For decades, the classic washed or wet-processed coffees of Central America and Mexico have constituted one of the world’s great go-to coffee types. Usually clean-tasting, usually sweetly-tart, with a shifting array of fruit notes – always stone fruit, typically some citrus and flowers, always notes ranging from nut and caramel to full-on dark chocolate depending on the coffee and roast. And most
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Single-Origin Coffees in Supermarkets
We track the specialty coffee industry obsessively, day in and day out, documenting its latest trends toward bespoke experiences (both at cafés and at home) and celebrating the farmers and roasters who are pushing the envelope of coffee experimentation and differentiation in unprecedented ways. But what options are available to coffee-lovers who don’t have the time or inclination to order
Anaerobic Fermentation and Other Palate-Bending Processing Experiments
I recall that, in high school, teachers graded essays based on various conventional writing categories — grammar and diction, clarity, organization, etc. But most also gave credit for originality. Often, some friend’s paper would show weaknesses in regard to comma placement, word choice, and clear organization but attract a high grade for originality. Perhaps you could say that some of the
Top 30 Kicks Off Monday, November 25
On Monday, November 25, Coffee Review will begin revealing its list of the Top 30 Coffees of 2019. We previously expected to start the countdown on Friday, November 22 but we are working to reduce the impact of an ongoing denial of service attack and want to make sure the Coffee Review website is stable, fully functioning, and capable of handling the surge in traffic that accompanies the Top 30
At Long Last, a 98-Point Coffee
For years, we have deflected criticisms that, on one hand, Coffee Review ratings are too high (though they are in line with wine reviews) and, on the other hand, that we never go past 97, even with coffees that propose a combination of flawless perfection with startling distinctiveness. I recall a conversation with George Howell, who years ago challenged me when we lavished great praise on one of
Idealism and Achievement: 8 New North American Roasting Companies
Opening a new coffee roastery today seems like a daunting idea. There's the increasingly troubled U.S. economy, but even more alarming is the unprecedented turmoil in the global coffee industry, which includes insultingly low prices paid to farmers, infrastructure challenges, and climate change, which has virtually wiped out some regional coffee industries, put many more under extreme stress, and
Geisha Coffees Continue to Shatter Sales Records — Are They Worth The Hype?
When we last wrote in depth about Geisha (also spelled Gesha) coffees in 2017, a 100-pound lot of this prized variety of Arabica, grown at Hacienda La Esmeralda by the Peterson family, had just broken the then-current record for the highest price ever paid for a green coffee: $601 per pound. Flash forward to July of this year, when that record was shattered by the Lamastus family, whose Elida
Coffee’s Economic Paradox: $40 Charged in Paris, $3 Paid in Kenya
The Coffee Paradox, by Benoit Daviron and Stefano Ponte (Zed Books, 2005) analyzes at length the disturbing trend that, just as coffee has grown fashionable and retail prices for coffee have increased in regions where coffee is consumed, like North America, Europe and East Asia, the basic prices paid to growers for their green coffees have decreased, rather radically. In 1997 the composite price
El Salvador Coffees 2019: Pacamaras, Bourbons and Change
When we focus a report on a single origin, in this case El Salvador, we try to time the report so that we are testing mainly freshly arrived coffees, coffees that represent the best of the year’s new crop. This year, however, we were a bit too early with our report timing. Many of the coffees we cupped early in July lacked vivacity and aromatic range, suggesting perhaps that they were last year’s
Introducing Tea Review
In 1997, Coffee Review pioneered the first-ever 100-point, wine-style reviews in the specialty coffee industry. More than two decades later, Tea Review, a long overdue offshoot of Coffee Review, is introducing 100-point reviews to the tea industry. In addition to his existing role with Coffee Review, Ron Walters will lead Tea Review's efforts to roll out tea reviews in the specialty tea market.
Exploring “Classic” Espresso Blends: Taiwan Roasters
When we put out our call for classic espresso blends for our June 2019 report, we were not prepared for the overwhelming response: We received 54 samples from roasters based in North America and 46 from roasters based in Asia, all in Taiwan. The magnitude of the response was, perhaps, due to our openness. We had decided not to be prescriptive about what constitutes "classic," but to let roasters
Exploring “Classic” Espresso Blends: North American Roasters
Once a year, we ask roasters to submit coffees roasted for espresso for a special tasting with an outside lab partner, always focused around a specific theme. In recent years, we've covered natural-process and single-origin espresso from the Americas; in 2015, we reported on "open-source" espresso blends, documenting the growing trend of openly revealing blend components to consumers, rather than
Hawai’i: A New Wave of Coffee Innovation
The Hawaiian Islands are known the world over for beautiful beaches, diverse microclimates, and both active and dormant volcanoes — pretty much paradise, as the cliché goes. Hawaiian culture is both uniquely American and, in many ways, happily incongruous with mainstream American culture. One island in particular, Hawai'i Island (often called the Big Island), produces the famous, widely
New Shopping Options
It may be interesting to read about highly rated coffees, but it’s also exciting to purchase and enjoy them. To that end, Coffee Review is always looking for ways to advance its mission “to help consumers identify and purchase superior quality coffees and, in the process, help drive demand and increase prices to reward farmers and roasters who invest time, passion, and capital in producing high
Sumatra: Earth, Chocolate and Change
The pleasures of a fine traditional Sumatra are not quite conventional coffee pleasures. The characteristic layering of chocolate, pungent fruit and earth notes in an exceptional wet-hulled Sumatra may mildly turn off coffee drinkers who enjoy more orthodox coffee pleasures: juicier, sweeter fruit, say, or more citrus and flowers, or a suave balance with no savory earth suggestions at all. But
Revisiting the Andes: Coffees From Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia
The three coffee-growing countries that range along the Andes south of Colombia — Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia — have rich and storied coffee histories. When Coffee Review last dove in to this region, with reports in 2010 and 2013, we found many impressively solid, softly balanced coffees in the Latin-American tradition — all produced from classic tree varieties like Typica and Caturra and processed
New England Coffee Roasters: Embracing (and Reinventing) Tradition
The very day we spoke with several roasters in New England whose coffees are featured in this month's tasting report, Dunkin' Brands, parent company of Dunkin' Donuts (now rebranding simply as Dunkin’) and headquartered in Massachusetts, announced plans for expansion. And the company's "Blueprint for Growth" centers not on doughnuts, but coffee, including the relaunch of the Dunkin’ espresso
Top 30 Coffees of 2018
We are pleased to present the Top 30 Coffees of 2018, Coffee Review’s sixth annual ranking of the most exciting coffees we tested over the course of the past year. Coffee Review’s goal is to celebrate coffee roasters, farmers and mill-owners who make an extra effort to produce coffees that are not only superb in quality but also distinctive in character. In particular, we aim to honor the
2018 Holiday Gift Coffees
Every year in November, we put out a call for special coffees that roasters around the world are featuring for the holidays. It's always a surprise and a delight to discover what surfaces during this weeks-long cupping. And what we learn never fails to be compelling in multi-faceted ways. Some roasters approach seasonal offerings by composing creative, often unique, blends, while others prefer
Top Coffees by Category – 2018
In 2015, we began the practice of recognizing top coffees by category to focus attention on fine coffees that may not have earned a place on our Top 30 Coffees list. The coffees below may not have attracted the highest scores of the year but they merit recognition for their excellence nonetheless. For more information, visit our expanded rankings post from 2015. We tip our hat to our 2018 top
