Organic Reviews

A cup either pleasingly delicate or disappointingly simple depending on taste and expectation. Balanced, gentle aroma with a very fresh, foresty cedar and a suggestion of pear-toned fruit. In the cup the cedar and fruit tones finally settle into a sweet, raisin-toned chocolate. Reader Laura Cheng nominated another Central American coffee from Caffe Vita that was not available, so we took the liberty of ordering this one instead.

In the aroma distinct semi-sweet chocolate notes and cherryish or raisiny fruit with a lush twist of ferment. Crisp cedar and toast notes complicate the cherry-toned chocolate in the small cup. The fruity chocolate persists in the splendid short finish, though a shadow astringency barely implied in the cup eventually dominates in the long. In milk a slightly lean body is more than made up for by crisp toasted rice notes and a voluptuous, milk-softened version of the fruity-fermented chocolate.

Simple but deep aroma with distinct berry notes - blueberry or blackberry - and a hint of milk chocolate. In the small cup substantial body with a lively, effervescent mouthfeel and toast, cedar and continuing berryish fruit notes. The berry notes persist in the very slightly astringent finish. In milk the berry notes round and soften toward a lush banana-toned chocolate.

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule at a cup volume of 5.25 ounces): Mild but complex aroma: distinct caramel notes and hints of butter (perhaps butterscotch), vanilla and chocolate. Gentle, wine-toned acidity and sweet, delicate flavor with grapey red wine and floral notes and a hint of chocolate. Shallow but quietly persistent finish.

(As brewed in a Keurig B60 single-serve brewing device using a "K-Cup" capsule at a cup volume of 5.25 ounces): Very mild, sweet, smokily cedar-toned aroma. In the cup simple, relatively rich for a K-cup brewed coffee, with dried fruit notes - raisins, cherries - that verge on a dark chocolate. Sweet, mildly astringent finish.

(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.

Ken and co-taster Ted Lingle ended with comparable overall ratings (Ken 85, Ted 86) but differed in how they got there. Ted found the aroma a bit flat; Ken found it delicate, with toast, apple and floral notes. Ted found the body fuller and the mouthfeel more substantial than Ken did. Both found the flavor in the small cup toasty/smoky and a bit sharp in the finish. Both admired the way the blend rounded and sweetened in milk. Nominating reader Robert Bobbs praised this blend as "perfectly balanced ... big body, slightly sweet, not too much acidity but enough to enliven the cup; holds up well in big milky drinks but is fantastic as a straight shot."

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.

Lively aroma, with fresh-cut cedar and cherry-chocolate notes. In the cup simple but deeply resonant, with hints of flowers, chocolate and cherry-leaning fruit shimmering through the gentle roastiness.

A complex fruitiness anchored by musty notes that read persuasively as sweet earth immediately identify this coffee as a traditional style Sumatra. The fruit reads most clearly as chocolate in the aroma, with tickles of raisin, citrus, perhaps papaya. In the cup sweet and bracingly earthy with a tart twist that suggests pineapple or grapefruit. Medium body. Rounds from short finish to long in a sweet, gently rich trajectory.

A superb, versatile blend. The aroma is deep with chocolate and tropical fruit tones (banana?), the mouthfeel buttery and the body full, the small cup sweetly cedar toned with a lush, very slightly fermented fruit that reads as a rich raisin- and floral-toned chocolate. The finish is resonant and long with a low-key, pleasantly bracing astringency. In milk the shot rounds and sweetens without losing identity or authority.

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 bold, sweetly acidy coffee with a shifting, subtle complexity. In the aroma low-toned, lushly rich fruit (apricot, papaya, even banana) leaning toward milk chocolate. In the cup brighter and higher-toned, with lemon, flowers and continued suggestions of milk chocolate. Rounds and richens as it cools, the fruit tones landing somewhere near cherry.