Reviews for Flying Goat Coffee

A sweet Kenya, seductive rather than severe with its balanced acidity and delicate, quietly complex citrus and floral tones.

A rich, low-key, satisfying cup dominated by an unusual complex of flavor notes associated with coffee from trees of the heirloom Bourbon variety. This is a dry fruit character that suggests wine at one moment, at another tart berries, at another pipe tobacco, at still another a roasty but sweet chocolate. Owner and green buyer Philip Anacker cites its "gentle acidity and distinct flavors."

Lindsey Bolger: "Depending on tolerance for fruitiness with wild tendencies, this coffee will either delight or dismay. Lovely floral aromatics complemented by flourishes of warmed butter, brown sugar and citrus were the first hint that something interesting was going on in the cup. Upon first sip, the coffee displayed overt ferment, the kind that makes your toes curl. Then, after subsequent passes, that overripe fruitiness evolved to the engaging blueberry note so prized in Ethiopia Harrars" (84). Ken also wrestled with ambiguous flavor notes that for him suggested both fermented fruit as well as a hint of mustiness, but he too settled on a positive reading: "sweetly acidy, with lush ferment tones that, as the cup cools, resolve richly and pleasantly to fruity chocolate and brandy" (87).

Lindsey Bolger: "One of my favorites of the darker roasts in the cupping, largely owing to an aromatic note that always gets my attention. I describe it as "zatar," a mix of spices (sumac, thyme, marjoram and salt) used in Middle Eastern cooking. An odd pairing with coffee, but at the right roast and with other complementary flavors, it can contribute to a truly distinctive cup" (83). Ken: "Most cups were dominated by sweetly and pleasantly fermented tones, the kind that suggest wine- or fruit-toned chocolate. In other cups, additional smoky, spicy tones edged toward a soapy bitterness" (84)

Ken's favorite (rating 90) in the cupping: "Richly acidy and roundly sweet. Grace notes suggest cocoa swooning toward lushly fruity pipe tobacco." Kevin (rating 86) seems a bit put off by its departure from the Costa Rica norm: "Lovely caramel aroma, medium-full body, lush bittersweet chocolate flavors that made me wonder which part of Guatemala this Costa Rica was grown in. Hedonistic rather than cerebral in its appeal; delightfully atypical."

Ken (rating 86) writes: "Sweetly acidy and floral, with roasty chocolate notes - think chocolate-covered flowers. Acidity may be a touch overbearing, finish a bit heavy." Kevin (rating 86) is not excited: "Medium-bodied, straightforward, a bit dusty and chalky."

Smooth, medium-to-full bodied and richly balanced in the small cup, discreetly complicated by crisp leather and dry chocolate notes. Slightly astringent in the finish. Milk amplifies the dry chocolate tones, which turn hearty and bittersweet in short milk drinks and voluptuously sweet in taller. (87 straight espresso, 88 w/milk)

Superb aroma: rich, sweet, opulent with cocoa, flowers, and vanilla. A touch disappointing in the demitasse, however; the body is rather lean and the flavor acidy and sharp. But the sharpness rounds beautifully in milk with a lovely balance of dry cocoa tones and sweetness.

A solid, no-frills Latin-America acidity dominates the cup. No fruit and very little nuance, although the profile sweetens pleasantly in the finish, rounding toward caramel and perhaps chocolate.