LATEST REVIEWS

Intense aroma, very sweet in impression, with round blueberry, fresh leather and cedar notes. In the cup the roast turns the blueberry toward a rich chocolate, but also seems to develop an astringent edge to the cup. In the finish the lovely blueberry chocolate barely makes itself heard above the persistent astringency.

Delicate but intense aroma: sandalwood, hints of cherryish fruit. In the cup lean in mouthfeel; the aromatic wood notes settle toward chocolate while the fruit displays a distinct and pleasant grapefruit twist. The chocolate and fruit persist only momentarily in the finish before they are lost in astringency. Reader Frank Baker nominated this coffee as "a quintessential Sumatra, absolutely the best I have ever tasted."

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule at a cup volume of 5.25 ounces): Subdued aroma, with dry fruit (cherry?) and fresh leather notes. In the cup shallow in sensation but crisply balanced, with suggestions of Meyer lemon, white wine, tart cherry edging toward chocolate. Thin but pleasantly sweet, cherry-toned finish.

(As brewed in a Bunn My Cafe MCP single-serve brewing device using a 62mm pod at a cup volume of 5 ounces): Distinct sweet cocoa notes in the aroma, along with hints of low-acid fruit, cherry perhaps. In the cup richly acidy, lean-bodied but rich, with continued sweet cocoa and tart cherry notes with a shimmer of vanilla. Rich, tart but not overly astringent finish. The same pod brewed in the Krups 1010 at a cup volume of 6 ounces scored an 85 with a basically similar profile and description.

(As tasted in a Krups 1010 single-serve brewing device using a 62mm diameter "Home Cafe" pod at a cup volume of 7.5 ounces): Sweetly acidy, winey, high-toned aroma, with some rounding caramel and vanilla notes. In the cup surprisingly full-bodied, sweetly balanced, complicated by wine (more rose than cabernet), vanilla, floral notes. Cleanly sweet, cherry-toned finish. (In the Black & Decker One Cup Coffee Maker and Mr. Coffee AT13, lower-priced single-serve machines taking similar-sized pods, the same Folgers 100% Colombia pod attracted a rating of 81. In the Bunn My Cafe, a machine designed to take multiple sizes of pod, the same pod scored 82.)

(As brewed in a Senseo single-serve brewing device in a Podhead Sensation 62mm pod at a cup volume of 5 ounces): Sweet, round, fairly deep aroma with hunts of chocolate and cherry. In the cup the chocolate and tart cherry notes grow more distinct, complicating a rather rich, sweetly balanced cup and carrying into the clean, round finish.

(Tasted as produced by a Braun Tassimo Single Serve Coffee Maker brewing a Tassimo T-Disc at a cup volume determined by the coding on the capsule, in this case 3.5 ounces): Simple, sweetly smoky aroma, with some depth of sensation and floral and fruit hints. As would be expected given the short serving size, full-bodied in the cup, with a fermented musty fruit that reads as walnut and bitterish semi-sweet chocolate. Cardboardy undertones, perhaps owing to staling. Simple but surprisingly clean short finish, with some mild astringency in the long.

(As brewed in a Bunn My Cafe single-serve brewing device using a 62mm pod at a cup volume of 5 ounces): Lovely aroma: balanced, delicately sweet, floral, with orange-toned citrus notes. Radically simplifies in the cup: turns ordinary, sweetly shallow, gently acidy, lean-bodied. The orange notes resurface in the thin but cleanly refreshing finish. (Same pod as brewed in the Krups 1010 at a cup volume of 6 ounces: Watery, shallow, delicately sweet acidity, remote suggestions of caramel and fruit, basically underextracted. Rating 79.)

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule at a cup volume of 5.25 ounces): Sweet, round aroma complicated by cherry-toned fruit notes. Rather rich in the cup, with decent body and sweet, wine-toned acidity but little else in the way of nuance. Clean, round short finish, slight bitterness in the long.

(As brewed in a Melitta One:One single-serve brewing device in a Podhead Arabica Express brand 44mm pod at a cup volume of 5 ounces): Subdued, faintly rich aroma, with wine and walnut notes and regrettable hints of cardboard. In the cup medium bodied with a roundly acidy, wine-like character and a touch of lush sweetness, though the cardboard still lurks. Rich in the short finish, mildly astringent in the long.

