Highest Rated Reviews

The softer style of Kenya: sweet, flirty, utterly seductive, but with a gently acidy backbone. In the aroma crisp temperate fruit tones, apple or pear perhaps, in the cup flowers and chocolate.

Delicate but rich. Medium body, sweet, round-toned acidity, and complex aromatics: In the aroma nut, floral, and cocoa-toned fruit, in the cup floral and spicy apple or pipe-tobacco notes. A cleanly balanced astringency enriches rather than flattens the finish.

Exquisitely balanced cup. Delicately acidy and sweet with clean, high-toned fruit that nods gently at chocolate. Restrained yet complex; precious. Green buyer Carl Leonard finds this coffee "exhibits all the best attributes [that this] origin should deliver."

Deeply, richly acidy, but without any edge unblunted by an enveloping, buffering sweetness. Surprisingly heavy body; a shimmering cocktail of pineapple, pear, citrus and floral notes in the nose. Neighbors green buyer and quality assurance manager Chris Palmer tags these elusive notes "apricot-like ... with a hint of spice."

A sweet Kenya, seductive rather than severe with its balanced acidity and delicate, quietly complex citrus and floral tones.

Intense but balanced acidity, medium body, and tartly sweet fruit notes --berry and citrus -- that soften toward chocolate in the finish. Director of Coffee Geoff Watts praises this coffee's "grace and completeness."

An almost impossibly sweet, smooth dark roast, cleanly roasty, without bitterness. Complex but almost subliminal hints of meaty fruit, apricot perhaps, with patience suggest chocolate.

Powerfully but sweetly acidy, rich, with distinct red wine and cherry tones. Seductive but challenging.

Reader Ben Anderson finds this Blue Mountain "phenomenal," a "yardstickexample of the variety ... extremely complex and proportioned." Certainly a fine example of theBlue Mountain profile, far better than any production roast Blue Mountain I have cupped overthe past few years: balanced, with resonant, bell-toned dimension and classic fruit notes of pure essential coffee character.

Reader Jim Beckham of Athens, Texas reports he drinks "about a pound a week ofthis espresso. I frequently try others, but I always come back to this great blend." I might comeback to it too. Dry fruit, chocolate and leather notes, fat body, smooth, round, completelywithout bitterness. In milk excellent authority: rich, developing from dry chocolate in small dairyto milk chocolate in large.

Reader Derick Miller called Graffeo to my attention, testifying that this groupof three small in-store roasters produces "great coffee." I found this light-roasted version of theGraffeo blend acidy but sweet, rich, with a broad flavor range including delicate orange and floralnotes. Both aroma and finish showed a slight bitter edge which rounded and softened as the cupcooled.

Extraordinary, luxurious coffee, lushly sweet yet vibrantly acidy, with ripe, opulent fruit tones and delicately intense floral high notes. Utterly free of bitterness or astringency. Perfectly roasted, and as extravagantly complex as the very finest East Africa coffees. Nominator David Lubertozzi of Berkeley raves about its "amazing body and milk-chocolateyness," and confesses he enjoys it even better cold than hot -- always a sign of an exceptional coffee.

A startlingly distinctive coffee: richly fruity with almost symphonic aromatics and pronounced but sweet acidity. "Best blend in the world!" exclaims the nominating reader. "One of the few blends that has distinctive regional characteristics -- in this case a lighter roast highlights and protects a wonderfully lively flavor."

Ken's favorite in the cupping: "Superb balance of dry and sweet tones. Crisp fruit notes suggest temperate fruit, perhaps pears. Slight but not entirely unpleasant bitterness in the finish" (rating 90). Chris: "The other stand-alone in the cupping, owing to its medium-intensity East-Africa-style acidity. Begins with suggestions of mandarin orange and dips toward a floral wine finish" (rating 89).

Masterpiece of understated balance and completeness: sweetly acidy with a slight edge of crisp roastiness. Some chocolate-toned fruit, but the main appeal of this coffee is its resounding depth and flawless balance of roast and coffee. The finish is as long, rich and quietly complex as any I can remember.

A consensus pick. "Cherry- and red-wine-toned fruit; big, rich, full, round, resonant," according to Ken (rating 89). Kevin (rating 91) writes: "Tarrazu-style winy fruit, with floral and caramel notes on the break. Complex and balanced, with nuances of butter caramel, maple and cocoa powder. Great length, resonant, artfully roasted."

An exceptional versatile espresso that maintains complexity and intrigue from small cup to big milk. Nuance ranges from chocolate and walnut to fermented fruit and malty/musty tones. The musty notes are sharp in the finish of the small cup but turn splendidly round and rich in milk. (87 straight espresso, 93 w/milk)

Heavy, rich, a touch sharp, but balanced in the small cup, complicated nicely by dry fruit and cocoa. Maintains balance and authority in small milk, where the cocoa sweetens toward a voluptuous hazelnut-toned chocolate. Fades a bit in big milk, though still round and chocolaty. (89 straight espresso, 90 w/milk)

Acidy but balanced; clean, sweet, direct. Nuanced with floral and dry chocolate notes. Rich finish with a hint of roasty bittersweetness.

Extraordinary high-toned aromatics grapefruit, flowers, blueberry, fresh grape all carry exhilaratingly from nose through cup, where the fruit tones soften toward chocolate. Appropriately medium-bodied, with the aromatics supported by a gentle balance of sweetness and acidity.