Organic Reviews

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.

A striking and distinctive coffee. Co-cupper Christy Thorns (89) admired its complex aromatics: "dried apricot, orange zest, clove, citronella." Ken (90) found a gingery chocolate and lemon that for him was unusual and surprising, which may be why he was slightly more willing than Christy to forgive a slight, shadow salty cling as the cup cooled.

Although co-cupper Christy Thorns (87) felt the Ethiopia citrus and floral notes turned "somewhat passive" under the impact of the roast, she praised the "complex aromatics of ginger, clove and toasted grain" and a spicy finish. Ken also found spice notes also in the aroma (black pepper, clove), but particularly admired the cup for its round mouthfeel and "juicy and sweet but vegetal" character, "a bit like biting into a ripe plum and tasting the skin and the flesh at the same time." What we can take away from all of this is a coffee with less floral and citrus character than a classic wet-processed Ethiopia, but with more spice and tingle.

A refreshingly medium roast delivers a dry fragrance of crisp linen scented with geranium that develops into wet aromas of spiced chocolate and browned sugar sweetness with wisps of burned match-like sulfur. Pleasing heft and complexity in the cup. A muscular coffee with a surprisingly crisp and clean finish.

In the aroma liquored and slightly fermented fruit are accompanied by dark chocolate notes, all of which mask hints of coffee oils going slightly rancid. A heavy body with gritty mouthfeel dominates the cup. Long, rather oily finish. (Lindsey Bolger)

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)

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)

Complexly fruity and richly floral coffee - papaya, lemon, coffee fruit, hints of dusk-blooming flowers and chocolate, all ride a strong, balanced structure: good body, smooth mouthfeel, supple, sweet acidity.

Lovely, lyric coffee. Distinct apricot and milk chocolate notes in the aroma. In the cup sweet, balanced, with a delicate acidity lifting on rich undercurrents of bittersweet chocolate and apricot-toned fruit. For such a lyric coffee the finish is surprisingly long and bracing.

Delicately pungent, richly balanced aroma with excellent dimension and tickles of pear and chocolate. Comfortable in the cup, balanced, with an almost sugary sweetness. Caramel and chocolate undercurrents, but basically a coffee that charms with quiet completeness rather than excites with complexity.