Our mission is to help coffee lovers find and enjoy superior quality coffee.  We’re pleased to help facilitate your holiday shopping and gift-giving by providing convenient links to roasters’ websites where some of the Top 30 coffees of 2023 may be available for purchase.

As of the morning of Thursday, November 21, 2024, the following Top 30 coffees were available for purchase on roasters’ websites:

No. 2 – Review | Shop – Kakalove Cafe, Kenya Washed Yara Estate PB TOP, 97 points – $9.25/4 ounces

No. 4 | Review | Shop – Chuck’s Roast, Yemen Haraaz, 96 points – $24.00/150 grams

No. 7 – Review | Shop – Utopian Coffee, Ethiopia Ayla Bombe – $20.00/12 ounces

No. 8 – Review | Shop – JBC Coffee Roasters, Wilton Benitez Java – $26.00/8 ounces

No. 9 – Review | Shop – Torque Coffee, El Salvador Maria Pacas Bernandina Honey– $47.25/250 grams

No. 10 – Review | Shop – Hula Daddy Kona Coffee, Laura’s Reserve SL34, 97 points – $69.95/8 ounces

No. 11 – Review | Shop – Euphora Coffee, Panama Elida Estate Geisha, 97 points – $95.57/4 ounces

No. 22 – Review | Shop – Side by Each Brewing, Burundi Kayanza Cima Yeast Natural, 93 points – $19.00/16 ounces

No. 23 – Review | Shop – Bonlife Coffee, Colombia Lulo Wonka Wonka, 96 points – $19.99/8 ounces

No. 24 – Review | Shop – Durango Coffee, Costa Rica Las Lajas Perla Negra, 95 points – $18.95/12 ounces

No. 27 – Review | Shop – Old Soul Co., El Salvador Finca Loma La Gloria, 94 points – $20.00/12 ounces

No. 28 – Review | Shop – modcup, Colombia Wilton Benitez Gesha Thermal Shock Wine Yeast, 96 points – $30.00/125 grams

The post Shop for the Top 30 Coffees of 2024 appeared first on Coffee Review.

The Ratio Four Coffee Machine is the Portland-based brand’s latest brewer. Photo by Howard Bryman.

Over the past 10 years, Portland, Oregon-based Ratio has gone a long way in broadening the niche of beautiful, well-wrought, simple-to-use automatic home drip coffeemakers.

The company’s first two machines, the Eight and the Six, have both earned accolades not only for their good looks and serene user experiences but also, importantly, their effective delivery and dispersal of hot water at a steady temperature over an entire bed of grounds for an even and delicious batch of brew.

Both excel at filling every cup around the Sunday brunch table, but neither is optimized for the average weekday morning or afternoon pick-me-up when just one quick cup is in order. Both also tend to be too tall for use beneath the lower kitchen cabinets found in older homes, and though their value becomes clear as soon as one experiences the build quality and performance, neither is inexpensive.

The Ratio Four evenly wets the bed of ground coffee to replicate a pour-over-style brewing method. Photo by Howard Bryman.

Ratio heard the call. About a year ago the company revealed the Four, a lower-profile Ratio machine built specifically to brew batches ranging from 5 to 20 ounces. It’s also Ratio’s most affordable machine to date, priced at $259 and on sale for a limited-time pre-order price of $225.

As a longtime lover of the Ratio Six, I have been watching and waiting for the Four to touch down. I was fortunate enough to spend a week testing one, and now I’m even more excited.

The Four Scores

I tried every which way to get a single-cup brew out of my Ratio Six. The height of the brewer and its larger-batch-oriented bloom phase ultimately drove me back to manually pouring my single cups every morning. With the Four, I feel taken care of, at last.

Sleek, low-profile and minimalist in design, the Four is Ratio’s first machine to include a mechanical pump, which very quietly drives water through a nimble 1200-watt flow-through aluminum water heater. Together these complete a brew within about four minutes, which is swift enough that to run it twice in order to serve a whole table is actually not out of the question.

Like all Ratio brewers, the Four is dead simple to use. No screen, dials, apps or timers — just add coffee, water, push one button and enjoy. One can easily recommend this machine to any casual coffee drinker seeking a no-brainer, high-quality cup.

The Ratio Four is extremely simple to operate. Photo by Howard Bryman.

Adjusting the brew temperature is also possible by refreshingly analog means. With the basket docked up closer to the 18-hole stainless steel showerhead (which consistently spread water to every inch of the brew bed), Ratio says the brew temperature is a steady 201F.

With the basket on the carafe, allowing a couple inches of open air between the spout and the grounds, the brew temperature lands closer to 195F, according to Ratio.

Another feature new to the brand is the Four’s dual built-in brew profiles. For larger brews, a single light press of the brew button enacts the main profile that delivers a 100-gram bloom pour, pauses for 30 seconds, pulse-pours to the 2-minute mark and shifts into “continuous flow” until all the water is gone.

Smaller brews benefit from pressing and holding the brew button for three seconds to start the brew, triggering a bloom pour of only 60 grams followed by the same rest of the cycle.

The machine accepts standard 8-12-cup basket-shaped paper filters — a common grocery store item. It plays just as nicely with Kalita 185 (the larger size) paper filters, which is an item often found in the cupboards of manual brewing fans, and Ratio is working on releasing its own “faster flow” paper filters that are optimized for the Four.

Fun for Geeks, Too

As a manual pour-over devotee who’s also a chronic over-thinker, I quickly learned to relish the handoff of water-pouring duties to the Four. A vast selection of brewers will fit between the Four’s base and showerhead, either on a mug or on a carafe, which encouraged me to revisit some older conical brewers that I’d gravitated away from in favor of more forgiving basket-shaped brewers.

The Ratio Four comes with a hand-blown, smoke-tinted glass carafe. Photo by Howard Bryman.

My Phoenix 70 conical brewer, for example, had become more of an art piece than a brewer as it languished on a shelf over the years. The Four brought it right back to high esteem for the juicy cup it yielded, as well as its fun look on the machine. My daily driver — an Origami brewer with Kalita paper filter — also delivered excellent cups via the Four.

Key to this joy is the Four’s flexible reservoir system. The attractive crystal-clear standalone cylinder is light enough to detach one-handedly from its weighted base; it’s easy to shuttle to the sink to fill up; and best of all, it’s an excellent size and shape for setting on a scale to weigh out exactly the volume of water for a specific pour-over recipe.

The Ratio Four includes a new reservoir system that attaches to the brewer. Photo by Howard Bryman.

You can also be confident that every drop will be delivered to the coffee for that recipe, as the pump revs up at the end of each brew to purge the line free of standing water between brews. When not in use the whole system is empty and dry.

Small Compromises

There’s a lot of plastic on the Four, including the case, basket and reservoir. This may be off-putting for some, in principle, although in practice, I found the materials to be a worthwhile compromise for the price, given that in all cases there are also benefits.

The matte-black sheen of its case is almost indistinguishable from metal at a glance. The reservoir is made of the same stuff as Nalgene water bottles, therefore certainly safe enough for its short stints in contact with water, plus it won’t break if you drop it. The brew basket, while lightweight, benefits from the material’s effective heat-trapping properties. Ratio also has a ceramic brewer for the Four in development, and I’ll be excited to try that out when it’s ready.

Meanwhile, one might think that a brewer of smaller cups would be smaller than its larger-batch forebears in every way, but the Four is not. If cabinets were the main obstacle to your ownership of a Ratio machine, you can comfortably now join the club. However, for cramped corners where surface area is what counts, the Four may not fit everywhere that the Six does, as its footprint is ¾-inch wider.

