Pacific Reviews

The aroma is high-toned but pungent, laced with caramel, cantaloupe and leather. In the cup a sweet, wine-toned fruit leads, with richly malty, bracingly bitter tones opening up behind. The bitterness dissolves in the long, clean, chocolate-toned finish.

Cinnamon, pumpkin, chocolate smeared on leather in the aroma. In the cup overripe, lush, half-rotting fruit and carnal melon tones eventually suggest chocolate, which sweetens and rounds in the long, surprisingly clean finish.

Low-key, pungent aroma laced with cocoa and caramel. Sweet in the cup with enveloping bottom notes of overripe fruit and sweet humus. Surprising floral notes in the finish.

Crisp, wine- and cherry-toned fruit dominate in both aroma and cup. A delicate mustiness reads as leather and sweet pipe tobacco. The rather heavy finish lightens and sweetens as the cup cools.

A big-bodied, massively roasty coffee. Intense musty tones read as rosemary, cardamom perhaps, with a shimmer of chocolate. The intense, monumental character fades a bit as the cup cools.

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."

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.

Reader Ben Anderson calls this coffee "fantastic." That familiar adjectivefreshens up when applied to Sulawesi coffees, whose unexpected forest and fruit notes often doseem to express a sort of adventurous coffee fantasy. When hot, this Sulawesi displayed a richcup with a fine balance of acidity, sweetness and roastiness plus - the Sulawesi factor - carnally rich fruit notes reminiscent of cantaloupe. I started with a rating of over 90, but as the cup cooleda slight salty astringency in the finish lowered my assessment.

Lindsey Bolger was all positive on this one: "One of my favorites in the cupping. Chocolate laced with cinnamon punctuates the aroma. More sweet spice and cocoa, even some floral notes, emerge in the flavor. A fine specimen of a Sumatra -- tamed but not over domesticated!" (88) Ken was attracted by "an opulent, deep-toned fruity chocolate" that nevertheless hinted at various flavor ambiguities like ferment. Ultimately, though, a "rich, clean finish" convinced him to go with a very positive reading (89) of this complex Sumatra.

Lindsey Bolger: "Fantastic! Sweet, floral aroma accented with cinnamon and just a suggestion of earthiness. Cools to a sweet and clean display of balance and harmony" (88). Ken read Lindsey's "earthiness" as a touch of musty ferment, but he nevertheless liked the way the ferment worked in the darkish roast, describing the outcome as "pungent, bittersweet fruit that suggests dark chocolate with a little mild, brandy-like ferment." Like Lindsey, he was impressed with how elegantly the coffee cooled, to a "long, sweet, clean chocolate finish" (90).

Lindsey Bolger: "Depending on tolerance for fruitiness with wild tendencies, this coffee will either delight or dismay. Lovely floral aromatics complemented by flourishes of warmed butter, brown sugar and citrus were the first hint that something interesting was going on in the cup. Upon first sip, the coffee displayed overt ferment, the kind that makes your toes curl. Then, after subsequent passes, that overripe fruitiness evolved to the engaging blueberry note so prized in Ethiopia Harrars" (84). Ken also wrestled with ambiguous flavor notes that for him suggested both fermented fruit as well as a hint of mustiness, but he too settled on a positive reading: "sweetly acidy, with lush ferment tones that, as the cup cools, resolve richly and pleasantly to fruity chocolate and brandy" (87).

Lindsey Bolger: "Engaging aroma of sweet chocolate pudding invites the tasting spoon to dive right in. The cup delivers on the aroma's promise with a body that won't quit and a lingering sweetness that pushes through the rather dark roast" (83) Ken concurs with both the chocolate and the sweetness: "Clear sweet cocoa tones, balanced cup, long clean finish" (87).

Lindsey Bolger: "Intense aroma of fresh-from-oven brownies. Flavors of dark chocolate and sweet caramel compliment the rather dark roast. I added points to acknowledge the roaster's skill in pairing the roast so appropriately to the coffee" (85). Ken also was impressed by the aroma: "richly low-toned, chocolaty, malty, spicy, complex. In the cup gently roasty, complicated by dry fruit and malt notes. A slightly astringent finish lowered my score" (84).

Lindsey Bolger: "Understated grace describes this uncharacteristically delicate and refined Sumatra. Both dry fragrance and wet aroma display subtle fruit (I describe it as dried orange peel) and milk chocolate, which complement a clean and balanced cup laced with sweet herbs and licorice" (82). Ken: "Crisp, balanced, understated but rich. Grapefruit tones complicate a gently acidy but roasty cup" (88).

Lindsey Bolger: "One of my favorites of the darker roasts in the cupping, largely owing to an aromatic note that always gets my attention. I describe it as "zatar," a mix of spices (sumac, thyme, marjoram and salt) used in Middle Eastern cooking. An odd pairing with coffee, but at the right roast and with other complementary flavors, it can contribute to a truly distinctive cup" (83). Ken: "Most cups were dominated by sweetly and pleasantly fermented tones, the kind that suggest wine- or fruit-toned chocolate. In other cups, additional smoky, spicy tones edged toward a soapy bitterness" (84)

A typical shape-shifting Sumatra that gives us something different in every cup. Lindsey Bolger: "Characteristic of a Sumatra prone to schizophrenia, with multiple personalities ranging from toasted grains and nuts to chocolate and spice. This confusing, sometimes combative complexity seems to improve and stabilize as the coffee cools" (82). Ken: "Some cups rich, sweet, fruity chocolate with an utterly clean finish; others still sweetly chocolaty but with leathery, spicy undertones and a heavy finish" (84).

Lindsey Bolger: "A coffee with some interesting twists and turns. While dominated by a less desirable woody flavor, a sweet and chocolaty aroma and clean finish redeems what may be an otherwise ordinary coffee" (82). Ken: "Bittersweet, with dry chocolate and nut tones. A little too bitter and not quite sweet enough for me. The finish is astringent but rich." (83)

John: "Light bodied, simple profile. Slightly earthy, good looking roast. Nice cover with little inside" (80). Ken also notes the thinnish mouthfeel and light body, but finds the flavor contrasts interesting and worth rewarding: "Sharply burned yet sweet and fruity. Dry chocolate in the finish" (83)

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.

The darkish roast turns the fruit tones dry and crisply grapefruity. Some charred and perhaps musty notes, but when juxtaposed with the sweet fruit they read as a sort of pleasantly burned chocolate.