LATEST REVIEWS

The darkish roast turns the fruit tones dry and crisply grapefruity. Some charred and perhaps musty notes, but when juxtaposed with the sweet fruit they read as a sort of pleasantly burned chocolate.

Dark roast in the classic bittersweet style, complicated by delicate floral, dry fruit and pipe tobacco notes. A distracting astringency dampens an otherwise balanced, complex dark-roast cup.

A consensus pick. "Cherry- and red-wine-toned fruit; big, rich, full, round, resonant," according to Ken (rating 89). Kevin (rating 91) writes: "Tarrazu-style winy fruit, with floral and caramel notes on the break. Complex and balanced, with nuances of butter caramel, maple and cocoa powder. Great length, resonant, artfully roasted."

For Ken (rating 86) this coffee is "classic but rather blunt. Pear and caramel notes in the nose but little nuance in the cup." Kevin (rating 90) acknowledges its limitations, but admires it greatly nonetheless: "Floral and caramel aromatic notes, medium-full body. Not complex but beautifully balanced, showing further sweetness as it cools."

Ken's favorite (rating 90) in the cupping: "Richly acidy and roundly sweet. Grace notes suggest cocoa swooning toward lushly fruity pipe tobacco." Kevin (rating 86) seems a bit put off by its departure from the Costa Rica norm: "Lovely caramel aroma, medium-full body, lush bittersweet chocolate flavors that made me wonder which part of Guatemala this Costa Rica was grown in. Hedonistic rather than cerebral in its appeal; delightfully atypical."

For Ken (rating 87), "clean, crisp, but rich. Chocolate in the nose, flowers and citrus in the cup." Kevin (rating 89) writes: "Caramel and nut, fresh, clean, sweet. Not a powerhouse, but subtle, velvety and elegant - all Costa Rica virtues."

Ken (rating 87) praises this "high-toned, crisply balanced dark roast with a shimmer of grapefruit in the nose and chocolate in the cup." Kevin (rating 87) also likes it: "Excellent deep-but-not-dark-roast coffee. Syrupy depth, creamy body, good supporting acidity, rich cocoa and nut flavors."

Ken (rating 86) writes: "Sweetly acidy and floral, with roasty chocolate notes - think chocolate-covered flowers. Acidity may be a touch overbearing, finish a bit heavy." Kevin (rating 86) is not excited: "Medium-bodied, straightforward, a bit dusty and chalky."

Ken (rating 86) writes: "Sweet, round, with an agreeable balance of dry acidy notes and rich roastiness. Perhaps a bit shallow in range and dimension." Kevin (rating 85): "A dark roast that hits the 'sweet spot' of old-style Peet's/Starbucks roasting. Acidity in a supporting role but still present, luscious body and noteworthy complexity, all a testament to excellent green coffee and skillful roasting."

Ken (rating 85) writes: "Simple and without nuance, but agreeably envelops pungent roasty and crisply acidy tones in a fundamental sweetness." Kevin (rating 84): "Some liveliness, substantial body. Correct but forgettable."

Ken (rating 82) praises this coffee's "powerful acidity, big body, rich, wine-toned fruit," but complains "the acidity may be a touch bitter, finish astringent." Kevin (rating 85) is succinctly affirmative: "Caramel, nice acid-body balance, plush, simple, pure."

Ken (rating 81) reports: "Full-bodied, rather rich, but simple, with little nuance and a hint of bagginess." Kevin (rating 82): "Nice body, but the quakery appearance of the beans is reflected in a rather dull cup. Roasted at or past its limit given the modest inherent acidity of the green coffee."

A simple, solid, rather dense-hearted dark roast with pleasing balance of sweet and bitter tones but without much nuance: slight, cocoa-toned fruit in the cup and a hint of lemon in the rather astringent finish.

Sweet, low-key, gentle. Displays muted musty/mildew tones that, combined with the essential sweetness of the coffee, read agreeably as malt or dry spice.

The roast dominates an agreeably light-bodied, buoyant, juicily fruit- and floral-toned coffee, turning the pleasantly delicate acidity a touch bitter in the finish.

Pleasantly low-key, sweet, rather light-bodied, roasty without bitterness, modestly complicated by hints of cocoa or dry chocolate.

Very soft, round, gentle cup with luxurious chocolate notes and a pleasant hint of sweet fermented fruit.

Delicately acidy but slightly bitter cup displays a subtle but impressive array of aromatic and flavor notes: vanilla and fresh leather in the nose, dry chocolate, flowers, and lemon in the cup.

Slight fermented, musty tones pleasingly complicate this sweet, rich, round-bodied Brazil, reading as leather and spice in the nose, and spice, fruit and chocolate in the cup. Just enough acidity to keep the cup lively.

Sweet and complex with grapefruit, lemon and cocoa in the nose. The grapefruit notes dominate and harden a bit in the pleasingly rich cup, turning slightly astringent in the finish.