The Ratio Four Coffee Machine has a small footprint and will work in most kitchens. Photo by Howard Bryman.

Users willing to forgo the Four’s lovely hand-blown smoke-tinted glass carafe in favor of brewing straight into a mug (one less item to clean) will need a leg up. The distance from the spout to the brew bed in some setups may result in undue turbulence and potentially water cooling. I use a tiny bean storage tin as a stepstool for brewing directly into an Origami brewer atop my standard mug, though my hope is that Ratio will develop a matching brew pedestal to free me from this kludge.

And finally, one of the hallmarks of both the Eight and the Six designs is the wondrous and calming thermodynamic spectacle of water gurgling up a vertical glass tube on its way to the coffee. The Four looks great, sounds nice, brews fantastically, but offers no such theater.

Four For Sure

That said, the space I cleared on the brew bar to accommodate the Four will remain clear until the company has machines fully in stock and I can pick one up for keeps. I’m excited for this to become my new daily brewer, and I can offer no higher praise than that.

Pros:

• Visually appealing
• Simple, fun and flexible use
• Excellent brewing performance
• Two built-in brew profiles
• Fair price

Cons:

• Lightweight materials
• Slightly wide footprint
• Could use a pedestal for mugs

The Ratio Four Coffee Machine can be purchased on the Ratio Website.  Coffee Review does not receive commissions or referral fees for any sales that may be generated from our equipment reviews. However, in some cases, products were reviewed as part of our fee-based service offerings.

The post Equipment Review: Ratio Four Coffee Machine appeared first on Coffee Review.

The colonial town of Antigua Guatemala, center of the Antigua coffee growing region, with the Arch of Santa Catalina and Agua volcano.

There was a lot of soulful, old-fashioned coffee pleasure to be had among the 38 single-origin Guatemala coffees we tested for this month’s report, along with a few subtle sensory shocks and surprises. Given the waves of experimentation with processing methods pursued by Central American coffee producers over the last couple of years, I thought we might need to finesse our way through trade-offs between flamboyant fruit-forward anaerobic ferment experiments and classic washed coffee tradition. But only one explicit anaerobic-fermented sample showed up, and that one was rather subdued and unexceptional.

Does that mean the highest-rated among the remaining 37 Guatemalas we tested were predictable or boring? Not at all. Partly because the other great determinant of originality in coffee character, tree variety, is very much in play here. Among the ten top-rated, 91+ Guatemalas we tested, five were produced from trees of the celebrated Geisha variety, the cultivar that transformed specialty coffee history when its grandly structured, floral and cocoa-toned cup emerged in the Best of Panama green coffee competition in 2004. True, the five Geishas represented in this month’s cupping are not as intense and startlingly distinctive as were those early Panama Geishas. Nevertheless, these Guatemala Geishas were more than distinctive enough to infuse the classic balance of washed-process coffees with floral complexity and sweet, juicy brightness. This fusion is particularly clear in two top-rated coffees from familiar Taiwan roasters, the GK Coffee Guatemala El Injerto Malawi Geisha Washed (95) and the Kakalove Guatemala Washed Finca La Hermosa Gesha Peaberry (94). Both deliver classic pleasure with a distinct Geisha lift. (The El Injerto Malawi Geisha, by the way, is produced from seed of a strain of the Geisha variety that has long been grown in the East African country of Malawi, independent from the Panama-grown variety that has created such a stir elsewhere in the coffee world.)

El Injerto is a distinguished Huehuetenango-region farm that produced two of the coffees reviewed this month. Courtesy of Euphora Coffee.

Two Natural-Process Geishas

The impact of Geisha as a cup-transforming tree variety was bolstered almost from the beginning by processing experiments aimed at intensifying its already striking character. Two of the Geishas we review this month were processed by the natural method, the ancient, now updated practice of drying coffee in the whole fruit.

These two samples clearly reveal the contrasting directions taken by the contemporary natural-process cup. The Bonlife Guatemala Finca La Linea Gesha (93) embodies the now familiar style of natural: sweet, lushly fruit-toned, chocolate-inclined, a style often patronized by purists as “fruit bomb.” What this term misses is the fact that there are successful fruit bombs and less successful fruit bombs, and this month’s Bonlife Finca La Linea, in our view, can be counted as a successful one. The fruit tones are ripe though not overripe, and the structure is plush and juicy but free of shadow taint.

Moving in the opposite direction, the Euphora Coffee El Injerto Legendary Geisha (94) is hardly recognizable as a natural: it could be a particularly lush washed-process coffee. Rather than plushly sweet, it is richly sweet-tart, with a deep, ringing acidity.

Lime and Herb

Finally, the Geisha character displays an unusual twisty, vaguely margarita-like edge in the washed-process Kafe Coffee Roastery Guatemala Antigua Bella Carmona Geisha (92). Here the Geisha flowers are freesia-like and herby, the citrus an unusual lime.

Now to Guatemala Coffees Not Named Geisha (or Gesha)

Specialty coffee traditionalists who associate the Guatemala cup with a deep, vibrantly low-toned character and chocolate- and nut-toned nuance will also find pleasure and support in the results of this cupping. The Handlebar Guatemala Bella Carmona (93) in particular forgoes the Geisha edge for more traditional tree varieties, netting an impressive version of a familiar style Guatemala cup at an affordable price. Produced from trees of the Bourbon and Caturra varieties, it is a spot-on classic Guatemala of the old school: vibrant but low-toned, chocolaty, with orange and floral complication.

Luis Pedro Zelaya of Finca Bella Carmona in Antigua, Guatemala. Courtesy of Handlebar Coffee.

For some years now the coffee producers and technicians of the world have been on the lookout for another under-the-radar variety bombshell like the Geisha, with some success (in Colombia Sidra and Chiroso; worldwide, plantings of Kenya’s SL-28), though based on our experience at Coffee Review none of these recently popularized varieties exhibit near the startlingly original character of the original Panama Geisha. Another direction in the new variety search has been exploration of the sensory potential of varieties with unusual bean size and shape. Two such coffees appeared and showed fairly well in this month’s cupping. The Marago-Pache (a large-beaned hybrid of the huge-beaned Maragogype and the Typica-related Pache) from Torque Coffees scored 91 for its delicate, subtly structured cup. A more radically different new variety is the Willoughby’s Guatemala El Socorro Laurina (91). Laurina is different in at least three ways: different bean shape (small and pointy), different tree shape (cone-shaped, resembling a cross between a coffee tree and a Christmas tree), and different in caffeine content: Laurina beans deliver about half as much caffeine as typical Arabica beans. Laurina is a mutant of Bourbon first found growing on Reunion Island (previously Isle of Bourbon), leading to its alternative name, Bourbon Pointu. In the cup we found it quietly distinctive, with savory-edged chocolate and deeply stated floral notes we associated with rose.

Hybrid Varieties, Subtle Processing, Fine Cup

For me perhaps the most original and noteworthy coffee in the cupping did not come from Geisha or any of the other rediscovered and fashionable varieties, but instead from disease-resistant hybrids that incorporate Robusta in their genetics. The Coffea Guatemala Chich’upao (93) was produced from trees of the Costa Rica 90, Parainema and Sarchimor varieties, all members of the taste-suspect Catimor family of cultivars. I can only assume that the refined processing method deployed by the producers, Café de Chichupac, a cooperative of small-holding producers in Rabinal, Guatemala, carried the day and the cup. The processing method involved sealing the whole coffee fruit in nylon bags for two days before it was depulped and dried with skin and pulp removed but fruit flesh intact, this last step making it technically a variation on red-honey processing.

