Central America Reviews

Elegant, sweet-toned, balanced. Buttery dark chocolate, flowers, crisp hints of nut and orange. Well-integrated acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel, cleanly rich finish.

Deep, rich and pungent in aroma and cup. Roundly sweet with flavors that layer dried berries, apricot and spicy tea rose atop dark chocolate. Flavors penetrate deep into a long, resonant finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet-toned and round. Caramelly sweetness softens toasty citrus tones and fleeting hints of lavender and carob in the small cup. Flavors linger delicately and cleanly in the finish. The sweetness theme persists in two parts milk: subdued layers of lemon, flowers and more carob.

Evaluated as espresso. Sweet aromatic notes of raisin, chocolate and soft citrus. Full flavored in the small cup, with bittersweet fruit-infused chocolate hinting at grape, berry and orange, all of which persist deeply into the finish. Flavors predictably simplify in two parts milk but remain pleasing: sweet-toned fruit with a distinct minty complication.

Rich and sweet, combining notes of citrus, stone fruit, honey and flowers. In the cup a brisk tartness balances a lush, juicy character. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Flavors slowly fade in the finish to a slightly astringent tartness.

Symphonically fruit-toned and shimmeringly bright. An “underlying crushed grape sweetness” (co-cupper Wendy De Jong, 94) supported an array of lemon and berry suggestions. Ken (94) found deepening hints of fresh-cut fir and dark chocolate as well. Forward but accessible acidity, silky mouthfeel, sweetly tart finish.

Nut and molasses-like sweetness in the understated aroma. “Heavy and smooth” (co-cupper Wendy De Jong 89) to “lightly syrupy” (Ken 90) mouthfeel. Balanced acidity. Both Wendy and Ken found low-acid fruit leaning toward dark chocolate in cup and finish, though their associations varied, from Ken’s simple “cherryish fruit” to Wendy’s evocative “apricot … mulled wine and apples.” Both agreed that this coffee stayed on the rich side of astringency in the sweet, chocolate-toned finish.

Gently sweet in aroma and cup, highlighted by notes of honeyed orange, flowers and a suggestion of nut. Gently bright acidity, medium body and a silky mouthfeel. A simplified version of the fruit-floral complex lingers in the dry finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Bright and juicy. Flowers, ripe citrus and stone fruit in the small cup with caramel undertones. The fruit carries into a clean finish, with sugary sweetness developing in the long. Two parts milk amplifies the caramel character and rounds the persistent fruit and floral notes.

Balanced, complete coffee with a straightforward aromatic complex persisting from aroma through finish: peach, citrus, flowers, complimented by a delicately sweet chocolate. Rich acidity, syrupy body.

Sweet and intense – stone fruit and honey complimented by silky milk chocolate. Fruit- and floral-toned acidity, medium body and a deeper chocolate-like sensation in a finish marked by a touch of drying astringency.

Richly sweet in the aroma, combining complicated layers of flowers, crisp lemon and a slight peppery note. A rounder version of the aromatic complexity carries into the cup, with deepening notes of aromatic wood. Medium body, delicate mouthfeel and floral-toned acidity. Toasty sweetness persists into the finish along with a suggestion of astringency as the cup cools.

Sweet and round in the aroma, highlighted by notes of chocolate and aromatic wood. Richly balanced acidity, syrupy mouthfeel and layers of complex flavors combining the fragrant wood characteristics with hints of grapefruit. Long, dry finish, dominated by fruit-toned dark chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso. Cherry and chocolate dominate in the small cup and linger deeply into the finish, with layered complications of flowers, aromatic wood and anise. In two parts milk the chocolate becomes deeper and the fruit slightly less nuanced, but overall flavor remains sweet, round and balanced.

A bright-toned cup with an intense aroma. Flavors combine sweet and tart citrus, round toasty notes and hints of baking spice. Clean, crisp and softly astringent in the finish, with sweet citrus reemerging and lingering in the long.

A sweet, well rounded cup. Cherry and citrus mix with chocolate, nut and cedar in aroma and cup, along with a distant hint of lavender. Perfectly balanced, sweet-toned and smooth acidity. Fruit diminishes in the finish focusing the flavor on unsweetened chocolate.

Evaluated as espresso. Intense cedary, fruit-toned wood in the aroma; some acidity in the cup, with chewy, raisiny fruit notes leaning toward dark chocolate. A hint of flowers at the top. Strong presence in two parts milk: full mouthfeel, bittersweet chocolate, with the aromatic wood nuance rounding toward nut.

Evaluated as espresso. Smooth, quietly complex. Lemon and flowers in the aroma, with deepening notes of aromatic wood and chocolate in the small cup. Full, syrupy body. Very long, rich finish saturated with chocolate and flowers. Sweetens nicely in milk but simplifies a bit, though the lemony chocolate rings on, particularly in the finish.

Complex and pungently bold notes of toast, aromatic wood and sweet pipe tobacco in the aroma. All carry into the cup, with an added enveloping soft fruit. Silky mouthfeel. Flavor lasts well into the simple but rich finish.

Rich aroma and flavor highlighted by sweet-toned lemon with suggestions of flowers, berries and baking chocolate. Bright acidity, lightly syrupy mouthfeel and a finish that fades perhaps a bit too quickly, especially as the cup cools.