Blend Reviews

Robust, strong-gestured coffee. Nut, citrus, fresh-cut fir and a deep, apricot-like sweetness in aroma and cup. The acidity is rich and complex though slightly astringent; the mouthfeel full though a little rough-textured. Rich finish with a salty-savory edge.

Impressive aroma: caramelly chocolate, almond, lemon, grape, a hint of flowers. Tartly rich acidity; fullish though rather rough mouthfeel. Aromatics persist but simplify a bit in the cup and finish.

(As brewed in a Keurig Special Edition B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule to produce 6-ounce serving): Delicate profile: caramel, gently tart fruit in the aroma, with the caramel deepening toward dark chocolate in the cup. Soft, balanced acidity; leanish though smooth mouthfeel. Sweet, caramelly finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Rich, sweetly tart, very complex in the small cup: mandarin orange, layered suggestions of milk chocolate, apricot, brandy, fresh-cut fir, anise. Syrupy mouthfeel. The orange note turns ripe and sweet in the finish. Soft, delicate and impressively complex in two parts milk: chocolate-toned orange, apricot, a continued hint of fir.

Sweetly balanced and round: ripe lemon, nut-toned cocoa, a hint of honeyish flowers in aroma and cup. Soft, berry-toned acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. The cocoa carries into a sweet finish with a hint of drying astringency in the long.

Intense aromatic complex carries in layered richness from aroma to finish. Cocoa, moist earth and leather, plum, sweetly pungent grapefruit; but you will doubtless find more. Crisp, integrated acidity; buttery mouthfeel. Long, sweet-toned, flavor-saturated finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet-toned aroma: chocolate, nut, cherry. In the small cup buttery mouthfeel with excellent depth and balance; the chocolate turns caramelly and the fruit toward a zesty orange, both supported by a pungent cedar. In the finish good flavor persistence but slightly bitterish. Maintains flavor with authority in two parts milk: rich, pungent, with hints of continued orange, cedar and chocolate.

(As brewed in a Keurig B70 Platinum single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule to produce 6-ounce serving): Sweet-toned aroma with hints of tart cherry, flowers and fir. The sweetly tart fruit animates a refreshingly crisp cup, lush yet delicate. Clean, simple finish.

(As brewed in a Keurig B70 Platinum single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule to produce 6-ounce serving): Straightforward and smooth. Soft hints of roasty aromatic wood, caramel and a faint orangy, floral-toned fruit. Flavors linger gently in a very slightly astringent finish.

Difficult to assess in coffee terms, but an attractive and distinctive beverage. Sweet-toned, perfumy aroma: caramel, flowers, a hint of fruit. Delicate, wine-like acidity. The mouthfeel is light in weight but silky in texture. In the cup caramel dominates with floral and chocolate-fruit complications. Clean finish, though flavor fades rather quickly.

The aroma is rich with floral notes and a pungent black-currant-like fruit. Delicately and sweetly tart acidity; smooth, silky mouthfeel. The black currant note carries into the cup with an enveloping hint of dark chocolate. Slight hint of drying astringency in the finish.

Delicately sweet aroma highlighted by a complex range of fruit: ripe berry, spicy citrus, with a backgrounded nut and fir. Gently tart acidity, medium body, silky mouthfeel. In the cup flavor smoothes and rounds, with the nut and fir moving forward and the fruit softening toward chocolate. Flavor persists in the short finish but fades toward a mild astringency in the long.

Evaluated as espresso. Deep, rich, smoky dark chocolate with hints of fresh-cut fir and caramel in the aroma. In the small cup fresh-cut fir dominates, complicated by continued smoky dark chocolate, flowers and an apricot-like fruit. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel and crisp, sweet-toned, though slightly astringent finish. Impressively balanced presence in two parts milk: buttery dark chocolate, hints of flowers and apricot.

Roundly balanced, subtly complex. Hints of raisin, table grape, milk chocolate, molasses in the aroma. Ripe citrus notes develop in the cup, complicated by continued molasses and grape-like fruit. Rich acidity; full, syrupy mouthfeel. Simple, sweet finish.

oft notes of nut and baking spice with a suggestion of dusk flowers in the aroma, deepening and complicating in the cup. Quiet but rich acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel. In the finish flavor fades rather quickly toward a mild astringency.

Rich aroma with layered nuances of sweet cherry, stone fruit, nut and chocolate. In the cup, gentle but sustained acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel and softer fruit flavors, tending toward tarter cherry and sweet citrus. Chocolate remerges in the finish along with a note of aromatic wood.

Notes of pipe tobacco, cherry and pungent aromatic wood in the aroma. Simplifies slightly in the cup, with continued aromatic wood and hints of baker's chocolate and nut. Pungent, roast-toned, softly astringent finish.

A big winner in four parts milk. Co-taster Andy Newbom (90) had it at 9 in milk while Ken (93) went to the limit at 10. Both keyed on a big, round, peachy fruit complexity and fine balance of milk and coffee. As straight espresso dominated by fruit as well: ripe, apricot-toned, a little wine-like, with a tart "sparkle" (Andy) of citrus. But the whole sensory package bloomed in milk with particular power and completeness.

Evaluated as espresso. Crisp cocoa and pungent fruit dominate in the small cup with impressive vanilla and floral top notes nuancing the aroma. Medium body, smoothly syrupy mouthfeel. Co-taster Andy Newbom (91) particularly admired a "complete and elegant" structure that balances sweet with a pungent hint of savory. The savory drops away in milk where both Ken (91) and Andy found impressive chocolaty sweetness ("Cocoa pops!" Andy exclaimed) deepened by a rich, fig-like fruit.

(As brewed in a Keurig B70 Platinum single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule to produce 10- and 12-ounce servings): Caramel, toast and a suggestion of orange in the aroma. Simplifies somewhat in the cup, with intensified caramel and fleeting hints of orange, chocolate and cedar, all more noticeable in the 10-ounce serving size. Sweet finish.