Regardless of processing name, these villagers produced a splendid coffee in a classic Central America mode: gentle, deeply complex, and quite pure. It was achieved with the support and advice of Coffea Guatemala, a small roaster and café in the famous colonial town of Antigua, Guatemala.

Coffee and History

The other reason the Coffea Chich’upao is remarkable for me is its relationship to the social history of Guatemala, a country with a long and painful history of strife between an elite of mainly European heritage and a large population of indigenous people, mostly of Mayan ethnicity (an estimated 51 percent of the total Guatemalan population). Coffee production is, of course, one avenue through which development agencies and other progressive organizations (including businesses like Coffea Guatemala) attempt to give support and voice to indigenous villagers and small-holding producers.

Sebastian Chen of Café De Chichupac cooperative, producer of the Coffea Guatemala Chich’upao. Courtesy of Coffea Guatemala.

The municipality in which the Chich’upaq coffee was produced, Rabinal, carries particular importance in the history of indigenous people in Guatemala. Rabinal Achí is a Maya theatrical play written in the Kʼicheʼ language and performed annually in Rabinal. It is one of the few performance pieces surviving from before Spanish colonization. Rabinal, unfortunately, is also the site of the infamous murders from 1980 to around 1985 of at least 5,000 Maya villagers by the right-wing military government of Efrain Rios Montt during the 40-year-long Guatemalan Civil War.

Another attractive option for the socially conscious coffee buyer is the Wonderstate Organic Guatemala Tojquia (92), produced by farmer Porfirio Velasquez on his small farm of seven acres from standard tree varieties and fastidiously processed by the traditional washed method. Temperate fruits (cherry, pear) in particular weave through its classic cocoa-toned balance. This is the only certified organic-grown coffee among the ten reviewed this month, and Wonderstate has a long and distinguished record of support for environmental and social causes and issues.

Porfirio Velasquez, producer of Wonderstate Coffee’s Guatemala Tojquia, on his seven-acre Huehuetenango farm. Courtesy of Nick Brehany

Famous Farms, Renowned Growing Regions

Other coffees reviewed this month were produced by larger farms, most either in the valley surrounding the town of Antigua Guatemala or in the mountains of Huehuetenango Department near the border with Chiapas, Mexico. Finca Injerto, a third-generation farm in Huehuetenango, is among the most admired Central American coffee estates and the source of two of the three top-rated reviewed coffees: the GK Coffee Malawi Geisha Washed (95) and the svelte natural-processed Euphora Legendary Gesha (94). Finca Vista Hermosa, a third-generation Huehuetenango farm owned by the Edwin Martinez family, produced the unusual Marago-Pache variety from Torque Coffee (91).

Finca El Socorro, source of Willoughby’s very rare, low-caffeine Laurina variety (91), boasts a winning record in Cup of Excellence green coffee competitions as well as a line of coffees from rare tree varieties like the Laurina. Finca Bella Carmona is a green coffee brand associated with a group of Antigua farms that appears here twice, once with the 93-rated Handlebar Guatemala and again with the Kafe Coffee Roastery Bella Carmona Geisha (92). Finally, the Gesha Peaberry from Kakalove Cafe (94) was produced by the relatively new, medium-sized farm Finca La Hermosa in the Acatenango region near the famous volcano of the same name.

Timing and Turnout

The turnout of coffees this month was less robust than usual, possibly because our publication schedule forced us to run the report a bit too early and some of the finest, high-altitude Guatemalas may have not yet made it to the roasters. The timing also may have contributed to a modest fall-off in overall ratings, since it is possible that some of the lower-rated submissions not reviewed here were from last year’s crop.

Nevertheless, this month’s ten 91-plus coffees are varied and powerful expressions of the Guatemala coffee genius, reflecting both its great classic tradition as well as subtle enhancements of new tree varieties and processing innovations.

Managing Editor Kim Westerman and Associate Editor Jason Sarley contributed to this report.

The post Guatemala Coffees 2024: Classic with a Geisha Boost appeared first on Coffee Review.

The OXO Rapid Brewer is designed to quickly and easily brew both hot and cold coffee concentrate. Photo by Howard Bryman

Whether for cocktails, frappes, baked goods or speedy mornings, coffee-as-ingredient is big business these days. The number of bottled concentrated coffee products is on the rise in stores and online, and with the Rapid Brewer, housewares brand OXO delivers a simple means for anyone to create their own fresh hot or cold concentrate using any coffee at home, in minutes.

For aficionados who prioritize quality over convenience, the Rapid Brewer is also a fine choice, capable of producing a nuanced presentation of any bean or blend dialed in on the device.

It easily achieves OXO’s stated goal of brewing in a hurry. And for those willing to explore beyond the bounds of OXO’s instructions, there’s also remarkable potential for excellent longer-style brews through an innovative method using the Rapid Brewer. At $39.99, with all these options plus its lightweight, durable and portable construction, there’s almost no reason not to give it a try.

The OXO Rapid Brewer is lightweight, durable and portable. Photo by Howard Bryman

It’s not without its faults, though these are easily overcome — chief among them being that not only will OXO not tell you how to do the longer brews, but elements of the Rapid Brewer’s design are actually a hindrance to this potential.

We’ll dive more deeply into the brewer’s strengths — and its secret superpowers — in a minute. First, I reached out to OXO to learn more about the brewer as it stands, including where it came from and why.

OXO Then & Now

A classic American story of ingenuity and success, OXO was founded in New York in 1990 by the father and son team of Sam and John Farber, whose goal was to create easy-to-use and ergonomically pleasant kitchen tools.

The Farber family eventually sold OXO to the General Housewares Corporation, which, in 2004, sold it again to Helen of Troy, another family-founded American company born in 1968 in El Paso, Texas, where its operations headquarters remain to this day.

Via email, OXO told me the Rapid Brewer was developed over a recent period of 18 months through a collaborative inter-departmental process involving product engineers, marketing staff, industrial designers, coffee consultants, and others. The leader of the dedicated team overseeing the project was Associate Engineering Director Chris Diskin.

Diskin, a New York-based engineer, has been rising in the ranks at OXO for more than eight years. The company said he “has been instrumental in the creation of many of our coffee products,” adding, “We also collaborated with expert baristas to ensure the brewer meets the highest standards of coffee brewing.”

Indeed, OXO has proven that it takes coffee seriously. Its electric coffee makers are certified by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), and the company makes both manual and electric grinders; its Cold Brew Coffee Maker is beloved by critics and customers alike, and the company also makes the Pour-Over Coffee Maker with Water Tank, a dead simple tool for effective manual brewing at home. Why make another manual brewer?

“We wanted to create a new manual brewer that could deliver an even more versatile and rapid brewing experience,” OXO told me. “The Rapid Brewer offers more versatility since it can be used to make cold brew and hot brew — and it can brew concentrate, which can be used to make lattes, cocktails, or other specialty drinks.”

Quick And Sweet, Right Out Of The Box

Intuitive and forgiving, the brewer is easy to use, clean and store. With coffee ground a bit coarser than espresso-fine and a good tamp with the included tamper, a 5-minute cold brew in the Rapid Brewer is a smooth and aromatic treat. More time might be better, but five minutes gets it done.

The water chamber (and its carafe) is small but allows you to achieve a reasonably latte-esque experience. Photo by Howard Bryman

The concentrated hot brew it produces stands up well as a “bypass brew,” i.e., something akin to an Americano with additional hot or cold water added after brewing.

