LATEST REVIEWS

Ken and co-taster Ted Lingle ended with comparable overall ratings (Ken 85, Ted 86) but differed in how they got there. Ted found the aroma a bit flat; Ken found it delicate, with toast, apple and floral notes. Ted found the body fuller and the mouthfeel more substantial than Ken did. Both found the flavor in the small cup toasty/smoky and a bit sharp in the finish. Both admired the way the blend rounded and sweetened in milk. Nominating reader Robert Bobbs praised this blend as "perfectly balanced ... big body, slightly sweet, not too much acidity but enough to enliven the cup; holds up well in big milky drinks but is fantastic as a straight shot."

Once past the aroma, co-taster Ted Lingle (79) had little positive to say about this blend, finding it lean in body, rather burned/bitter in flavor, and weak in presence in milk. Ken (84) also found the mouthfeel too lean and the finish too astringent, but enjoyed the berry-like, chocolate-leaning fruit that carried through the profile from aroma to milk. The reader who nominated this blend said he wanted "to see if this espresso is everything it is claimed it is."

For both Ken (81) and co-taster Ted Lingle (79) the aroma was muted and burned. Ted found the body in the small cup light; Ken (81) found it fuller but rough in mouthfeel. Nor did Ken or Ted have much positive to say about flavor: pungent and rough for Ted, burned and sharp for Ken. In milk pleasantly sweet but thin-bodied for Ted; Ken was more positive here, finding that the milk smoothed out the sharply roasty character of the coffee, turning it toward a pleasing fresh leather and a clove-toned spice. The reader who nominated this blend found it "exceptional, that's all."

Superb aroma: For Ken giddily floral with blueberry and cherry notes, for co-cupper Rodger Owen "a beautiful burst of lemon." In the cup crisply bright, intensely floral, sweetly and quietly lemon, then (for Ken) rounding toward an orange-toned chocolate. Slight astringency in the short finish but the floral notes had the last, lingering word in the long.

A simple, lyrically appealing coffee, alive with floral notes and a vivid little twist that Ken associated with spice and co-cupper Rodger Owen with cedar. Ken also cited cherry-toned fruit in the aroma that leaned toward a delicate chocolate in the cup. Fresh, cleanly sweet finish.

Ken was somewhat more enthusiastic about this classic Central American profile than co-cupper Rodger Owen, but both found lots to write about. Both found the aroma round and sweet, complicated by wine notes for Rodger and pear and a hint of cedar for Ken. In the cup both described a sweet, quietly vibrant acidity and a coffee fruit that read as black currant or slightly tart cherry for Ken and sweet pipe tobacco for Rodger. The essential sweetness carried into the short finish, tempering the slight astringency in the long.

Exceptional aroma: floral notes complicated by vanilla for co-cupper Rodger Owen and lemon and pineapple for Ken. In the cup brightly but sweetly acidy and delicately smooth in mouthfeel with a subtly balanced flavor that disappointed Rodger but excited Ken with its jasmine-like floral notes and (for Ken at least) a rich, chocolaty lemon.

Deep, rich, roasty aroma with considerable complexity: Ken and co-cupper Rodger Owen found flowers (especially), cloves, fresh cedar, caramel. Both found the cup medium-bodied and intensely and pungently bittersweet, with shimmers of flowers and a low-toned fruity character that suggested pipe tobacco to Rodger and a caramelly fruit to Ken. Ken's sample finished cleanly and richly, even with a hint of semi-sweet chocolate, but Rodger drastically reduced his final rating owing to what he described as metallic, rubbery end notes, perhaps a mild roasting fault.

Intense, rather acidy aroma with vanilla-toned chocolate and fruit notes. In the cup the acidity was either sweet and lushly lively (Ken) or a touch too soft (co-cupper Rodger Owen), the flavor a bit too simple (Rodger) or intriguing in its simultaneous sensory allusions to wine and chocolate (Ken).

In the aroma intense aromatic wood notes suggested cedar to Ken, pine to co-cupper Rodger Owen. The sweet spice and low-toned fruit notes fade in a roast-influenced, rather simple cup, balanced but limited. The sweet spice suggestions surfaced again in an admirably long, resonant finish.

Muted aroma with notes that Ken called "quietly pungent" and co-cupper Rodger "smoky." Ken also found pleasantly floral top notes as well. In the cup substantial body and smooth mouthfeel; the pungent notes in the aroma reappear as nut (Rodger) or semi-sweet chocolate (Ken). Simple, sweet short finish, very slight astringency in the long.

Round, rich, rather simple coffee, with spicy (co-cupper Rodger Owen) and gingery (Ken) notes in the aroma. In the cup a soft, sweet acidity and buttery mouthfeel with a low-toned fruit that to Ken suggested prune and semi-sweet chocolate.

The aroma displays a fruit complicated by aromatic wood tones that co-cupper Rodger Owen associated with pine and Ken with cedar. The body is light, the mouthfeel bordering on thin, the flavor delicate and tartly sweet, with sustained aromatic wood notes. Both Ken and Rodger found the finish clean, simple and rather short.

An essay in the difference between acidic and acidy, this commandingly dry coffee does not display a glimmer of sharpness. Tremendous range and complexity in the aroma: dry berry, high-toned cedar, orange, chocolate. The dry berry, orange and chocolate notes carry into the cup with crisp richness and fade into the finish without a hint of astringency.

Smooth, rich with a sweet complex of low-acid fruit-related tones: banana, chocolate, raisin, honey, flowers. In the cup the mouthfeel is full and supple; honey, raisin and flowers dominate and carry into a cleanly resonant finish.

The aroma is very sweet in impression, gingery and orange-toned, the acidity gentle, the cup delicate but rich with a ginger-toned fruit that rounds and settles toward chocolate as the cup cools. Clean, chocolate-toned finish.

The aroma is sweet-toned and intense: cedar, semi-sweet chocolate, raisins. In the cup, dry, spicy berry, grapefruit, Bordeaux-like wine notes. The flavor notes persist in the slightly but pleasantly astringent finish.

The aroma, sweetly pungent with a hint of chocolaty fruit, provided only a hint of the intensity displayed by the cup - high-toned and richly acidy, with a simple but powerful flavor complex: dry berry (aka black current), a hint of grapefruit, and rich, dry chocolate.

Deeply dimensioned, low-toned, quietly complex coffee. Semi-sweet chocolate, floral top notes, and a crisp temperate fruit that I read as pear carry from aroma into the cup, consolidating on chocolate in the finish.

Subdued but rich aroma, complicated by cedar, leather and a shifty low-acid fruit, pumpkin one moment and pear the next. Simple in the cup but still rich, with a rather opulent mouthfeel and sweet dried fruit notes - raisin, apricot - leaning toward chocolate.