LATEST REVIEWS

(Pre-ground coffee and roasted chicory root) Bright, gently acidy aroma with distinct lemon notes and a hint of raisiny chocolate. In the cup delicately lively with a slight spicy, peppery character and clear lemon and floral top notes. Clean, rich finish.

(Whole-bean coffee flavored with natural chocolate and habanero chile extracts on an alcohol base) The flavorings seem discreet and resonate well with the coffee, particularly in the quietly deep aroma. The chocolate reads as the semisweet kind with a dry walnut character; the chile is felt more than tasted, particularly in the warm, gently tingly finish.

(Pre-ground coffee and roasted chicory root) Chicory strongly influences but does not dominate the coffee in this rather lively blend. In the aroma warm, spicy fruit and aromatic wood notes. Brightly and sweetly acidy in the cup, with a gentle, peppery lemon complication. The chicory has the last, tingling word in the finish.

(Pre-ground blend of coffee and cocoa nibs) Sweet-toned aroma dominated by what reads as nut (walnut?) notes with suggestions of chocolate and dried fruit, perhaps raisin. In the cup round and full in mouthfeel and gently acidy but limited in aromatic range, with a continued dominant nut character and sweet chocolate undercurrents that fade in the slightly tight finish.

(Pre-ground coffee and roasted chicory root) Strong chicory character in the aroma (woody, peppery prune). In the cup quite sweet, with continued, rather complex chicory influence: peppery prune, aromatic wood, hints of flowers and lemon. The fruit character is particularly pronounced in the tingly and perhaps cloyingly sweet finish.

(Whole-bean coffee flavored with natural anise and vanilla extracts on an alcohol base) Intense anise character dominates in the aroma. When I cupped this coffee blind before it was identified for me, I read the anise as a combination of licorice and caraway seed and the vanilla as chocolate. In the cup the anise continues to dominate sharply, overpowering the softer vanilla-cum-chocolate notes. The vanilla/chocolate finally prevails over the sharp anise in the pleasant long finish.

(Pre-ground blend of coffee, dry honey and vanilla) Oddly muted aroma dominated by notes that read as a dry, caroby chocolate. Very sweet, sugary, cup with a limiting, drying astringency. The same combination of intense sweetness and heavy astringency marks the finish.

(Pre-ground blend of coffee, cardamom and cinnamon) The spice sensation is intense and dominating throughout the profile, reading as a bitter, resiny orange with a sharp cinnamon overlay. In the cup the mouthfeel is full and the taste simultaneously sweet and brassily bitter.

(Whole-bean blend of coffee and roasted pi?on nuts) Very full nose with a sort of toasted apple and cinnamon character plus an odd, cloyingly sweet woodiness. In the cup quite full-bodied with a continued dominating sweet, soapy wood character overriding pleasant chocolate, molasses and perhaps apple and lemon notes.

(Pre-ground coffee and roasted soy) The aroma is rich, rather deep, with notes that suggest a nut-toned chocolate. In the cup, however, an intense, rather cloying sweetness overlays an equally intense astringency, complicated by woody nut notes, unsalted peanuts perhaps.

Cocoa, banana and a hint of cedar in the fine aroma. In the small cup big-bodied, gently and sweetly pungent, with a rich, orange-toned cedar character and cocoa notes that round toward chocolate. Rich short finish, very slightly astringent in the long, but sweet chocolate suggestions persist throughout. Remains in sturdy control in milk, though it never quite sweetens and blossoms.

Tartly sweet fruit notes suggest pineapple, grapefruit or perhaps black currant in the aroma, with delicate undercurrents of caramel and earth. In the cup the musty/malty earth notes move richly forward, backgrounding the continuing crisp, pineapply fruit. A slight astringency in the short finish gives way to sweetness and pineapple in the long.

In the aroma intense, pungent with grapefruit and cedar notes. In the cup full-bodied, with the dominating earthy pungency enveloped in deep sweetness. Continued grapefruit, pineapple and cedar notes settle toward honey and chocolate. Sweet, resonant, rich finish, totally free of astringency.

Intense, lyrically sweet coffee: honey, flowers and the pure notes of coffee fruit carry from aroma to cup; the acidity is tart but caramelly, even buttery. Impeccably clean, delicately rich finish.

Powerful, sweet-toned aroma: cherry, honey, tea-rose, milk chocolate, with a very mild ferment that reads as delicate Riesling-like wine. In the cup the honey and rose-like floral notes persist lushly, with the fruit notes turning from dark cherry to a tarter coffee fruit. The felicitous ferment deepens, reading more as brandy than wine. The finish is rich and deep, with an attractive persistence of flower, cherry and honey, but is weighed by the astringent heaviness usual with even the best of this style of dry-processed coffee.

Pungent but sweet throughout the profile. In the aroma caramel, fruit-toned, slightly smoky cedar, orange. In the cup the pungent, smoky fruit notes read as a tartly sweet grapefruit, perhaps dry berry, with continuing undercurrents of caramel sweetness. Distinct orange notes resurface in the rich finish.

A deep, spicy floral character - dusk flowers, tea rose - leads in aroma and cup, supported by low-acid fruit notes - peach, cherry - and hints of milk chocolate and leather. The acidity is deep-toned and round, the finish rich and clean.

Cherry notes dominate in the very sweet-toned, pungently acidy aroma. Relatively light-bodied in the cup, but sweetly and buoyantly acidy, with striking and complex aromatic notes: cherry, tea rose, Meyer Lemon, orange, honey. Honey in particular persists in the rich, sweet, though slightly astringent finish.

A whisper of an aroma, but a complex one: flowering grass, caramel, honey, a hint of chocolate. Amazingly sweet and delicately lush in the cup, with the honey notes intensifying and the floral notes declaring as spicy tea rose. The honey and floral notes persist in the surprisingly long, resonant finish.

Intense aroma: tart cherry, caramel, hints of lemon, flowers, chocolate. In the cup delicate and pure: brings the fresh, dusky floral and tart cherry notes of coffee flowers and fruit into the cup with continuing hints of chocolate and lemon. The finish is clean, simple, ingenuous.