Instant gratification fans will also love how a splash of cool water on top of the hot brew not only fleshes out the drink to fill a mug but also immediately drops the temperature into the optimal sipping zone — no need to wait for that first morning cup to cool.

Adding hot or cold plant-based or animal milk yields a reasonably latte-esque experience, and there’s certainly no harm in quaffing the Rapid Brewer’s straight shot. It’s less intense and less demanding than espresso, and I had multiple coffees glow in this preparation with a vibrant punch of flavor and the full body typical of brews through metal filters.

Great In A Sprint, But Not Without Hurdles

Of the five-piece system comprising the pump, water chamber, filter chamber, tamper and carafe, one piece — the pump — cannot be submerged. As it is threaded onto the top while brewing, it takes some mindfulness to remember to remove it and not simply place the entire apparatus in the sink after brewing.

The OXO Rapid Brewer’s pump cannot be submerged in water. Photo by Howard Bryman

Meanwhile, the only piece that does not thread or otherwise attach to the system is the carafe, and woe be to the user who misplaces it. OXO designed the Rapid Brewer to rest securely on its included carafe — and only this carafe.

I’ve tried positioning the brewer atop a wide variety of mugs, tumblers and cups, and it’s somehow either wobbly or too big or small for almost all of them. (Tune into Coffee Review’s Instagram for a simple hack that helps fit the Rapid Brewer onto more mugs!)

Sized specifically to accommodate OXO’s concentrated recipes, the carafe is also quite small and, therefore, prevents experimentation with larger recipes.

The Rapid Brewer’s Secret Superpower

As luck would have it, the brewer happens to sit securely enough atop my favorite red porcelain mug. With this higher-capacity receptacle, the brewer’s real superpower reveals itself to be neither its speed nor its cold capabilities.

It’s actually leagues more versatile than even OXO would have you believe: It’s a zero-bypass pour-over press!

Beyond the confines of OXO’s instructions and the Rapid Brewer’s tiny carafe, my favorite way to use it shifts the baseline recipe up to a coarser grind (in the mid-to-larger end of typical single-cup manual pour-over range) and a pour-over-style coffee-to-water ratio of 1:16, or thereabouts.

It starts with a bloom pour, a swirl, and then the rest of the water is added and drips until the time feels right to secure the pump and bring a fast and gently pressurized end to the brew. (Tune into Coffee Review’s YouTube channel for the recipe and a demo of the Rapid Brewer as a combination zero-bypass percolation brewer with a uniquely pressurized finale.)

Pressed For Success

Particularly in these long-form brews, but also right out of the box, I’m finding that bright, juicy, vividly aromatic and full-bodied brews are easy to achieve with the OXO Rapid Brewer, a tool I’m genuinely excited to continue exploring.

Pros:

• Great for hot or cold brew
• Highly versatile
• Easy to use, clean and store
• Affordable

Cons:

• Pump is not waterproof (cannot be submerged)
• Carafe is small and risks being lost
• Lacks compatibility with other mugs/receptacles

The OXO Rapid Brewer can be purchased on the OXO website.  Coffee Review does not receive commissions or referral fees for any sales that may be generated from our equipment reviews. However, in some cases, products were reviewed as part of our fee-based service offerings.

See our hands-on video of the OXO Rapid Brewer.

The post Equipment Review: OXO Rapid Brewer appeared first on Coffee Review.

The Outin Nano portable espresso maker. Photo by Howard Bryman.

In the competitive market of portable espresso brewers, the Outin Nano, a lighthouse-shaped device with a built-in pump and onboard heat, aims to be a beacon of both convenience and consistency.

Most gadgets designed for brewing espresso on the go are manually pumped and cannot heat water. In smaller handheld formats, especially, this tends to mean a herky-jerky flow as brew pressure drops between manual compressions. The need to heat water externally further sinks the prospect of a few special sips in the wild to an undertaking just too cumbersome and potentially wasteful to be worth it.

With its ability not only to bring a small and precise amount of water up to a consistent and brew-worthy temperature but also to automatically deliver that water at high, even pressure through a bed of finely ground coffee (or a capsule) at the single press of one button and in a package that fits in a backpack water bottle sleeve, the Nano blazes a new trail.

Espresso mise en place: The Outin Nano setup. Photo by Howard Bryman.

Meanwhile, at home, any espresso machine worth its salt rarely costs less than several hundred dollars. Outin sells the Nano for $149.99 and the important Basket Plus accessory for $39.90 — a compelling bottom line for a point of entry to espresso no matter where one intends to brew it.

A Growing Startup

An independent startup founded in 2021, Outin’s mission is to make fresh espresso easier to enjoy in the great outdoors.

Currently headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Outin launched the Nano in January 2023 and has fine-tuned it over several iterations since then. A full team dedicated to the Nano’s continued development and support now rounds out the ranks at Outin, which has also brought in dozens of baristas and coffee professionals for feedback and ideas.

Outin representatives are also showing up in person with booths at trade shows, including the 2024 SCA Expo in Chicago this past April. In June, at the World of Coffee event in Copenhagen, Denmark, Outin was a sponsor of the World Latte Art Championship. Clearly, the company is making every effort not only to appeal to the backpacker set but also to build a brand and products that earn the respect of specialty coffee aficionados and professionals.

The Nano Experience

The appreciably sturdy and waterproof plastic fuselage of the Nano instilled confidence from the moment I unboxed it and gave it an initial rinse. Brewing with grounds rather than capsules brings a couple of the Nano’s included additional bits and bobs into play that are somewhat fiddly at first, and could be confusing for novices, but as the workflow grows familiar, it’s really pretty simple.

Outin provided the Basket Plus accessory for my tests, and for the more experienced or ambitious espresso lover, this is a must-have. The Plus bumps capacity up to a maximum of 18 grams of ground coffee, and as an erstwhile user of traditional espresso equipment, I can scarcely see myself falling in love with anything that holds less.

The steel basket on the right is the “Basket Plus” a must-have accessory, compared with the stock basket on the left. Photo by Howard Bryman.

At the base of the steel Plus basket spreads a traditional array of filter holes, after which, like a spouted portafilter, another layer of steel directs the stream through a single wide hole toward the cup. The quality of espresso and crema are largely dependent on the bean, dose and grind, although Outin asserts that the slight resistance of this constrained exit flow provides some additional stability to the brewing pressure.

Another worthwhile accessory (sold separately for $49.90) is the Nano Dual Stand, a handsome, lightweight walnut holder that transforms the Nano from backcountry brew baton to an attractive stationary brew station. Particularly in my crowded coffee corner where space is limited, I enjoy its look and functionality — it doubles as a pour-over station, holding a pour-over brewer over a mug for drip coffee brewing.

The Nano brewer itself performed flawlessly, and yet the Nano isn’t necessarily for everyone. Its settings can’t be adjusted, nor can a user know exactly what pressure or temperature it’s applying or when. Dialing in a coffee on a black box like the Nano is consequently more about the Nano than the coffee.

The Outin Nano portable espresso maker performs exceptionally well for its price category. Photo by Howard Bryman.

The standard procedure (with the Basket Plus) will be familiar to anyone who’s prepared espresso before. A gram scale is helpful for dosing consistency and precision, and a good grinder is also critical for getting the best results.

