LATEST REVIEWS

Very deep, resonant aroma, with distinct floral and cherry-toned coffee fruit notes, buttery chocolate, and a slight, bracing suggestion of fresh-cut cedar. In the cup giddily and sweetly acidy, with continued clear, intense floral notes and a Chardonnay-like fruit. A hint of butter and, as the cup cools, ripe tomato. The cleanly rich finish stiffens just slightly as the cup cools.

Musty earth tones of the kind typical of Sumatras rather than Colombias complicate an otherwise sweet, richly acidy cup. The musty tones read as a cedary spice, perhaps black pepper, and are enveloped in a deep chocolate richness with some slight, vanilla-toned top notes. Sweet finish with a gentle balancing astringency.

A soft, opulently ingratiating coffee. Sweet-toned aroma with distinct banana/peach notes and a hint of milk chocolate. In the cup medium-bodied but silky in mouthfeel, with a lush, sweet acidity, floral top notes and chocolate, peach and ripe tomato tones influenced by a slight smokiness.

Flowers dominate in the lush, buttery, apple- and cherry-toned aroma. Gently and sweetly acidy in the cup, light-bodied, delicately rich, with more giddy floral notes, a sweet, orangy citrus, and an underlying roundly chocolaty fruit. Richly delicate finish.

A classic, cherryish sweet ferment runs lushly from aroma through finish. In the aroma the sweet ferment reads as an expansive cherry-toned milk chocolate; in the cup it takes on a Cabernet character, though still chocolaty. The short finish is superb: rich, deep, sweet, chocolaty. Slight astringency in the long finish. The ferment tones remain sound and sweet as the cup cools.

Delicately complex, high-toned aromatics are the glory here. Giddily fruity aroma, with distinct vanilla notes and suggestions of white wine, custardy caramel, flowers, chocolate. In the cup delicate and very sweet, with continuing floral, wine (Riesling) and semi-sweet chocolate notes. The floral delicacy carries into the slightly astringent finish. Too delicate for this world: loses some of its refreshing complexity as the cup cools.

Sweet-toned, deeply roasty aroma, with cedar, chocolate, sweet orange and floral complication. Simplifies a bit in the cup, but displays a simple, powerful richness with muted, tight-knit complexity: chocolate, cedar, pruny dry plum. Cleanly rich in the finish.

In the aroma sweetly deep-toned, slightly smoky, with suggestions of cinnamon, caramel and a round banana-like fruit. In the cup quite caramelly and sweet, gently roasty, with a slight mildewy ferment that gives the cup an earthy, cocoa-toned character. Rich, complexly cocoa-toned finish.

The roast dominates here, deeply pungent and cedary in the aroma, with floral and Mediterranean herb top notes. Roundly and sweetly roasty in the cup, lightish in body but deep in dimension, with floral top notes and a cedary, herb-toned chocolate. Clean, rich and chocolaty in the short finish, though a burned astringency surfaces in the long, particularly as the cup cools.

A classic but quiet, rather lazy cup. Caramelly, richly roasty aroma with ripe tomato, cedar and sweet orange complications. Similarly quiet in the cup, with a hint of chocolate joining the tomato, orange and cedar notes. Simple but rich finish.

The scent of blueberry fills the room simply in the act of grinding this explosively fragrant coffee. Blueberry continues richly to dominate the wet aroma, nuanced by hints of other low-acid fruit - peach perhaps, and chocolate. In the cup the fruit inclines more toward wine and a lush, minty chocolate, but the blueberry reasserts itself in the finish. Only in the long finish is there a hint of the serendipitous ferment responsible for much of this aromatic excitement. Probably as close to a perfect example of this coffee type as this imperfect world allows, tactfully roasted.

Pure yet extravagant notes of coffee fruit and flowers themselves carry with breathtaking simplicity from aroma into the sweetly acidy cup. I don't recall having experienced the taste of the coffee fruit (think sweetly tart cherries) and the voluptuous scent of the coffee flower (jasmine) so distinctly and so intensely. The slightly astringent finish and turn toward ripe tomato as the cup cools reveals that, at this writing, the coffee is perhaps a bit young, but drink it now because tomorrow it will be out the roaster door. Nominated by reader Herman Reichold who calls it "one of - if not the - best coffees I have had the pleasure to drink."

A big, deep, simple gesture of a coffee. Roundly resonant aroma with fresh-cut cedar and semi-sweet chocolate notes. Reveals a slight bitter edge in the cup, but remains fundamentally deep, rich and full-bodied, complicated by continuing cedar and raisin-toned dark chocolate notes.

In the aroma the earthy scent of moist fallen leaves and sweet grapefruit, with a hint of semi-sweet chocolate. In the cup I couldn't find the chocolate, but the fresh-turned, leafy earth tones and the sweet grapefruit intensified. The earth tones remain soft and free of hardness in the long, sweet finish. This is one of several Van Houtte coffees cited by reader Carolyn Jones, who simply testifies that Van Houtte has "awesome coffee!"

A wonderfully deeply dimensioned coffee. Low-toned, resonant aroma complicated by vanilla, caramel and chocolate notes. In the cup roundly bittersweet, big-bodied, simple but lush. With patience vanilla and dark chocolate notes re-emerge. The finish is sweet and rich, though marred by a mild but distinct astringency. Reader Steve Prenzlauer nominated The Groovy Mind roasting company generally for its coffee quality and devotion to organic and Fair-Trade principles.

Richly mid-toned aroma with sweet earth notes complicated by hints of caramel, chocolate and Mediterranean herbs. In the cup a lush sweetness envelopes intensified chocolate and caramel notes and continuing sweet earth and pungent herb tones, with a hint of grapefruity citrus. This complexity fades rather quickly in an otherwise pleasant finish. Nominating reader Al Welker cites this coffee as "very special giving a mellow low acid cup when roasted medium."

Impressively round, deep aroma with semi-sweet chocolate and hints of blueberry and fresh-cup cedar. Quiets in the cup, but the pleasing complex of semi-sweet chocolate, cedar and blueberry persists. Blueberry dominates the in the richly sweet though slightly astringent finish.

Delicately fruity aroma, sweet cherry with a hint of chocolate. In the cup sweet, rich, surprisingly full-bodied, with a dry, wine-toned black currant fruit and a slight burned undercurrent. Sweetly rich short finish, but a hint of burned astringency shadows the long. This was the highest rated of three Starbucks coffees nominated and reviewed for this article.

I found myself using the term "delicate" several times in describing this coffee: delicate coffee fruit tones in the aroma, delicate but smooth mouthfeel, and a delicately complex flavor: nuts, dried fruit (raisins perhaps) with hints of wine and semi-sweet chocolate. Roaster Bob Baker nominated this coffee, citing its "sweet, honey laden cup."

A coffee whose uncompromisingly earthy character requires the same reorientation of conventional taste as do peaty malt whiskies. Distinct moist fallen leaf notes in the aroma with hints of sweet fruit ferment that with some imagination read as chocolate. In the cup the fallen leaf tones turn distinctly humus-like with continued hints of a sort of fermented chocolate. Medium body, syrupy mouthfeel. The chocolate notes persist in the finish, softening and complicating a hardish astringency.