Blend Reviews

Evaluated as espresso. Sweetly and roundly tart. Dark chocolate, maple syrup, cedar, magnolia, ripe banana in aroma and small cup. Delicately tart; velvety body. The crisp finish balances fruit and floral notes. Both carry with pleasing clarity into three parts milk.

Evaluated as espresso. Mild, sweetly crisp. Carob, orange zest, gently scorched oak, raisin, lily in aroma and small cup. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The balanced finish is redolent of carob and aromatic wood notes. Gently drying in three parts milk, with a hint of sweet floral tones.

A pure, ready-to-drink bottled coffee tested over ice. Crisp, juicy acidity; satiny mouthfeel. Lemon zest, jasmine, roasted cocoa nib, vanilla, raspberry in the flavor, all carrying into a long, resonant finish. Adding cold whole milk rounds and harmonizes the primary flavor sensations.

Sweetly pungent, richly earth-toned. Baker’s chocolate, black cherry, moist pipe tobacco, pistachio butter, lily in aroma and cup. Low-toned, backgrounded acidity; velvety-smooth mouthfeel. The nut-driven finish is redolent of black cherry in the short and pipe tobacco in the long.

A pure, ready-to-drink bottled coffee tested over ice. Crisp, sweetly roast-toned. Sweet, lightly juicy acidity; satiny-smooth mouthfeel. Caramel, cedar, chocolate-covered cherry, magnolia in the flavor, consolidating to cocoa-toned cedar in the gently drying finish. Adding cold whole milk brings up the aromatic wood tones and chocolate, while quieting the fruit and flower notes.

Evaluated as espresso. Savory-sweet, chocolaty. Buttery dark chocolate, apricot, cedar, orange zest, a hint of anise in aroma and small cup. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel; chocolaty though a bit salty in the finish. Blossoms and softens nicely in three parts milk: apricot and chocolate.

Crisply bright, resonantly sweet. Candied orange zest, nougat, sandalwood, vanilla, pineapple guava in aroma and cup. Bright, juicy acidity; delicate, billowy mouthfeel. Candied orange zest is the leading note in the flavor-saturated short finish, while pineapple guava and sandalwood, with a whisper of vanilla, resonate in the long.

Delicately rich, crisp, balanced. Dried apricot, baker’s chocolate, rhododendron, orange zest, cinnamon in aroma and cup. Lively, juicy acidity; velvety mouthfeel. Cinnamon-like spice leads in the short finish; dried fruit and vanilla-like flowers resonate in the long.

Sweetly pungent, rich-toned. Apricot, pipe tobacco, narcissus, dark chocolate, pink peppercorn in aroma and cup. Gentle, round acidity; plush, satiny mouthfeel. The flavor-saturated finish opens with spicy chocolate tones in the short, followed by intimations of deep pipe tobacco and sweet narcissus in the long.

Evaluated as espresso. Deeply rich, intricately aromatic. Sandalwood, tangerine zest, baker’s chocolate, ripe plum, wisteria in aroma and small cup. Delicate, silky mouthfeel; floral-toned, zesty, slightly drying finish. Softens and blooms with vast, flavor-saturated elegance in three parts milk: chocolate, plum, flowers, more.

Rich, roast-rounded. Almond, dark chocolate, strawberry guava, rhododendron-like flowers, orange zest in aroma and cup. Mild, sweet-toned acidity; plush, syrupy mouthfeel. The chocolate-framed finish is quietly resonant and deeply sweet, with continued hints of flowers.

Deeply sweet, balanced. Honey, peach, lavender, almond, baker’s chocolate in aroma and cup. Gentle, backgrounded acidity; full, silky mouthfeel. The gently drying finish is crisply sweet, redolent of nut-toned honey.

Roast-toned, sweetly spicy. Apricot, cedar, scorched lemon zest, dark chocolate, black peppercorn in aroma and cup. Briskly sweet acidity; satiny mouthfeel. The crisp, dry finish centers on cedar-toned chocolate notes with a hint of black peppercorn.

Sweetly roast-toned, chocolaty. Dark chocolate, gently scorched oak, cashew, lily-like flowers, dried apple in aroma and cup. Gentle, backgrounded acidity; velvety-smooth mouthfeel. The rich, gently drying finish is laden with chocolate tones in the short and smoky oak and sweet flowers in the long.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet, gently spicy, pungent. Hazelnut, apricot, lily-like flowers, fresh-cut fir, a hint of frankincense in aroma and small cup. Velvety mouthfeel. Fir and a suggestion of chocolate animate a quiet, sweet-toned finish. Fir and nut-toned chocolate dominate in three-parts milk.

Richly and sweetly pungent. Concord grape, roasted cacao nib, cedar, hazelnut, lemon blossom in aroma and cup. Brisk, lightly juicy acidity; delicate, satiny mouthfeel. The crisp, nut-toned finish leads with Concord grape notes in the short and cedar in the long, with hazelnut throughout.

Evaluated as espresso. Balanced, sweetly tart. Dark chocolate, pomegranate, Oolong tea, rose-like flowers, almond in aroma and small cup. Delicate, silky mouthfeel. Clean, sweet finish, with a savory resonance. In three parts milk, chocolate tones re-emerge, along with hints of roasted almond.

Evaluated as espresso. Sturdy, balanced, chocolaty. All three reviewers (John DiRuocco 92, Jen Apodaca 94, Ken 92) cited caramel and chocolate; two read a particularly sweet orange (Ken called it orange marmalade). A “chocolate bomb” for John in three parts milk; for Ken the chocolate continued ripely orange-toned.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet-toned, balanced, smooth. Cedar, ripe fig, carob, narcissus-like flowers in aroma and small cup. Syrupy mouthfeel; richly drying finish. In three parts milk crisp fig-toned chocolate dominates, with a continuing hint of flowers.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweetly roasty, balanced. Cocoa powder, fresh-cut oak, orange zest, roasted almond, lily-like flowers in aroma and small cup. Full though rather heavy mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates to cocoa and almond in the roast-toned finish. In three parts milk, the zesty orange dominates, rounded by continued cocoa and nut.