Cooperative Reviews

Sweet, pungent, with a deep, shifting complexity. Agave syrup, roasted cacao nib, lavender-like flowers, lemon drop and more in aroma and very sweet-toned cup. Richly tart, floral-toned acidity; light but buoyantly lively mouthfeel. Long, deep, flavor-saturated finish.

Gentle, quietly complete. Plum, honeysuckle, crisp walnut and roasted cacao nib in aroma and cup. Soft, delicately juicy acidity; satiny mouthfeel. Gently flavor-saturated finish.

Intense, rich, pungent. Blood orange, black currant, fresh-cut fir, plum blossom in aroma and in cup, where a slight savory, truffle-like edge deepens and complicates flavor. Powerful but opulently balanced acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Resonant, gently drying, flavor-saturated finish.

Explosively bright and juicy. Honey, tangerine, black currant, hints of flowers and spice, mace perhaps, in aroma and cup. Opulently sweet, grandly exhilarating acidity; lightly but distinctly syrupy mouthfeel. Gently dry, flavor-saturated finish.

Smoky, pungent. Very lightly scorched cedar, black tea, hints of lily-like flowers and rosemary in aroma and cup. Roast-muted acidity; leanish but silky mouthfeel. The mildly scorched cedar rounds toward chocolate in a simple but sweet finish.

Sweet, delicately bright. Flowers, plum, honey, roasted cacao nib in aroma and cup. Gently bright, juicy acidity; light, silky mouthfeel. Crisply sweet, cleanly fruit-toned finish with a hint of chocolate in the long.

Lushly pungent, plummy. Dark chocolate, plum, cedar, night-blooming flowers in aroma and cup. Round, resonant acidity; smooth, silky mouthfeel. Richly sweet though drying finish.

Dramatic, intense, distinctive. Aroma and flavor are dominated by the unique and unmistakable Kenya note, a pungently cedary, lemony blackberry, very sweet yet dry in the mouthfeel, a note that is often tagged with the simplifying term black currant. This sample displayed deepening complications of musk and malt as well. Crisp yet juicy acidity; silky mouthfeel. Briefly bittersweet in the short finish, then opens into a spectacular long finish, ringing with sweetness and complex layers of flavor.

Delicately rich, sweet-toned. Distinct carob-like chocolate, brown sugar, hints of ripe citrus and spicy aromatic wood – sandalwood perhaps – in aroma and cup. Quiet, vibrant acidity; plushly full mouthfeel. Flavor carries almost intact into a round, sweet-toned finish.

Sweetly bright, soaring. Juicy black currant, Concord grape, ripe grapefruit, crisp lavender in aroma and cup. Exhilarating, flawless acidity; silky, buoyant mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates but persists in a sweet, slightly drying finish.

Sweetly bright, gently rich. Green grape, black currant, honey, lilac in aroma and cup. Classically bright acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates in a long, tartly sweet finish.

Intense; complex floral and citrus. Honey, ripe lime, night-blooming flowers and a softening suggestion of milk chocolate in aroma and cup. Sweetly bright acidity; very silky mouthfeel. Flavor, particularly flowers, saturates a long, resonant finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Ken (93) and his co-taster (93) both admired this roundly and very discreetly roast-influenced espresso. They found the aroma deeply pungent, the flavor complex with a wide range of sensation: raisin, apricot, flowers, fresh-cut cedar, “crisp, fresh berry” (co-taster). Ken particularly admired the full, syrupy (for the co-taster buttery) mouthfeel. Long, sweet, cedary (Ken’s word) finish. The co-taster in particular made a case for this espresso in three parts milk, where it showed chocolate and a fresh, sugar-cane-like sweetness.

Evaluated as espresso. Ken rated this softly bright espresso three points higher at 92 than the co-taster did at 89. Ken simply seems to have found more going on and liked what he found better: a fuller mouthfeel, a slightly more complex set of aromatics (for Ken citrus, honey, flowers, chocolate; for his co-taster taster citrus, praline, pear), a longer finish and a more complex, persistent flavor in milk.

Evaluated as espresso. This delicate, gently bright espresso attracted gently expressed support from both Ken (91) and his co-taster (90). Crisp, hazelnut-toned aroma; light but lively, effervescent mouthfeel. Ripe lemon and caramel in flavor and finish, where the co-taster also found a tickle of sweet black pepper. Maintained presence nicely in three parts milk, where the co-taster found it “immensely sweet and clean with lemon character.”

Delicate, buoyant, sweetly bright. Flowers, honey, orangy citrus, roasted cocoa nib in aroma and cup. Gently bright, juicy acidity; light, silky mouthfeel. Citrus and honey carry into a richly drying finish.

Subtle and surprising in its complexity. Hazelnut, minty orange, milk chocolate, and a hint of a clean, bourbon-like whisky. Balanced, sweetly tart acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Chocolate and nut in particular sustain in a long, drying but sweet finish.

Quiet but deeply and sweetly complex. Butter, roasted cacao nib, dark cherry, a hint of clove, and a tangerine-like top note in aroma and cup. Delicately crisp acidity; silky mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates but lingers in a sweet-toned, slightly drying finish.

Musky and savory. Wet oak, sweet pumpkin, cantaloupe, mushroom, dark chocolate in aroma and cup. Rich, bittersweet acidity; medium-full mouthfeel. Roundly dry short finish; sweetens and turns chocolaty in the long.

Deeply and crisply sweet; complex. Chocolate, hazelnut, orange zest, flowers in aroma and cup. Soft but lively acidity; lightly syrupy, buoyant mouthfeel. Sweet, gently flavor-saturated finish.