I weigh out 18 grams of whole beans, grind finely and load the grounds into the basket through the included dosing funnel. I stir with a WDT (Weiss Distribution Technique) tool to evenly distribute the grounds and break up any clumps, tap the basket on the counter to settle the fluffed-up grounds, press it with the tamper, seal the basket with its cap, thread it onto the Nano, pour some water in the top and press the button.

Outin also sells extra baskets, so the option is there to handle all these steps in advance and carry a few additional prepped-and-ready baskets for brewing on the go.

Cleanup is simple as the coffee is fully isolated within the basket, so the body of the Nano needs only a slight rinse after each brew. One can use the bottom of the included plastic cup for knocking the spent coffee puck loose from the basket, making it easy to toss into a compost bin, and all the other brewing pieces rinse clean in seconds. The Nano’s accessories, meanwhile, do not entirely escape some kvetching. The stand, which isn’t required for brewing but is a nice option, is potentially delicate; a replacement shipped promptly by Outin has held up nicely, but the first one I tested broke during normal use. (The company says it’s developing a sturdier version.)

The Basket Plus’s included single-wire WDT tool is rather anemic; it works, but multi-needle tools work much better. The metal funnel and self-leveling tamper included with the Plus are thoughtful and well-made essentials, but because the tamper is a fixed-depth device, the dose and grind remain the only variables affecting puck density. And the multilayer construction of the filter basket tends to hold a tiny bit of water after rinsing, which leads one to wonder whether it’s ever fully clean or dry.

An Overall Winner

These minor quibbles aside, when paired with a fitting coffee, grind and dose, the Nano undeniably cranks out quality espresso shots.

For beginners and for capsule fans, the Nano is a slam dunk. The basic kit is fun, durable, easy to learn and as packable as a flashlight. The Basket Plus can later provide an educational platform to delve deeper into the craft and yield even more satisfying results.

Pros

● Portable and convenient
● Also appropriate for home use
● Capable of producing very good espresso
● Affordable
● Self-heating
● Compatible with standard-size Nespresso capsules in addition to ground coffee

Cons

● Settings can’t be adjusted
● Requires the Basket Plus for best experience
● Minor quibbles with extras and add-ons

The Outin Nano Portable Espresso Maker can be purchased at the Outin website.  Coffee Review does not receive commissions or referral fees for any sales that may be generated from our equipment reviews. However, in some cases, products were reviewed as part of our fee-based service offerings.

The post Equipment Review: Outin Nano Portable Espresso Maker appeared first on Coffee Review.

NBA player Jimmy Butler launched his luxury coffee brand, BigFace, in the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo Credit: Getty Images

Our notions of celebrity in the U.S. have expanded over the decades. Being a Hollywood icon is no longer the only gateway to stardom, as evidenced by the growing pool of “influencers” from many walks of life. From YouTube trendsetters to musicians powerful enough to tip various political scales, the minimum basic requirements are a smartphone, a bit of charisma and an audience. Many household names have entered the coffee space, which, by our reckoning, is quite a mysterious landscape to them. Most celebrity-branded coffees we tasted were so underwhelming that the handful that rose above a score of 87 seemed like small miracles.

At Coffee Review, our goal is to help you find wonderful coffees to drink, coffees we can recommend wholeheartedly. As such, our reports lean heavily into praise wherever it is warranted. Instead of writing negative reviews, we tend to skip over coffees that don’t perform well on the cupping table. But when a growing subcategory of the retail coffee market is getting by on the fumes of marketing dollars and adjacency to famous people alone, it’s time to blow the whistle: With very few exceptions, celebrity-branded coffees are more hype than haute.

The Star-Studded (Ahem) Lineup

We cupped 30 coffees currently available to consumers that have some overt relationship to a celebrity, broadly defined as a well-known public figure. Of those, eight scored 87 or higher, while the range for the remaining 22 was 78 to 86. (For us, anything below 80 is commodity-grade coffee, rather than specialty.) Two of the top three are roaster collaborations with chefs, and the remainder of the top eight range from an athlete-driven brand to an iconic fashion designer’s coffee to two actual bona fide Hollywood stars who drink the stuff and have lent their names to brands. But how much do any of these high-profile folks really know about coffee? And how involved with these brands are they, anyway?

The Relationship Between Quality and Transparency

It might stand to reason that transparency and quality are often correlated; in this context, it proves to be true. The majority of the celebrity-blessed coffees we cupped were as generic as can be — not in terms of the packaging and branding but the beans inside the catchy (often kitschy) bags, boxes and canisters. For people who love coffee, the story of its origin is part of the pleasure, and if a brand doesn’t highlight the story of the coffee beyond its country of origin, then there’s likely “no there there,” to quote Gertrude Stein. Also, most of these brands are ghost-roasted, i.e., “white-label” roasted by an unnamed company for the brand. Those coffees whose roasters are named on the packaging tended to score higher, which makes sense, as their brands are also on the line. The higher-scoring coffees, by and large, also had backstories on roasters’ websites, from specific origin information to, in some cases, details about the farmers who grew the coffees. And the relationship between the roaster and the celebrity, in these cases, is also more transparent.

Eight Celebrity-Branded Coffees We Can (More or Less) Recommend

Clear winners at the top of our list are two coffees (transparently) roasted by Equator Coffees. And their respective attached celebrities are chefs: Thomas Keller, arguably one of the most highly regarded chefs in the world, and Brandon Jew, who’s part of the cadre of younger U.S. chefs making waves.

Chef Brandon Jew visits Equator Coffees to choose the coffee for Double Happiness, a single origin coffee from Ethiopia. Courtesy of Equator Coffees

Double Happiness by Chef Brandon Jew (93) is an Equator-roasted coffee in the company’s Chef’s Collection. Double Happiness is a symbol that represents joy and unity, and proceeds from sales of this coffee benefit Cut Fruit Collective, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization whose work supports Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. It’s a classic washed Ethiopia with notes of bright stone fruit, balanced acidity and rich cocoa nib notes. This was Equator’s first chef collaboration that featured a single-origin coffee rather than a blend.

Perhaps the most highly regarded chef in the U.S., Thomas Keller partnered with Equator Coffees to create the “Sense of Urgency Blend” to celebrate The French Laundry’s 30th anniversary. Courtesy of Equator Coffee

There are five Thomas Keller-Equator coffee collaborations, and the one we review here is the Sense of Urgency Blend (92), named for the sign that hangs under a clock at The French Laundry, Keller’s three-Michelin-starred restaurant. Keller says, “I ask my team to come to work with this sense each day, and it goes beyond just making sure we are prepared and ready to serve. It’s about speed, but it also means investing in what we do with a sense of importance.” The coffee is a blend of Sumatra (Koperasi Ketiara Cooperative), Colombia (La Rosa Women’s Group) and Kenya (smallholding farmers), roasted to medium-dark to highlight the blend’s sweet earthiness and floral nature.

Ted Stachura, Equator’s Director of Coffee, says Equator’s relationship with Keller goes back to the late 90s and that this coffee is designed to celebrate The French Laundry’s 30^th anniversary. One dollar from each bag of this blend sold will go to OLE Health, which has been providing high-quality health care in and around Napa since 1972.

Bigface Coffee is NBA player Jimmy Butler’s luxury coffee brand. Photo courtesy of Kim Westerman

Also in at 92 is BigFace’s Burundi Heza Station, whose presentation is about as blingy as can be in the world of coffee. BigFace is pro basketball player Jimmy Butler’s lifestyle brand, whose genesis dates back to the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, when Butler made coffee in his hotel room and charged fellow players $20 a cup. Akin to the heavy bottles of reinforced glass that house certain $350 cult California Cabs, this mere 8 ounces of coffee is similarly overpackaged in a large, thick, shiny silver box with a raised typeface for the logo (a sort of smiley face cup of coffee) and brand name in all caps, and a label with tasting notes and a QR code for “full analysis,” which just means information about the producer, farm, processing — and, oddly, geographical coordinates. Inside the reusable box is a thick, translucent bag of coffee with the coffee details repeated. While the brand has collaborated with various roasters, it’s not clear who roasts its core products.

