LATEST REVIEWS
We have published thousands of coffee reviews and espresso reviews since 1997. The reviews below appear in reverse chronological order by review date. Older reviews may no longer accurately reflect current versions of the same coffee. To search for a specific roaster, origin or coffee use the Advanced Search Function.
Magnificent cup when hot: powerfully but sweetly acidy, resonating with complex chocolate nuance from aroma through finish. The acidity turns rather bitter and the profile simplifies as the cup cools.
Light-bodied, just on the pleasingly delicate side of thin, with oddly contradictory nuance: a roasty, prune-toned chocolate and high-toned shimmers of sweet vanilla.
A delicate, exquisite coffee, sweetly and gently acidy, light-bodied but buoyant, with a subtle shimmer of floral-toned fruit - violets and apples on the morning I cupped it.
The most impressive aspect of this sweet, balanced, gently acidy cup is a tactful roast that turns the fruit richly chocolate. The chocolate tones carry elegantly from aroma through a quietly opulent finish.
This voluptuously round dark roast is a tribute to the roastmaster's art. Opulently and robustly roasty, sweet, and utterly without burned bitterness. Not much nuance, but plenty of sweet, resonant depth and smoky-spicy tones.
A balanced, smoothly full-bodied cup with a sweet acidity and a subdued roastiness that turns the fruit toward cantaloupe and black cherry.
When hot, complexly and giddily floral and fruity - caramel in the aroma, suggestions of lilac and violet, papaya and cantaloupe in the cup. The extravagantly fruity character of the cup hints at sweet ferment, which in fact emerges as the cup cools, hardening the profile a bit and turning it slightly salty. But try it; no one drinks coffee cold anyhow except coffee reviewers.
Delicate, gently and elegantly acidy, complicated by a discreetly rich cherry fruit leaning toward chocolate. The acidity is sweet and exquisitely balanced, though slightly astringent in the finish.
High-toned, rather delicate, with a crisply dry but sweet acidity. Raisins and vanilla, in the aroma, tart tropical fruit tones - tamarind or passion fruit - in the cup.
Splendid aroma: sweet, smoky/spicy, cantaloupe notes. In the cup brightly acidy, the cantaloupe notes turning tart and tamarind-toned.
A powerfully acidy coffee, sharply rich and winy. Beneath the acidy assertion patient drinking reveals subdued but seductive floral undertones. The aromatics are splendid but the mouthfeel is a bit too astringent for my taste.
The cup is dominated by a simple, rich acidity. The acidy sensation is rather sharp and overbearing when the cup is hot, though it rounds and sweetens as the cup cools, revealing wine-toned fruit and a resonance that could only be guessed at when the cup was hot.
The good news is this moderately dark roast displays a rich depth of sensation and spicy, smoky notes in the nose. The bad news: The roast also imposes a rather gritty, astringent finish.
The roast dominates this rather delicate coffee, though cleanly and without introducing burned or bitter notes. Roasty, mildly rich, subdued, slightly astringent in the finish.
Co-taster Willem Boot: "Fine and complex fruity/minty aroma. Exotic berry-like flavor notes with fascinating wild black currant aftertaste. Balanced, sweet and intriguing with milk" (93) Ken characterized the wild, sweet, edge-of-ferment fruit tones running through the profile from aroma to aftertaste as black cherry, and enjoyed them almost as much as Willem (90). In milk Ken completely concurred with Willem: "sweet, balanced, lovely."
Co-taster Willem Boot greatly admired this coffee, awarding it an exclamatory 95: "Reddish brown supershot! Complex aroma with tingling body. Mild sweet and dry flavor balance with intense fruit and spicy notes. Cardamom flavor with milk." Ken's admiration was more restrained. He enjoyed the low-toned bouquet of pipe tobacco, leather, toast, smoke, spice and musty cantaloupe notes enough to award a rating of 88, but found the body "gritty" (Willem called it "tingling") and the finish slightly astringent.
Both Ken and co-taster Willem Boot remarked on a medium but smooth, buttery body. Aromatics and flavor were "floral and slightly malty/musty, toasty and crisp" (Ken), "light chocolate & elegant, spicy-smoky" (Willem). "Pleasant[ly] caramel" in milk for Willem, "balanced, sweet yet crisp" for Ken. Willem 90, Ken 88.
The term "balanced" dominated both Ken and co-taster Willem Boot's notes. The body was balanced and smooth for Ken, balanced and buttery for Willem; both found the presence in milk balanced and complex. Ken admired the small cup's "elegant dry fruit" while Willem praised its "lively, citrus" character. Willem 87, Ken 90.
A coffee in which a mild processing taint - sweet fermented fruit for Ken, a hint of mustiness for co-taster Willem Boot - turns toward chocolate under the influence of the dark roast. Subtle but substantial in milk: "lingering balance" in milk for Willem, "delicately complex" for Ken. Ken awarded this coffee a considerably higher rating (90) than did Willem (86), probably owing to Ken's openness to sweet, flirt-with-ferment coffees.
A rather dramatic difference surfaced between co-taster Willem Boot and Ken on this very dark-roasted Panama. Ken wanted more sweetness and body; Willem apparently found enough of both and admired the elegant nuance. Willem: "Aroma with caramel and mild-apricot notes. Despite the dark roast, balanced flavor with apricot and chocolate. Pleasantly spicy with milk" (91). Ken: "Lovely aroma, high-toned but sweet fruit notes. In the small cup lean-bodied and crisply bitter, with a rich but astringent finish. Fruit re-emerges in milk, dry, smoky, chocolate-toned." (83).
