LATEST REVIEWS

Both Ken and co-taster Willem Boot found chocolate notes running through aroma and small cup: "deep-toned chocolate" for Willem, "caramel, chocolate" for Ken. Both, however, complained about a slight sharpness in the finish, though Willem found it "minty." Good presence in milk: "Spicy and sweet" for Willem, "smoky, fruity and rich" for Ken. Willem rating 87, Ken 87.

Ken and co-taster Willem Boot both found the aroma impressive: resonant, floral, fruity. The body disappointed, however: "imbalanced and gritty" (Ken), "unsettled" (Willem). The flavor was "complex" for Willem, "rich" for Ken, with floral and fruit endnotes. Both were approving though not excited about performance in milk: "Tickling, spicy" for Willem, "dry chocolate" for Ken. Willem 85, Ken 84.

This smoky, dark-roasted coffee pleased Ken and co-taster Willem Boot more in flavor than in body. Aromatics and flavor were "smoky, rich and sweet" (Ken), "dark chocolate and smoky" (Willem). Ken found the body "gritty," however, Willem "oily and heavy." The cup softened but didn't sweeten in milk, where it was "smoky and dry" for Ken with a "butterscotch finish" for Willem. Willem 85, Ken 85.

Both Ken and co-taster Willem Boot remarked on the vanilla- and floral-toned aroma. Once to the cup, however, neither was impressed. For Willem "chocolate-bitter flavor and aftertaste" in the small cup and "spicy and slightly oniony in milk." Ken found the coffee rather lean-bodied and thin with roasty, sharp tones in the small cup, though rounder and fatter in milk. Willem 82, Ken 82.

Both Ken and co-taster Willem Boot found the aroma impressive: "elegant, sweet nut" for Willem, "elegant, sweet and fruity" for Ken. Once to the cup, however, neither found much to praise. Willem found the flavor "pungent but sweet and sour," Ken "bittersweet but sharp and shallow." Willem faintly praised this coffee's presence in milk as "mellow," whereas Ken found it "thin, a bit sharp." Willem 79, Ken 82.

Both Ken and co-taster Willem Boot criticized this coffee's tendency to sharpness and astringency. Ken nevertheless admired a "heavy apricot-toned fruit" that complicated the small cup and maintained a pleasing if lean presence in milk. Willem 76, Ken 84.

Giddily sweet, rich, balanced. Gentle wine-toned fruit (call it chardonnay) and low-key floral notes run through aroma and cup, rounding toward milk chocolate n the finish. A superb expression of the El Salvador type.

Dry and forceful. The acidity is intense but sweet. The fruit is crisply austere: black currant, sauvignon blanc wine grapes. A challenging coffee that commands rather than seduces.

Attractive balance of chocolate-nuanced fruit, rich, low-toned but emphatic acidity, and a hint of roastiness. Ultimately, however, remains contained in its own quiet balance. Lacks the tonal range and dimension that would lift it from satisfying to remarkable.

Low-toned, sweet, gently acidy. Fresh leather and milk chocolate in the aroma. The sweet chocolate persists in the cup with an undercurrent of fruit that suggests a spicy dark cherry. Excellent dimension when hot, though the profile simplifies a bit as the cup cools.

An intense but balanced coffee, its quietly powerful acidity enveloped in sweetness. The spice and sandalwood notes in the aroma fade in the cup, but the finish is clean, long, and lovely.

Aroma is superbly rich, sweet and deep with chocolate notes. In the cup the powerful but low-key acidity is enveloped in richness. Ultimately more about solid balance and satisfying structure than nuance, though an apricot-toned chocolate makes itself felt toward the finish.

A subtle, lush coffee, richly sweet and gently acidy with shimmers of flowers. Notes of fermented fruit give the cup a juicy, decadent opulence that will please more adventurous palates but may put off coffee traditionalists.

Odd juxtaposition (more than balance) of dark roast pungency and a dry, crisp acidity. Bitter without harshness or astringency.

A sweet, round coffee whose rich, low-key fruit notes suggest cantaloupe or apricot. The mild mildewed taste coffee professionals call baggy (acquired by green coffees during long storage in dampish conditions) shadows the cup, although the coffee's fundamental sweetness pushes these notes toward an agreeable reading as spice or malt.

The moderately dark roast takes on equal billing with the green coffee here. It preserves the essential sweetness of the coffee, but pushes the acidity toward a rich, pungent citrus, a sort of roasty grapefruit, if that can be imagined. The finish is mildly but bracingly astringent.

Displays a fundamentally pleasing balance of bitter tones, sweetness, and low-toned, roast-nuanced fruit, but ultimately seems restrained and faded. Probably last year's crop; the new crop may bring more liveliness and nuance to the cup.

Some sweetly lush apricot fruit makes itself felt around the edges of the dominating dark roast. Otherwise this cup is entirely about an aggressive roast style (richly burned and mildly astringent) rather than El Salvador bourbon coffee.

The extremely dark roast (about as dark as roasts get) leaves hardly a trace of Honduras behind, just some anonymous burned tones, gentle and sweet until the finish, when the sweetness vanishes, leaving behind a salty astringency.

High-toned, sweet, light-footed and delicate, yet rich and deeply dimensioned. Lemon and red-wine notes in the aroma, in the cup red wine, cherry and a shimmer of flowers. Long, complex finish.