Blind Assessment

In the aroma the fruity earth tones display an almost candied sweetness paired with a moist-leaf pungency. In the cup medium in body but silky in mouthfeel, with continued candied fruit and moist leaf notes that together hint at a host of associations ranging from chocolate to butterscotch to tartly sweet grapefruit. The flavor-saturated finish is a bit astringent when the cup is hot, but rounds nicely as it cools.

Notes

Mandheling is the traditional market name for an admired coffee type grown in the region around Lake Toba in north-central Sumatra. These coffees are marked by low acidity and idiosyncratic flavor notes that appear to result from serendipitous taints - mild fruit ferment and mildew - acquired during unconventional drying procedures. Those characteristics are apparent but very muted and agreeable in this Mandheling. Aged Indonesian coffees are deliberately held in warehouses in humid conditions for two years or more; this coffee apparently was aged for at least four. It is a particularly elegant and balanced version of the aged Indonesia profile. Terroir is a microroaster selling only elite single-origin coffees, no blends. It specializes in medium roast styles designed to foreground the character of the green coffee. Terroir is the creation of George Howell, one of the world's leading coffee visionaries. Visit www.terroircoffee.com or call 866-444-5282 for more information.

Who Should Drink It

Lovers of certain softly complex but authoritative beverages that combine restrained sweetness, pungency, fruit and earth notes - good Highland single-malt whiskies, for example.

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