. Long, dry finish with a very mild woody tightness in the long.

Sweetly pungent in the aroma: cedar, hints of dark chocolate and raisiny fruit. In the cup smooth mouthfeel but a little lean; richly bittersweet; continued hints of a rather dry dark chocolate and raisins. The flavor prevails over a mild astringency in the finish.

An aromatically simple but deeply resonant coffee. Richly pungent aroma with hints of nut, raisin and dark chocolate. In the cup lightly syrupy mouthfeel and a quietly vibrant, roast-toned acidity. Continued suggestions of raisin or perhaps dried cherry, dark chocolate, nut. Clean, sweet, though rather short finish.

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule to produce a 6-ounce serving size): Aromatic notes of chocolate, sweet tomato-like citrus and orange. Brightly balanced fruit-toned acidity, with sweet orange notes turning toward caramel and milky chocolate. Simple sweetness in the finish.

A round, sweetly pungent coffee, deep in sensation. Plumy fruit and hints of lemon, flowers and molasses in aroma and cup. Rich, well-integrated acidity, long, resonant, tartly sweet finish.

Gentle, balanced and round. Light tangy notes in the aroma with hints of toast and geranium. In the cup soft chocolate and nut flavors are balanced by suggestions of citrus. Fairly clean in the finish with light nutty tones lingering in the long.

Very deep, complex profile that hints as much at Sumatra as it does at Colombia. Intense aroma dominated by earth and ripe, almost overripe fruit notes that together can be read as a dark, raisiny chocolate. Quiet acidity, medium body with syrupy mouthfeel, and continued richly earthy/fruity notes that at moments suggest pungent butterscotch, at other times elegantly cherryish dark chocolate. Lemon hints become more explicit in the sweet finish; a very slight hint of bitter astringency in the long.

In the aroma roasted nut and honey for co-cupper Ted Stachura (91), plum, cedar and nut for Ken (92). In the cup softly acidy, gently bittersweet, quietly complex: cocoa, roasted nut, (walnut for Ted), hints of flowers, citrus and plumy fruit. The cocoa turns chocolaty in a surprisingly rich finish.

Ken (91) was struck by the pungently sweet berry or black currant notes, which carry straight through from aroma through cup to finish. Co-cupper Ted Stachura (also 91) was a bit more general in his characterization, finding "sweet, winy tones and fruit" in the aroma and "bright acidity with floral qualities and sweet tangerine, cherry blossom and chocolate" in the cup. For both Ken and Ted the finish was slightly heavy but nevertheless pleasantly rich and flavor-saturated.

Little difference in rating or description between Ken (92) and co-cupper Ted Stachura (91) in regard to this exceptional Brazil natural. Ted's assessment: "Big, floral aroma - lavender, fruit and sweet-leaning white wine. Floral and fruit qualities carry into the bright, yet fine, acidity. Complex flavors with more floral upfront, subtle, tart citrus tones and lots of sweetness. Clean finish with lingering floral hints."

Caramelly, wine-like aroma with ripe, perhaps overripe, fruit notes. Dense, heavy presence in the cup. Both Ken (89) and co-cupper Ted Stachura (89) found bittersweet chocolate notes. Ted also noted nut, pipe tobacco, hints of leather. Long, nut-toned 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.

Sweet-toned, quiet aroma with nut, dried cherry and chocolate. Elegantly balanced cup: softly acidy, silky in mouthfeel, with continued dried cherry, cocoaish chocolate and a slight brightening hint of lemon. The chocolate notes in particular carry into the long, rich, complex finish.

Sweet-toned, crisply rich aroma with chocolate, cedar, flowers, ripe tomato notes. In the cup powerfully but sweetly acidy, with continued flowers, cocoaish chocolate, tart cherry notes and a pungent hint of cedar. Rich, sweet, chocolate-toned finish; very slight astringency in the long.

Straightforward but very agreeable profile: Sweet cocoa and flower notes throughout, from a rather restrained aroma through balanced cup and rich, long finish. Sweet, acidity, solid body.

Distinctly cocoa- and nut-toned aroma. In the cup softly acidy, medium-bodied, and very sweet with continued cocoa and nut notes. In the finish the cocoa deepens toward chocolate, softening a slight astringency.

Lightly and sweetly acidy with delicately crisp floral, walnut and orange notes running from aroma through cup to the particularly impressive finish, where the sweetness peaks and the flavor notes consolidate and survive a slight tightness.

Sweet-toned, delicately complex aroma: flowers, hints of honey, cedar and tart cherry, perhaps chocolate. In the cup very gently acidy, light in body but buoyant and silky in mouthfeel, and giddily floral- and honey-toned with complicating hints of chocolate, tart coffee fruit and Riesling-like white wine. Fades rather quickly in the finish but exquisitely clean with memories of chocolate and flowers. An exceptionally pure and balanced coffee.

Deep, lush aroma: cherry, semi-sweet chocolate, flowers. In the cup smooth acidity, supple mouthfeel, sweet- and low-toned fruit and floral character suggesting semi-sweet chocolate, molasses, pipe tobacco. Simplifies a bit in the finish, particularly as the cup cools.

A slight musty fruit ferment serendipitously complicates this richly low-key coffee, reading as cocoa and cedar-toned ripe orange in both aroma and cup. A very slight astringency smoothes out in the long, sweet finish.