Taiwan Reviews

Evaluated as espresso. Rich, chocolaty, sweetly tart. Dark chocolate, peach, Szechuan peppercorn, orange zest, myrrh in aroma and small cup. Smooth, satiny mouthfeel; resonant, chocolaty finish. In three parts milk, notes of Szechuan peppercorn and dark chocolate harmonize sweetly, with undercurrents of peach and myrrh.

A crisply sweet, accessible fruit-toned cup.

Sweetly spice-toned, wood-framed. Fresh-cut fir, gardenia, peanut brittle, pink grapefruit, watermelon in aroma and cup. Gentle, fruit-toned acidity; lean, satiny mouthfeel. The gently drying finish leads with notes of watermelon and pink grapefruit, while suggestions of peanut brittle and fir carry the long.

Evaluated as espresso. Crisp, intensely sweet, balanced. Jasmine, tangerine, cedar, baker’s chocolate, almond in aroma and small cup. Plush, syrupy body. The richly drying, sweet finish consolidates to almond and fruit-toned chocolate. Both the almond and chocolate carry brightly into three parts milk.

Delicate, exotic, sweet. Ripe papaya, honeysuckle, aged balsamic vinegar, cocoa powder, a hint of frankincense in aroma and cup. Quiet, round acidity; lightly satiny mouthfeel. The fruit-driven cup transitions to cocoa tones and aged balsamic in the short finish, while the exotic frankincense hint re-emerges in the long.

Very sweet, gently bright, delicately fruit-toned. Lush flowers, cidery apple and tart, raspberry-like fruit in aroma and cup. Softly bright acidity; silky to lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Very sweet in the finish.

Crisp baker's chocolate and heavy, lush, cherry-like fruit and brandy hints in aroma and cup. Wine-toned acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Rather heavy, sweet-salty finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Ken, at 92, liked this unusual sample better than co-taster Sean Kohmescher (90) did, perhaps because Ken read more depth in the aromatics and flavor. Sean stopped at citrus, honey and caramel in aroma and small cup whereas Ken added dark chocolate and pungent fir. Ken also found a bit more going on in the finish, with flowers complicating a deep, bananaish chocolate. In two parts milk Ken and Sean read the cup about the same although applying slightly different language, with Sean citing lemon and ”light caramel” and Ken a “lemony chocolate.”