Organic Reviews

A remarkably pure profile for this dried-in-the-fruit coffee type. Lush but delicate aroma: jammy blackberry, cocoa, ripe orange, a hint of cedar. In the cup sweet-toned acidity, lightish body, and a juicy, complex flavor: the cocoa notes move forward, supported by a round, berryish fruit that reads at various moments as red table grape, blackberry, blueberry, ripe orange. The clean, berry-saturated finish fades quickly but pleasingly.

Evaluated as espresso. Very sweet, deep, smokily rich aroma with distinct floral and orangy citrus notes and a hint of fresh-cut fir. In the small cup lightly syrupy mouthfeel and impressive complexity: Fresh-cut fir predominates, with baker's chocolate and continued orange and floral notes carrying into a rich, walnut-toned finish. Blooms in two to three parts milk nicely, with the predictable dark chocolate complemented by surprisingly persistent floral, orange and fir suggestions.

Bright-toned lemony aroma, with hints of blackberry, flowers and butter. Tartly sweet acidity in the cup, with medium body and a smoothly juicy mouthfeel. Lemon-like flavors are balanced with floral and cocoaish chocolate notes. Finishes cleanly, developing sweetness in the long.

Tangy citrus, berry and mild, perfume-like floral aromas. Lemony bright acidity and full, juicy mouthfeel. Lemon-toned citrus carries from aroma to cup but is balanced by an elegant sweetness and hints of blueberry. Clean yet tart finish.

Complex aroma: butter, raisin, aromatic wood, hints of flowers and dark chocolate. In the cup the dark chocolate notes move forward, with continued suggestions of raisin and flowers. Medium body. Simple, rich finish.

Mildly toasty aroma, with sweet hints of flowers and orange-toned fruit. In the cup full body, straightforward toasty notes and, as the coffee cools, chocolate, nuts and tropical fruit. Pleasant cocoa in the long finish.

Deep, smoke-toned aroma with gently scorched wood notes, fir perhaps. Medium-bodied in the cup; the scorched wood notes round toward a pungent, herby dark chocolate. Thin but cleanly roasty finish.

Superbly balanced, bright but sweet cup. Grapefruit-toned citrus, flowers, nut in the aroma. In the cup perfectly balanced acidity and sweetness, lightly syrupy mouthfeel with nut and orange notes and a continued hint of flowers. A slight astringent tightness mars an otherwise rich finish.

A coffee distinguished more by a gently pungent, quiet richness than by any aromatic complexity. Restrained acidity, silky mouthfeel. Dark chocolate and nut hints carry from aroma through cup to the particularly sweet finish.

A light floral aroma mingles with hints of tangy fruit as well as sweet toast and nuts. Bright, balanced, somewhat winy acidity, lean but silky mouthfeel. Complex flavors combine mild citrus, jasmine, and berries with roasted nuts, chocolate and a hint of juniper. A sweet baker's chocolate finish lingers.

A very light roast preserves the essential meadowy sweetness and delicacy of this quiet, pure coffee. Notes of fir, honey, molasses and cherry in aroma and cup. The acidity is light-footed and sweet-toned, the mouthfeel silky. Surprisingly rich finish with a very slight woody flatness in the long.

An apparent slow roast deepens and rounds the profile. Hints of fir, milk chocolate, possibly butter in the aroma. In the cup muted acidity, rough but full mouthfeel, continued aromatic wood and chocolate notes, with hints of flowers and butter. The chocolate notes carry into the rich, dry finish.

Deep-toned and roasty in the aroma: dark chocolate, fir, floral top notes. In the cup heavy bodied, low-toned, continued dark chocolate and aromatic wood notes with the barest hint of flowers at the top. Smooths out nicely in the finish: rich, sweet, chocolaty.

A quiet but distinctive Ethiopia wet-processed profile. Distinct orange blossom and honeyed orange notes in the aroma, with hints of nut and caramel. In the cup delicate, balanced acidity, silky mouthfeel, continued honeyed orange and orange blossom with a balancing, slightly pungent nut note, walnut perhaps. Sweet, flavor saturated finish. The cup stiffens and simplifies slightly as it cools.

Assessed as espresso. Sweetly wood in the aroma, with a hint of dark chocolate and a savory, almost salty note. The same aromatic complex carries into the cup, though the wood warms toward cedar and the dark chocolate intensifies. Medium to full body. Heavy but sweet finish with a continuing chocolate note. In milk softens and sweetens appropriately but the shadow savory salt note continues to haunt the chocolate.

Sweet-toned and balanced in the aroma, with a slight smoky character and a muted complexity that extends into the cup: raisins, honey, cedar, flowers. In the cup still balanced, slightly tart, delicate. The chocolate persists into the rich, simple finish.

This coffee declares its essential Yirgacheffe character immediately: perfumy and pungently menthol-toned in the aroma, shimmering with floral and lemon notes. The aromatic drama carries without loss or simplification into a gently bright cup, light-bodied but silky in mouthfeel. The finish is thinnish but long, sweet, and flower-saturated.

Quiet aroma with walnut and hints of cedar and dark chocolate. In the cup heavy body with a slightly rough mouthfeel, an almost syrupy sweet structure, and dominating musty/earthy notes that can be read as a sort of robust, walnut-toned dark chocolate. The sweetness carries into a rich, slightly tight, continued walnut-toned finish.

Sweetly balanced in aroma and cup: butter, flowers, orange, dark chocolate. The orangy chocolate notes dominate in the gently acidy, silky-bodied cup. Fine finish: rich, sweet, flavor-saturated. A very slight hint of astringency emerges as the cup cools.

Sweet-toned, delicately complex aroma: flowers, hints of honey, cedar and tart cherry, perhaps chocolate. In the cup very gently acidy, light in body but buoyant and silky in mouthfeel, and giddily floral- and honey-toned with complicating hints of chocolate, tart coffee fruit and Riesling-like white wine. Fades rather quickly in the finish but exquisitely clean with memories of chocolate and flowers. An exceptionally pure and balanced coffee.