Fair trade Reviews

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule at a cup volume of 5.25 ounces): A complex and rather exotic profile. Round, low-acid fruit (apple?) in the aroma, leaning toward chocolate, with a hint of flowers. In the cup lively, wine-like acidity, with apple, floral, chocolate, nutmeg-like spice notes. Chocolate and apple resurface in the long, quietly rich finish.

Rich aroma complicated by smoky semi-sweet chocolate and caramel. The cup is simple but satisfying: very sweet, deep, roundly roasty. The real glory of this coffee is an extraordinarily long, lushly vibrant, deeply chocolaty finish.

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.

Dominated by a sweetly fermented fruit that reads as a rich, brandy-toned, cherryish chocolate. This lush flavor complex is heady in the aroma and sweetly refreshing in the cup. As the coffee cools, however, the ferment reveals a very slight bitter edge.

Lushly complex but delicate aroma, alive with floral and low-acid fruit notes: apple perhaps, even banana, leaning toward chocolate. In the cup displays a simplifying sharpness when hot, but softens and sweetens as the cup cools. The seductively low-acid fruit notes persist from aroma into cup, reading as red wine and chocolate. The finish is long and rich with a slight astringent edge.

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.

Chocolate and toast show in the rather subdued aroma. In the small cup the body is medium and the mouthfeel slightly lean, with a simple but attractive pungent/sweet character complicated by a cocoa or dry chocolate. Rich, semi-sweet chocolate finish. In milk balanced and crisply sweet, with the chocolate retaining its dry authority.

In the aroma cedar, spice, papaya, and a hint of semi-sweet chocolate. Delicate in the cup, with very sweet citrus notes, pink grapefruit perhaps, and a distinct cedar character with a continuing hint of chocolate. Rather heavy finish for such a light-footed coffee.

Rich, low-key, smoky, with an agreeably mild musty ferment that reads in aroma and cup as raisins and semi-sweet chocolate. In the aroma complex, in the cup balanced but a bit simple; surprisingly clean, soft finish.

A touch of fruit ferment both pleasantly complicates and slightly mars this interesting coffee. In the cup the ferment turns the acidity pleasantly winy and bends the fruit toward a rich, brandied chocolate with raisin and caramel innuendo. The long finish is marred by a troublesome bitterness, however, probably owing to the same ferment.

The roast dominates the coffee in this extreme dark-roast profile. Intensely but roundly and sweetly charred in the aroma, with a gingery, cedarish complication. The cup is dominated by charred tones that remain just on the pleasantly rich, aromatic cedar side of flat-out burned.

Delicately rich in aroma and cup. The clean, elegant fruit suggests peach in the aroma and cherry in the cup, with a little swoon toward chocolate. The refined acidity rounds and sweetens beautifully as the cup cools, deepening toward wine.

Balanced and classic. The acidity is sweet and well integrated, the mouthfeel round and cleanly smooth, the flavor rich and straightforward with coffee fruit (the closest analogy is red cherry) that hints gently at milk chocolate. Long, resonant finish.

Chocolate and delicately intense lemon notes carry decisively from aroma through cup to finish. The cup is integrated and harmonious, with a softly sweet acidity and a slight herby twist to the lemon.

Sweet, rich, with an impressive balance of dry acidy notes and sweetness. A combination of slightly fermented fruit and musty earthiness reads here as a fine intrigue of papaya, raisins and chocolate.

Dry fragrance: lemon, flowers and freshly laundered linen. In the hot aroma dark molasses and licorice on the pour, rich ripe fruit and milk chocolate in the break. While the floral, citrus and deep-red fruit notes remain intact from first sip through last (a neat trick in such a dark roast) these flavors assemble themselves differently with each taste as the cup cools. Complex and beautifully structured cup (Lindsey Bolger).

Minty and fresh tobacco notes in the dry fragrance. In the hot aroma dry fruit notes of prune and wisps of spicy sweet chocolate. In the cup the dark roasting amplifies body, but mutes many of the attributes specific to this elegant origin. For me this coffee ultimately suggested a lovely old-master painting, sparkling with jewel-toned detail that centuries of darkened varnish have dulled. Nevertheless, it displays the depth and intensity of a well-crafted and classic French roast. (Lindsey Bolger)

Big, pungent, flame-born phenols boldly emerge in the dry fragrance. In the hot aroma, lush and mouth-watering double chocolate cake. A dense and chewy coffee with an elegant, silky velvet finish - surprisingly sweet for a coffee pushed to its limits during the roast. (Lindsey Bolger)

Intense aromatics of coffee blossom (imagine jasmine, gardenia and lime), laced with milk chocolate, dried orange peel, bees' wax and lemon. While many Yirgacheffes display flourishes of mint, here oregano is the more dominant herbal note. If this coffee is big and robust in fragrance and aroma, the cup is quiet and a bit timid - a contradiction that adds to the appeal of this delicately balanced coffee. (Lindsey Bolger)