Blind Assessment

Intense, high-toned aroma, complex but tightly knit: lemon, dry berry, flowers (tea rose?), milk chocolate. The acidity is powerful but roundly balanced, the body surprisingly full, the flavor explosive: rose water, sweet pipe tobacco, chocolate, all enveloped in a lemony richness. Lemon and chocolate notes carry into the finish, where they soften and enliven a slight astringency.

Notes

This exceptional coffee attracted a score of 95.6 from a jury of international coffee cuppers at the Best of Panama 2004 Cupping Event, then, at the subsequent auction, set what would appear to be a world record price for a green coffee - $21.00 per pound - paid by a consortium of American specialty roasters led by Roasterie president Danny O'Neill. Produced from trees of the Geisha variety of arabica, a variety with Ethiopian parentage, by Finca Esmeralda owners Price and Daniel Peterson. The Roasterie is a leading, quality-oriented specialty roaster that emphasizes its commitment to "air roasting," a technology utilizing a column of hot air rather than the conventional turning drum to agitate the roasting beans. Visit www.theroasterie.com or call 800-376-0245 for more information.

Who Should Drink It

Those willing to pay a very high price for an extraordinary coffee that almost uniquely combines classic Latin-American balance with the shimmering fruit and floral complexity of Ethiopia.

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