Blind Assessment

Evaluated as espresso. An engagingly exotic coffee that polarized the three reviewers: John DiRuocco was lukewarm at 90, whereas Jen Apodaca was very enthusiastic at 95; Ken landed in the middle at 93. Ken read the coffee as driven by an attractive sweet ferment that for him suggested winey grape edging on grappa; John cited a fruit that for him was simultaneously ripe, tart and spicy; Jen went entirely positive on the fruit notes, citing in particular mango and passion fruit – fruit that taken together perhaps echoes John’s lush, tart and spicy reading. The cup was intense for John but not entirely coherent, while Jen found it expressed a “nice balance of acidity and sweetness.” Everyone found the coffee attractively complex in three parts milk, simultaneously lushly sweet and tart.

Notes

Grown at an elevation of approximately 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) and apparently processed by the dry-processed or “natural” method, meaning the beans were dried inside the fruit rather than after the fruit has been removed, as is the case with wet-processed or “washed” coffees. This coffee tied for the top rating in a tasting of single-origin espressos from the Americas for Coffee Review‘s November 2016 tasting report. Yo El Rey is a small-batch roaster based in Calistoga, California. For more information, visit www.yoelreyroasting.com.

Bottom Line

An intriguing espresso, with a dynamic, wide-ranging intensity that probably derives in part from a mild, sweet fruit ferment. Adventurers welcome, classicists beware.

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