Reviews for Fratello Coffee Roasters

Sweet-toned apricot- and peaches-in-syrup aroma. Penetrating, citrusy acidity, silky mouthfeel and flavor notes that complicate the stone fruit theme with a tart, spicy orange. The fruit fades a bit in the finish, but the rich sweetness persists.

Evaluated as espresso. Subtly complex in aroma and small cup: brown sugar, fir, dark chocolate, raisin, with a brightening hint of lemon. Syrupy mouthfeel. The dark chocolate becomes more distinct in the finish and in two parts milk blossoms with depth and sweetness.

A deep, sweet-toned complexity with some roast influence provoked differing yet overlapping descriptors from co-cupper Wendy De Jong (89) and Ken (91). Wendy found “stewed apple” and “ripe black plums and licorice” in aroma and cup respectively, while Ken (91) found blackberry, cocoa, and a delicate but distinct hint of flowers. The soft, balanced acidity was a bit too soft for Wendy (7) though Ken (8) found it nicely supported the general low-toned richness of the profile. Both responded positively to a smooth, lightly syrupy mouthfeel and sweet finish.

Deep, balanced, with a round, low-acid fruit that struck co-cupper Wendy De Jong (89) as cherry in the nose and melon and ripe pineapple in the cup, while Ken (89) read a fruit-toned chocolate in both. Wendy joined him in the chocolate camp (“milk chocolate”) for the finish. Both found the acidity quiet, the mouthfeel plush.

Aromatic wood, nut, pipe tobacco in the aroma, softening and rounding toward dark chocolate in the cup. Assertive, ripe-tomato-toned acidity. Medium body, rich, rather sweet finish with a hint of astringency.

Evaluated as espresso. Co-taster Andy Newbom (91) and Ken (91) in particular admired the mouthfeel of the straight shot: "big in the mouth ... viscous but not heavy" in Andy's words. In flavor licoricy and spicy, slightly sharp, rounded by prune and berry notes. In four parts milk the flavor plumped up and rounded beautifully toward a complex chocolate, in Andy's words "chocolate ... nuts and candied apple."

Big round floral aroma with notes of sweet berry, stone fruit and dark chocolate. In the cup, lightly syrupy mouthfeel and rich acidity; suggestions of peach and apricot intensify as does the berry-toned dark chocolate. Although some fruit complexity is lost in the finish, a cocoaish sweetness lingers far into the long.

Crisp and refined aroma: butter, nut, and delicate hints of aromatic wood and baking spices. Penetrating, fruit-toned acidity, silky mouthfeel and delicate flavors that suggest orange, flowers, peas and nut. Aromatic wood remerges in the finish, along with a dry, orange-toned chocolate in the long.

Rich, pungent aroma with hints of berry, black currant, aromatic wood and flowers. In the cup flavor builds in intensity; delicate notes of orange and flowers give way to sweeter berry-toned fruit and brandyish dark chocolate as the cup cools. The deeper notes linger in the mildly dry finish.

Deep, sweet, fruit- and chocolate-toned aroma. In the cup silky mouthfeel, balanced acidity and a complex range of flavors that hint at citrus, blackberry, nut, molasses and more chocolate. The flavors simplify somewhat in finish, but remain sweet-toned.

Quietly complex aroma. Sweetly floral with layered suggestions of fruit: grapefruit, coconut, pineapple. In the cup balanced yet penetrating fruit-toned acidity and syrupy mouthfeel; stone fruit, citrus and black currant soften toward chocolate, carrying into a deep, sweet, rich finish.

Well-balanced aroma with suggestions of dark chocolate, nut and a muted hint of fruit. Rich, low-toned acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Nut and chocolate carry into the cup where the fruit becomes more pronounced, revealing berry and citrus complication. Fruit-toned, semi-sweet chocolate dominates in the clean finish.

A well-structured cup, delicate yet intense. Soft notes of aromatic wood, caramel and fruit in aroma and flavor. Gently tart acidity, silky mouthfeel. The aromatic wood character dominates in a sweet but slightly astringent finish.