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.
Lindsey Bolger: "One of my favorites of the darker roasts in the cupping, largely owing to an aromatic note that always gets my attention. I describe it as "zatar," a mix of spices (sumac, thyme, marjoram and salt) used in Middle Eastern cooking. An odd pairing with coffee, but at the right roast and with other complementary flavors, it can contribute to a truly distinctive cup" (83). Ken: "Most cups were dominated by sweetly and pleasantly fermented tones, the kind that suggest wine- or fruit-toned chocolate. In other cups, additional smoky, spicy tones edged toward a soapy bitterness" (84)
A typical shape-shifting Sumatra that gives us something different in every cup. Lindsey Bolger: "Characteristic of a Sumatra prone to schizophrenia, with multiple personalities ranging from toasted grains and nuts to chocolate and spice. This confusing, sometimes combative complexity seems to improve and stabilize as the coffee cools" (82). Ken: "Some cups rich, sweet, fruity chocolate with an utterly clean finish; others still sweetly chocolaty but with leathery, spicy undertones and a heavy finish" (84).
Lindsey Bolger: "A coffee with some interesting twists and turns. While dominated by a less desirable woody flavor, a sweet and chocolaty aroma and clean finish redeems what may be an otherwise ordinary coffee" (82). Ken: "Bittersweet, with dry chocolate and nut tones. A little too bitter and not quite sweet enough for me. The finish is astringent but rich." (83)
Both John Weaver and Ken admired this dark-roasted Ethiopia. John: "My favorite of this cupping. Obviously East African. Bright acidity with exceptional flavor. Nice roast for this coffee, although I might have taken it a hair farther to bring out more body" (90). Ken: "Balanced, sweet, deeply dimensioned integration of rounded acidy notes, crisp roastiness and a lush, apricot-toned fruit" (91).
John Weaver: "Fast roast, singed beans. Nice flavor though. Quick roast means bright acidity. A little slower roast would benefit this coffee" (85) Ken: "Elegant balance of fruity chocolate and leathery roast tones. Some bitterness, but softens toward the finish" (88).
Both John Weaver and Ken admired this coffee's smooth balance, though Ken found a bit more to say about the cup than John, who writes: "Good, medium-bodied coffee with smooth flavor and aftertaste" (84). Ken: "Pleasant balance of subdued acidy and round roast tones, complicated by sweet fruit chocolate, tastes a whole lot like butterscotch in the finish" (87).
John Weaver: "Nice medium body with bright, sparkly flavor notes. Tangy flavor" (81). Ken particularly liked the "tangy" character: "sweetly fruity, with some floral complication, rounded rather than repressed by the roast. Slightly astringent finish" (87).
Not much nuance here, but a solid ultra-dark roast. John Weaver: "Good clean flavor with mellow body and a nice finish" (83). Ken: "Balanced dark roast. Bittersweet, medium body, smooth mouthfeel, though a touch astringent in the finish" (82).
John Weaver was not excited: "Medium-bodied, a little flat. Some good wine tones with a little citric flavor" (80). Ken, who tends to value nuance, rewarded this coffee for its "sweet roastiness complicated by smoky, fruity chocolate tones that carry from cup through the mildly astringent finish" (85).
John: "Light bodied, simple profile. Slightly earthy, good looking roast. Nice cover with little inside" (80). Ken also notes the thinnish mouthfeel and light body, but finds the flavor contrasts interesting and worth rewarding: "Sharply burned yet sweet and fruity. Dry chocolate in the finish" (83)
"Medium- to full-bodied blend. Looks like two different roasts blended. Good, full finish" (81). Ken: "Sweet charred tones with some smoky spice in the nose. In the cup fruity, acidy tones nicely survive the roast but sweetness doesn't: ultimately a little too bitter for me" (81).
"Light-bodied with an almost rioy flavor. Quakers, soft, wild-looking. Could have been better if roasted a little darker?" (78). Rioy is a hard, medicinal flavor taken on by some dry-processed coffees during the drying. Quakers are beans that fail to take the roast and remain light, robbing the coffee of flavor and body. Ken: "Burned tones, faint sweetness, not much else" (78).
A Kenya in the grandly classic mode: intense but perfectly balanced, full-bodied, voluptuous with dry red wine and cherry tones, acidy without bitterness. The tactful medium-dark roast rounds the acidity and contributes a slight roasty note.
Seductively rich in the nose, with pineapple and orange notes, but all business in the cup: grandly and austerely acidy with pronounced dry, cabernet-like fruit. Softens and sweetens again in the finish.
The medium roast allows the character of the coffee to emerge, in this case richly and sweetly acidy, complicated by sweet nut notes and, as the cup cools, more characteristic Yirgacheffe floral and lemon tones. An unusual coffee in two respects: light roasted in a region (San Francisco Bay Area) where extremely dark roasting prevails, and rather heavy bodied for a Yirgacheffe.
The moderately dark-roast style mutes the Kenya fruit and gives it a roasty, tart pineapple twist that softens toward a toasty chocolate in the finish. The darkish roast may transform the Kenya character, but the transformation is quite pleasurable in its own right.
A rather aggressive roast contributes distinct charred notes, but they are richly charred notes, with a leathery twist and a tickle of dry fruit. The astringent finish is pleasantly complicated by dry chocolate.
The medium-dark but rather aggressive roast preserves a touch of acidity and lemony sweetness amid the dominant roasty tones. More complex than balanced, the closest sensory analogy I can propose is roasted lemon drops.
A dark-roast presentation with a splendid aroma: intense, crisply dry and fruity. In the cup, however, the roast dominates, though patient drinkers will feel a sweet, lush fruitiness behind the roasty bitterness. The halo of fruit persists in the cleanly roasty finish.
Lush floral notes and suggestions of fruity chocolate are pleasantly felt behind a dominating bittersweetness that leans a bit more toward the bitter than the sweet. A floral-toned sweetness softens the astringent finish.