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule at a cup volume of 7.25 ounces): Distinct vanilla and caramel aroma with a hint of sweetly acidy fruit, orange perhaps. In the cup light in body and delicate in mouthfeel, soft and simple in flavor with dilute hints of caramel and orange. Moderately rich in the short finish, very slightly astringent in the long.

(As brewed in a Flavia Fusion Drink Station using a Flavia proprietary single-serve pouch at a cup volume of 7 ounces): Simple, smoky aroma with hints of flowers and fruit. In the cup shallow and sharply smoky, with muted complications of walnut and chocolate. The finish is heavy and rather astringent but rich, with continued hints of walnut and chocolate.

(As brewed in a Juan Valdez Pod Coffee Maker in a Podhead Sensation 62mm pod at a cup volume of 5 ounces): Flowers edging on sweet grass in the delicate, rather shallow aroma. In the cup softly and gently acidy, with tart but sweet cherry notes and a light (rather than thin) body and smooth mouthfeel. Short, clean, simple finish.

(As brewed in a Senseo HD7810 single-serve brewing device in a Senseo brand 62mm pod at a cup volume of 8 ounces): Ingratiatingly sweet and caramelly aroma with remote suggestions of low-acid fruit: banana perhaps. In the cup thin bodied and lean. The sweet, mildly fermented fruit reads as a sort of dilute, wine-toned chocolate. The sweet chocolate persists rather richly in the short finish, but seems to grow a bit cloying in the long. (Same coffee, same pod as brewed in a Black & Decker One-Cup Coffee Maker at a cup volume of 7 ounces): The musty-fermented notes that read as caramelly and chocolaty in the Senseo cup come across here as, well, musty and fermented, although they charitably can be read as a sort of twisted semi-sweet chocolate, think chocolate crossed with fresh tobacco. Rated 78 as brewed in the Black & Decker.

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule at a cup volume of 7.25 ounces): Sweet, simple, caramelly aroma. In the cup medium-bodied but lean in mouthfeel, with a thinly pungent, musty/malty character and hints of cherryish fruit. A mild musty astringency in the finish leans toward rich.

(As brewed in a Flavia Fusion Drink Station using a Flavia proprietary single-serve pouch at a cup volume of 7 ounces): Subdued, delicate, vanilla-toned aroma. In the cup excellent body and mouthfeel, good sweetness, but very flat and monotoned in flavor, with a hint of fruit and cardboardy stale notes. No flavor whatsoever persists in the simple, slightly astringent finish.

(As brewed in a Black & Decker single-serve brewing device in a Podhead Sensation 62mm pod at a cup volume of 7 ounces): Good complexity in the aroma -- caramel, sweet floral grass, hints of fresh leather and semi-sweet chocolate ? although the general impression remains shallow and thin. In the cup watery, half-heartedly bittersweet, with vague hints of fruit and chocolate. Simple but surprisingly rich finish.

(As brewed in a Krups 1010 single-serve brewing device in a Podhead Sensation 62mm pod at a cup volume of 6 ounces): Simple, sweet, subdued, vaguely fruity aroma, with a slight hint of smoke. Bitterish, simple and shallow in the cup, with the only complication the same remote hints of fruit and smoke.

(As brewed in a Juan Valdez Pod Coffee Maker in a Juan Valdez 55mm pod at a cup volume of 5 ounces): Shallow, sweet, smoky aroma, with some peach-toned fruit and a hint of cardboard. In the cup simple and bittersweet with a possibility of reading the bitter side as walnut. The cardboard tones hinted in the aroma turn disturbingly old-board woody.

(Tasted as produced by the Melitta One:One single-serve brewing device using a Melitta 44mm pod at a cup volume of 8 ounces): Soft, shallow aroma with vanilla- and peach-toned fruit notes. In the cup this coffee landed on the palate like a liquid brick: bitter, hard and monotoned. Some sweetness and vague suggestions of vanilla and caramel were quite overwhelmed by bitterness in the cup and a soapy astringency in the finish.