Estate Reviews

Seductively pungent, richly sweet, tropical. Cognac, almond butter, frankincense, lychee, sandalwood in aroma and cup. Bright, juicy acidity; full, satiny mouthfeel. The crisp finish is richly nut-toned in the short, while tropical fruit notes (lychee) return in the long, along with a pleasing new coconut (the fruit flesh) note.

Rich, deeply floral. Dried mango, narcissus, dark chocolate, marjoram, sandalwood in aroma and cup. Round, balanced acidity; syrupy mouthfeel. The gently drying finish is carried by dark chocolate and sweet marjoram notes.

Delicate, intricate, expressive. Almond butter, plumeria, roasted cacao nib, myrrh, loquat in aroma and cup. Lively sweet-tart acidity; silky mouthfeel. The sweet-toned, resonant finish centers around plumeria and cocoa, with suggestions of myrrh in the short finish and loquat in the long.

Evaluated as espresso. Smooth, fragrant, lively. The three reviewers for this coffee lined up nicely in respect to rating: John DiRuocco at 93, Jen Apodaca at 93, and Ken at 94. All found the buoyant, richly silky mouthfeel particularly impressive (Jen: “light and airy on the tongue like a meringue cookie”). All three reviewers additionally cited caramel notes, and two sweet flowers. The subtle but explicit sweetness attracted a range of candy-toned positives, from vanilla marshmallow (Jen) to, in three parts milk, dulce de leche (John).

Evaluated as espresso. All three reviewers praised this espresso for its clean, citrusy/orangy sweetness: “orange hard candy” for co-taster Jen Apodaca (94); orange and brown sugar for John DiRuocco (93); tart but juicy blood orange for Ken (93). All found notes that rounded and complicated the citrus: the brown sugar for John, caramel for Ken, Concord grape for Jen. Jen was most enthusiastic and explicit about what this coffee brought to three parts milk: “tasted like cherry pie.”

Evaluated as espresso. Of three reviewers, Ken (93) was most supportive of this crisply chocolaty, silky-bodied espresso, citing its balanced range of baker’s chocolate, flowers and fruit. Jen Apodaca’s (92) descriptors overlapped Ken’s. For John DiRuocco (89), however, the sample was “a bit bipolar,” lacking coherence, although he praised the baker’s chocolate and pleasing mouthfeel. Everyone liked this one in three-parts milk, which help the chocolate sweeten and blossom.

Evaluated as espresso. Complexly bright, citrus- and chocolate-toned. All three reviewers – Jen Apodaca (92), John DiRuocco (91) and Ken (91) – cited the dynamic, citrusy acidity, rounding chocolate, crisp floral hints and surprisingly full mouthfeel. Continued bright and briskly chocolaty in three parts milk.

Sweet, crisp, deeply floral. Wisteria, dried mango, blood orange, almond butter, clove in aroma and cup. Bright, juicy-tart acidity; silky-smooth mouthfeel. The crisp, clean, deeply flavor-saturated finish is sustained and resonant.

Layered, richly sweet. Dried mango, sandalwood, pink peppercorn, rhododendron, roasted cacao nib in aroma and cup. Delicately tart acidity; lush, satiny mouthfeel. The finish is crisp with sandalwood and pink peppercorn notes in the short, while cocoa tones return in the long.

Deeply sweet, fruit-forward. Dried raspberry, apple brandy, freesia-like flowers, roasted cacao nib, molasses in aroma and cup. Crisp, sweet-tart acidity; plush, syrupy mouthfeel. Raspberry tones ring from the break through to the quietly resonant finish, with a supporting array of spicy florals.

Lush, sweetly savory, deeply floral. Black currant, hops, coriander, kola syrup, violet in aroma and cup. Juicy, round acidity; full, syrupy mouthfeel. The flavor-saturated finish consolidates around fruit and floral tones in the short, modulating to crisp, resonant notes of hops and kola in the long.

Sweet-toned, delicately rich. Maple syrup, ripe persimmon, orange zest, roasted cacao nib, gardenia-like flowers in aroma and cup. Juicy, balanced acidity; plush, syrupy mouthfeel. The rich-toned finish is saturated with crisp cacao nib and deep orange zest notes.

Delicately sweet, intricate. Butterscotch, almond butter, orange zest, vanilla, honeydew melon in aroma and cup. Sweetly tart, quietly balanced acidity; full, satiny mouthfeel. The gently drying finish consolidates around almond and butterscotch.

Deeply pungent, richly sweet-savory. Pink grapefruit zest, cashew, red currant, butterscotch, fine musk in aroma and cup. Intense, crisp but juicy acidity; delicate, silky-smooth mouthfeel. The finish consolidates around floral-toned musk notes in the short while an attractive new element, coconut, emerges in the long.

Refined, richly complex. Spice box, cocoa powder, lemon zest, pineapple guava, walnut in aroma and cup. Gentle, backgrounded acidity; crisp, silky mouthfeel. The rich-toned, flavor-saturated finish is redolent of spice box and lemon zest in the short, with cocoa-toned walnut lingering in the long.

Subtly complex, sweetly nut-toned. Almond, caramel, gardenia, tangerine zest, roasted cacao nib in aroma and cup. Lively sweet-tart acidity; satiny mouthfeel. The resonant finish consolidates around caramel and almond tones.

Lively, sweetly floral. Peach, honeysuckle, almond, roasted cacao nib, orange zest in aroma and cup. Round, lightly juicy acidity; lean though satiny-smooth mouthfeel. The gently drying finish leads with honeysuckle in the short, following with crisp almond and cocoa tones in the long.

Dark chocolate, almond, vanilla, dried apricot, mesquite in aroma and cup. Gentle, balanced acidity; full, satiny mouthfeel. The gently drying finish consolidates to chocolate and dried apricot.

Subtly direct, sweet-toned. Blueberry, lavender, myrrh, baker’s chocolate, candied orange zest in aroma and cup. Round, balanced acidity; satiny-smooth mouthfeel. The richly drying finish is saturated with sweetly exotic notes of lavender and myrrh.

Deeply sweet, delicately rich. Maple syrup, freesia-like flowers, green grape, hazelnut, cedar in aroma and cup. Delicate, sweetly tart acidity; velvety mouthfeel. The balanced, sweet-toned finish consolidates to maple syrup, cedar and hazelnut.