This is a nice, spice-toned coffee with notes of nutmeg and baking chocolate, but given that other roasters sell the same coffee for $20 to $26 for 10 ounces — and this one retails at $40 for 8 ounces — it’s probably safe to say that you’re paying a lot for this packaging and virtual proximity to Butler. Make of it what you will. It certainly is a twist on the concept of “startup.”

A Legit Women-Farmed 91 From Sofia Vergara

Colombian actor Sofia Vergara launched her brand of women-farmed coffees, Dios Mio, in 2024. Photo credit: Dios Mio Coffee

Colombian-American actress and CoverGirl model Sofia Vergara sought to find smallholding women farmers in her homeland, and they are profiled on the Dios Mio website, Vergara’s online coffee outpost. While the three coffees — light, medium and dark — have no obvious differentiation beyond roast, we do know that they’re all women-farmed and roasted in Miami Shores, Florida. The medium-roast version is crisply chocolaty, sweetly nutty, and quite respectable in terms of balance and aromatics. At $14.99 for 12 ounces, it’s also a great value. (The company sells a lot of ground coffee; don’t buy that, as it will likely arrive stale given that oxygen in the whole-bean bag we tested was at 13.9 percent. It should be at zero percent, or close to it.)

Two Solid 90s

Kyle McLachlan, of Twin Peaks and Sex and the City fame, is known as a wine and coffee lover, and his partnership with Walla Walla Roastery, called Brown Bear Melange (aka Kyle’s Blend) is just $14 for a full pound of coffee (which makes one consider how much the farmers were paid), and it’s a surprisingly rich, chocolaty dark roast with little bitter downside. Its sweet smokiness is an old-school pleasure that also works well in cappuccino format. Pro-tip: Brew an extra-strong batch, say a 12:1 water-to-coffee ratio, chill it down, and add ice and whole milk for a stout summer afternoon pick-me-up. There are photos of the actor with the roasters, which makes it seem like he really does drink this coffee. It’s better branding than the aspirational bling effect, for sure.

Actor Kyle McLachlan is well-known for his love of coffee, and he collaborated with Walla Walla Roastery to create Brown Bear Melange AKA “Kyle’s Blend.” Photo credit: Walla Walla Roastery

On the flipside of McLachlan’s neo-noir screen image is Mr. Polo himself, Ralph Lauren, the legendary classic American designer whose eponymous brand is perhaps most notable for the invention of the polo shirt, which was, is and always will be synonymous with “preppy” fashion. His empire entered the coffee space when it opened its first café in New York in 2014, and the branding — from bags to swag — is on point: austere, regal, with a font treatment that evokes the 1950s East Coast sailing culture. The coffee, too, delivers exactly that vibe. While we don’t know what’s in the bag (besides coffees from Central and South America), we know it was roasted by La Colombe, and that alone — naming the roaster — further legitimizes the concept. Ralph’s Roast tastes like excellent diner coffee — briskly sweet, nut-toned, gently earthy, and just dandy black or doctored up. It’s a versatile cup that pleases a wide range of palates in its un-fancy but familiar profile.

Iconic American fashion designer Ralph Lauren has his own line of coffees. Photo credit: Ralph’s Coffee

A Middlin’ Trio: Celebrity Brands That Could Have Done Better With Their Resources

It’s not as if scores in the range of 83 to 88 are bad; if these coffees were an English paper, they’d earn Bs. It’s just that with the kinds of resources that folks like Robert Downey, Jr. and Emma Chamberlain have, forgive me for wanting a bit more effort in the quality department.

Downey Jr.’s brand, Happy, which he co-founded with Craig Dubitsky of Method cleaning products, seems like a vague concept. The website lists the young, smiling team members (first names only) who make Happy happen. It’s true that the company also “partners with” the National Alliance on Mental Illness, but nowhere have I found what that actually means. (Emails to the brand were not returned.) What really bugs me is the packaging. I don’t mind the idea of pitching coffee as part of a happy life, but the big plastic bins these coffees are packaged in don’t really seem in line with Happy’s stated sustainability efforts. Are they plant-based? I don’t think so. The Magnificent Medium Roast (88) — said to be, like all the brand’s coffees, roasted by “the world’s largest vertically integrated coffee roaster” — is briskly sweet, gently nutty and wood framed. Just fine, but not likely to evoke paroxysms of joy.

Robert Downey, Jr. and Craig Dubitsky’s Happy Coffee is available at Target stores and Sprouts markets. Photo credit: Happy Coffee

Emma Chamberlain is a YouTube phenom clearly devoted to her coffee and its accessories. The coffee itself is …. meh. One of the whole-bean coffees in her line, Social Dog (87), is a dark-roast blend of coffee from Peru and Nicaragua pitched as a medium roast. It’s a gently drying, sweetly nutty cup, but there’s not much else to it beyond the absence of defects. And while Chamberlain’s name and face are all over the branding, it’s not at all clear who does the actual work of the business. She does have the recipes down if you’re into such things as “cinnamon bun lattes.”

Emma Chamberlain is a YouTube influencer with an affinity for coffee. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

We also cupped three Central Perk Coffees, the Friends-themed coffee shop and brand from celeb chef Tom Colicchio. I sure like the guy’s food, but he’s gone far afield with his foray into coffee. The How You Doin’ Blend, which ostensibly has a nice proletariat appeal, scored highest out of the three at 83, i.e., the low end of specialty where cup quality is concerned. Sourced from Colombia and Brazil, it’s like a Brazil-heavy blend, as it is exceedingly nut-toned to the point of monotony, with wood notes that lean more wood pulp than fresh forest.

Chef Tom Coliccio’s coffee shop and online brand are called Central Perk in homage to the television show “Friends.” Photo credit: Central Perk Coffee

Nice Try, But Definitely No Cigar

Two celebrity brands stand out for their lack of care regarding coffee quality, Hanx and Rudy.

We don’t know anyone who doesn’t love Tom Hanks, but his coffee brand, Hanx, is a sad state of sensory affairs. The good news is that, like Paul Newman’s line of products, 100 percent of proceeds go to support worthy causes, in this case, nonprofits serving U.S. military veterans and their families. The bad news is that the coffee isn’t really drinkable. We could only get our hands on the Hanx First Class Joe, whose ground format didn’t help its blind-cupping chances. At a score of 79, we detected defects that prevented us from classifying this one as specialty coffee.

HANK is actor Tom Hanks’ coffee brand that donates 100 percent of profits to organizations supporting veterans and their families. Photo credit: HANX

Rudy’s Coffee, which is Rudy Giuliani’s brand, launched just after he was indicted in Arizona on conspiracy charges to overturn the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. We rated both the Morning Coffee and the Bold Coffee at 78, as they were flat, acrid, burnt and bitter. Forgive our cynicism, but this seems clearly like a money grab, and with Giuliani’s mug (pun intended) taking up three-quarters of the large, two-pound bag space, we think it’s a coffee only a mother (meaning his mother) could love. (Sprudge reported just last month that the roaster responsible for the Rudy’s lineup is also bankrupt.)

