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).