Central America Reviews

Cocoa laced with citrus in the aroma. Flavors are as complex and sculpted as a top Alsatian Riesling, with intense lemon and orange acidity, chocolate, and a suggestion of fresh chive or tarragon always associated with this variety. A powerful, aristocratic grand cru. This fragile, low-density variety is a major challenge to roast (and cannot handle dark roasting); this is a particularly masterful roasting job.

Huge body, luscious Belgian chocolate flavor with plenty of supporting acidity. Vanilla bean along with the chocolate in the finish. Roast is perfectly matched to the coffee.

Cocoa and caramel aroma. Blazing acidity, dark chocolate and caramel, regal balance. A nicely conducted, relatively light roast makes this balanced but assertive coffee particularly well-suited for vacuum pot and drip brewing.

Delicate, lyrically sweet-toned aroma with flowers, flowering grass and a lush shimmer of molasses. In the cup delicate but intense, with sweetly tart, white-wine-toned acidity, light-bodied but silky mouthfeel, and continued fresh, aromatic grass notes. Surprisingly rich in the short finish with a shadow of grassy astringency in the long.

Cherry notes dominate in the very sweet-toned, pungently acidy aroma. Relatively light-bodied in the cup, but sweetly and buoyantly acidy, with striking and complex aromatic notes: cherry, tea rose, Meyer Lemon, orange, honey. Honey in particular persists in the rich, sweet, though slightly astringent finish.

A cup either pleasingly delicate or disappointingly simple depending on taste and expectation. Balanced, gentle aroma with a very fresh, foresty cedar and a suggestion of pear-toned fruit. In the cup the cedar and fruit tones finally settle into a sweet, raisin-toned chocolate. Reader Laura Cheng nominated another Central American coffee from Caffe Vita that was not available, so we took the liberty of ordering this one instead.

Deep, complex aroma: slightly smoky cedar, chocolate and vanilla with floral top notes. Settles out to a rich semi-sweet chocolate in the cup with shimmery hints of flowers and vanilla. Rounds and sweetens as it cools without losing complexity. Very rich in the short finish, slightly astringent in the long.

A cabernet sort of coffee: boldly and richly dry, with fruit that reads as a wine-toned dry cherry or black currant with a rounding halo of chocolate. Tartly rich, long finish.

Intense, very deep aroma, with buttery or perhaps toffee-like notes and hints of flowers and wine. In the cup very sweet and very acidy, though never sharp. Continued hints of flowers and white wine. Rich, complex, slightly astringent in the finish.

This light-to-medium-roasted coffee is gently acidy with a floral and high-toned fruit character that quite simply represents the fresh, delicate taste of the coffee flower and fruit itself, carried with a roastmaster's tact from coffee to cup. The downside of this respectful roast is a slight, residual vegetal or tea-like character that some palates will find elegant and refreshing and others, well, too tea-like.

Intense aroma with a tightly knit complexity: muted spice, apple, pear, chocolate. In the cup sweet, delicate and balanced, with subtle but distinct chocolate notes and a quietly vibrant acidity. The chocolate turns toward cocoa in the mildly astringent finish.

A rich and vividly fermented fruit dominates. The cherry-toned ferment is overlaid by a cedary roastiness in the aroma. In the cup the ferment deepens toward a dark chocolate and brandied cherry, but also displays a distracting pine or rosemary pungency. Smoothes out toward a cleanly rich chocolate in the short finish, though slightly astringent in the long.

Exquisitely delicate aroma suggests a fine Oolong tea, with extravagant floral notes but a distinct (and coffeeish) hint of chocolate. The chocolate strengthens in the cup, with a tartly sweet, lemon-toned acidity. The lemon-chocolate notes outlast a gentle astringency in the long, pleasing finish.

A crisp, malty fruit runs through the profile, suggesting a low key bouquet of possibilities: peach, cedar, chocolate, black currant, cherry. The finish is particularly impressive, rich, sweet, long, and nuanced with persistent berry and cherry tones.

A quiet, very sweet, delicately chocolate-toned coffee. Caramel and chocolate tones dominate in aroma and cup, gently complicated by floral top notes. Slightly astringent in the long finish.

Smoky, cedar- and cherry-toned fruit in the aroma. In the cup round, rich, bittersweet, with a tart, cherryish chocolate - think pie cherries rolled in unsweetened chocolate - and a sweet, floral-toned acidity. The finish strikes me as slightly too astringent.

Exceptional aroma: floral notes complicated by vanilla for co-cupper Rodger Owen and lemon and pineapple for Ken. In the cup brightly but sweetly acidy and delicately smooth in mouthfeel with a subtly balanced flavor that disappointed Rodger but excited Ken with its jasmine-like floral notes and (for Ken at least) a rich, chocolaty lemon.

Muted aroma with notes that Ken called "quietly pungent" and co-cupper Rodger "smoky." Ken also found pleasantly floral top notes as well. In the cup substantial body and smooth mouthfeel; the pungent notes in the aroma reappear as nut (Rodger) or semi-sweet chocolate (Ken). Simple, sweet short finish, very slight astringency in the long.

Complexly fruity and richly floral coffee - papaya, lemon, coffee fruit, hints of dusk-blooming flowers and chocolate, all ride a strong, balanced structure: good body, smooth mouthfeel, supple, sweet acidity.

Finely balanced cup: delicately roasty, very sweet, with a shimmer of dry acidity. Under the impact of the roast the crisp aromatics lean toward leather and an herb-toned chocolate.