Rudy Giuliani launched his eponymous coffee brand shortly after being indicted in Arizona on conspiracy charges to overturn the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. Photo credit: Rudy Coffee

Sigh … Celebrity-Branded Coffees Are Nothing to Write Home About 

It was an interesting exercise to meticulously blind-cup these 30 coffees, but we only found a few to truly recommend. Hopefully, future collabs backed by big bucks will hire coffee professionals to bring better products to market, as well as pay farmers higher prices.

The post Should Serious Coffee Lovers Care About Celebrity-Branded Coffees? appeared first on Coffee Review.

Summer is upon us, and that means one thing for many coffee lovers: cold coffee. It sounds like such a simple beverage, but the number of brew methods and packaging technologies currently on the market, many of them proprietary, make choosing a ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee confusing. We decided to cut a path through the complicated landscape of RTD products in hopes of getting some clarity.

According to a recent report by Allied Market Research, if the $33 billion RTD coffee market keeps pace with its predicted compound annual growth rate of 5 percent, the sector will be worth $53.5 billion by 2032. That’s a whole lot of convenience for the consumers who most demand it: younger people such as Millennial and Gen Z coffee drinkers. But do those same consumers also demand quality? And if so, is it possible to find both convenience and quality in one product? If not, is RTD coffee simply a caffeine-delivery system for those on the go? We at Coffee Review, of course, seek quality coffee above all else, however fast or slow the access.

Of the 44 RTD black coffees we tested for this report, ranging in brew method from classic long-steeped cold brew to hot-brewed and high-tech flash-chilled (often nitrogen-infused), only nine scored 90 or higher. This was a surprising finding given that the quality of small-lot green coffee worldwide seems to be rising each year, along with the quality of high-end retail-roasted specialty coffees, of which we cup hundreds each year. Shouldn’t these RTDs, collectively, have been more impressive by virtue of this alone? RTD coffees are, by their nature, convenient, but one thing we learned is that making a good one is not as simple as choosing a high-quality green coffee.

A Range of Contenders, Only a Handful of Standouts

While roughly 80 percent of the RTDs we tested scored below 90, a full 17 percent of these scored in the mid-to-low-80s on our consumer-facing 100-point scale. It’s difficult to know whether the green coffees used for these lower-scoring RTDs or their production methods were most at fault, but our sensory notes recorded many “off” flavors ranging from sour to overly savory (salty) and bitter to somewhat vegetal. Some of these samples used ostensibly good-quality green coffees, in which case, either the roast profile or the brewing method was likely their downfall, or possibly the specific methods used to transform them into RTD format. In other cases, the green coffee was unnamed, which might’ve been a contributing factor to low scores if the undisclosed coffees were poor in quality.

But let’s focus on the good stuff. Of the nine RTDs we review here, two scored 94; two scored 93; two scored 92; two scored 91 (including a decaf!); and one scored 90. What made these nine rise above the others?

We use slightly different evaluative categories for RTD coffees than we do for both cupping and espresso. We don’t score aroma, a key cupping category (because cold beverages don’t have volatile aromas), but we do test with milk, a key espresso category, as many consumers drink their cold coffees in with-milk preparations. (Our ratio of coffee to cold whole milk was 5:1.) The other categories are acidity, body, flavor and aftertaste. Some successful RTD coffees (usually light-roasted) center on vibrant acidity and are designed for people who will likely drink them black. Others (often darker-roasted) are explicitly focused on low-acid profiles and lend themselves to combining with milk. And some manage to strike a balance that works well both black and with milk.

Two Single-Origin Microlots at 94

The two top-scoring RTDs in this report are variations on the classic cold brew theme, meaning they are brewed cold (rather than brewed hot, then chilled). Both are from roasters in Taiwan, and both are presented in little flask-like whiskey bottles that invoke a single-serving specialness and care. (We tested all coffees blind but were delighted to discover the aesthetically pleasing packaging after scoring.)

Euphora Coffee’s Plumeria is as floral as its name implies, but instead of tropical flowers, we got heady, sultry wisteria notes alongside ginger, citrus zest and ripe stone fruit. While its acidity is high-toned and juicy, adding milk knocks this cold brew out of the park, as all the flavor notes coalesce and harmonize, somehow elevated by the fat carried in on the milk—a perfect 10 in our book. This coffee, a combination of microlots from Costa Rica (one washed and one honey-processed), was brewed simply by immersing the coffee in cold water (at an undisclosed temperature and length of steeping), then filtering.

GK Coffee’s Colombia El Paraiso Lychee Rose Cold Drip, which was brewed in the refrigerator by the slow-drip method over four to six hours at a coffee-to-water ratio of 1:15, starts with a highly pedigreed green coffee grown by Wilton Benitez and processed by the anaerobic thermal shock method (see review for more details about this elaborate multi-step process). Its savory-tart profile is anchored by notes of Asian pear, blood orange, pink peppercorn and pipe tobacco, with a lovely cocoa nib throughline. Adding milk amplifies this RTD’s complex richness.

GK Coffee’s Colombia El Paraiso Lychee Rose Cold Drip tied for the highest score in this month’s RTD report. Courtesy of GK Coffee.

Two Opposite Styles, Each at 93

A single-origin and a thoughtful blend, the former bright and juicy and the latter chocolaty and deep-toned, both land at a solid 93 for their balance and finesse. Four Barrel Coffee’s Halo Hartume Cold Coffee is a light-roast washed Ethiopia that’s brewed hot then chilled quickly without exposure to oxygen before being canned. It’s brightly fruity (think tart guava) and richly floral (lush magnolia) with ballast from baking chocolate, lemon thyme and cedar. It’s fresh, it’s juicy, and taken black, it offers an elemental experience of this origin in an RTD format.

Olympia Coffee’s Cold Brew is manufactured by Cool Crafted Beverage in a proprietary process that involves steeping a precise dose of coffee in mineral-enriched cool or room-temperature water, then canning. The green coffee used is Olympia’s medium-roast Morning Sun blend of coffees from Latin America, which has deep-toned notes of chocolate and hazelnut against a backdrop of vanilla-like florals and complex citrus, perhaps the closest thing we tasted to a “classic” cold brew, in that it is even-keeled and solid both black and with milk.

Olympia Coffee’s Cold Brew scored 93 in this report. Courtesy of Olympia Coffee

A New Technology and a Precision-Tuned Classic Method, Both at 92

Of the 44 coffees we tested, 10 were manufactured by **Snapchill, a company that seems to be on a rapid growth trajectory, partnering with specialty coffee roasters to produce custom RTDs under co-branded labels. The roasted coffee is brewed hot using Curtis Omega large-batch brewers, then filtered with a standard coffee filter. The coffee is then pushed through a secondary micron filter that is intended to remove any remaining nonsoluble particles, which prevents over-extraction in the can. Snapchill’s game-changing technique is to instantly chill the coffee to 38 degrees Fahrenheit without the use of ice and immediately canning to prevent oxidation.

The best exemplar of this style we found is George Howell’s Montecarlos Snapchill Coffee, a single-origin El Salvador that’s cocoa- and caramel-toned, supported by bittersweet walnut, crisp citrus and sweet herbs. It has a particularly nice malic (apple-like) acidity.

Snapchill works with roasters to create customer RTD coffees. Courtesy of Snapchill.

Kyle Bosshardt, director of business development for Snapchill, describes the company’s way of working with roasters: “Our process is very flexible, so we can work with any bean, origin, blend and roast profile. We ask roasters to provide us with information about the coffee they are sending, including flavor and roast profile, and if they have a target TDS [total dissolved solids]. It’s a collaboration to find the temperature at which we ‘Snapchill’ the coffee to arrive at the desired flavor profile, which is the artistry we love to steward for roasters.”

One mystery we couldn’t untangle is the lack of clarity across the board in the Snapchill RTDs we tested. Most of the lighter-roasted products we tested that were produced by brewing methods other than Snapchill were translucent, but all of the Snapchill-processed coffees, regardless of roast level, were opaque, even cloudy, and all contained some tangible amount of undissolved solids. It’s impossible to say how this influenced the flavor, specifically, but it definitely made the texture velvety, at best, and somewhat sludgy in the case of several examples that are not included in this report.

Like so many coffee drinkers who look for quality in a convenient format, I stumbled onto Wandering Bear Extra-Strong Cold Brew in a health food market in rural North Carolina, when I knew I didn’t want to do battle each morning with my parents’ elaborate coffee maker (that has more bells and whistles than I can count)—and it was really hot and humid—a perfect formula for opening up the possibility of discovering convenience and quality in an RTD coffee, which is exactly what I found in Wandering Bear.

I brought it into the lab for my colleagues to test blind, and we all agreed that it was exactly the kind of coffee that could soothe a weary traveler’s soul—and make her morning. This “extra-strong,” i.e., high-dose blend of  certified USDA Organic washed-process coffees from Peru, Mexico and Nicaragua, is produced by a proprietary cold-brew method and flash-pasteurized for shelf stability prior to opening. It was a win on the road for me, and it can fill that niche for anyone looking for a summer daily drinker who wants consistency and a whole 32-ounce carton instead of single-serve packaging.

Two Nitros at 91 (including a decaf!)

Dean’s Beans Nice Nitro Organic Black Cold Brew Coffee is especially good with milk—deep, balanced, pleasantly roast-rounded without tasting burnt. Notes of date, salted caramel, walnut, orange zest and gently smoky cedar make for a familiarly satisfying blend of coffees from Colombia, Nicaragua, Honduras and Indonesia. The added nitrogen gives it a fluffy mouthfeel that we found somewhat addictive.

Dean’s Bean’s Nice Nitro is presented in fun, eye-catching packaging. Courtesy of Brigade Branding.

A surprise hit is the Quivr Nitro Decaf Cold Brew Coffee—yes, decaf—from this Boston-based company that nails the genre with its Select Water Process decaffeinated green coffee selected in partnership with Barrington Coffee Roasting Co., sourced from farmers in Southeast Asia and Central and South America. It displays notes of caramel, sweet herbs and citrus. We didn’t identify it as a decaf in our blind tasting, which is perhaps the biggest compliment we can give it.

Quivr’s Decaf Nitro Cold Brew scored 91 in our blind tasting. Courtesy of Quivr.

A Corporate Success at 90

It’s nice to see that Blue Bottle Coffee, once the darling of the third-wave coffee movement and now owned by Nestlé, is sticking to its branding aesthetics—but how’s the coffee? Based on the Bold Cold Brewed Coffee we scored at 90, Blue Bottle is still striving for quality as well. The cute little cans are nothing to go out of your way for, but they offer an excellent oasis in an airport or other outpost far-flung from your usual local go-to. The Bold Cold is chocolaty, nutty and straight-ahead.

Lots of Room for Personal Preference

For all our difficulty in finding high-quality coffee in the context of convenience, when we did, it was quite good, and just as wide-ranging in style and flavor profile as one would hope. As RTD coffee technologies evolve, and evolve they will, there are a great many kinks to iron out, such as how to avoid extremes of sourness, saltiness and sludginess, but these nine coffees prove that quality can be had across multiple production methods and green coffee choices. Oh, and did we mention, they’re really convenient?

Drop us a virtual line at kim@coffeereview.com and let us know your favorite styles and brands of RTD coffees.

*Note that some of these recommended RTD coffees are only available in their local markets.

**On June 18, 2024, Snapchill voluntarily recalled all of its unexpired products because its current manufacturing process could lead to the growth and production of the deadly botulinum toxin. In a press release announcing the recall, the company said, “The problem was identified when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified Snapchill that the low-acid canned foods process for manufacturing the recalled products was not filed with FDA, as is required by regulation.” No evidence of the growth of such bacteria has been found, and no illnesses have yet been reported.

The post Convenience vs. Quality in Ready-to-Drink Black Coffee appeared first on Coffee Review.

When you’re reading Coffee Review, you may find yourself wondering who else is in the virtual room with you. Who else is reading a report about the fine points of a processing method or origin, and what are they thinking? And what coffees are they drinking?

These questions are very important to us at Coffee Review, of course. Not only do we want satisfied readers who keep coming back to read us again and again, but we also harbor a basic human curiosity about who might be reading our reports and reviews and why.

We have two main ways we learn about our readers. First is the broad and impersonal data on Google Analytics and our own server logs.  These sources anonymously track who visits CoffeeReview.com and provides aggregate data on where our readers are located, how they found us, which web pages they visit, and so. Second, we periodically conduct surveys of our readers to gather more demographic data about them and their coffee-drinking and coffee-reading expectations, habits and preferences. We completed such a survey in early 2024, and share some of what we learned here, along with some aggregate data from Google.

The Basic Data

In 2023, Coffee Review welcomed more than one million readers from 218 countries and territories. Coffee Review ratings reached more than 100 million consumers through our worldwide network of digital, print, and marketing channels. Our readers will drink over a billion cups of coffee and consume more than 30 million pounds of coffee beans.

Two-thirds of our visitors are from North America. We have readers in all 50 U.S. states and every major metropolitan area in the country. The top ten countries by readership are as follows:

1. United States
2. Taiwan
3. Canada
4. Philippines
5. United Kingdom
6. China
7. Australia
8. India
9. Malaysia
10. Thailand

The Survey Results

Over 400 readers from around the world participated in our 2024 online survey.  The United States is home to 88% of them.

We found that Coffee Review readers overall have high levels of education and income.  Of Coffee Review  readers, 74% report having a college degree, which is roughly double the rate in the overall U.S. population.  Readers’ average annual income is $156,000, which is more than double  the U.S. medium household income of about $75,000 in 2022.

On average, our readers report drinking 2.9 servings of coffee per day, which is in line with norms for U.S. coffee drinkers overall. Coffee Review readers report spending an average of $20.60 per pound for coffee beans.

Readership by U.S. State

For many years, we’ve analyzed our website traffic data to better understand where interest in gourmet coffee is highest, at least based on Coffee Review per capita readership.

As we have noted in the past, a state’s population is the biggest driver of website traffic.  Not surprisingly, if one just looks at total CoffeeReview.com traffic, the top four states for readership are California, Texas, Florida, and New York, which are also the most populous states.

Of course, one would expect California to have more readers than Hawai’i just based on the large difference in population, nearly 40 million versus 1.5 million, respectively.  So in the following figures, we normalized the traffic data for population to calculate per capita readership, which is a better gauge of the level of interest in coffee.

The top 10 states by per capita readership in 2023-24:

1. Hawai’i
2. Washington
3. Virginia
4. Oregon
5. Minnesota
6. Montana
7. Maine
8. Vermont
9. California
10. Wyoming 

Hawai’i Tops the List Again

Most of the states on the list aren’t surprises. Hawai’i has been #1 or #2 on the list every time we’ve tracked per capita readership.  As we’ve noted in the past, when you consider that Hawai’i is the only state that produces significant quantities of coffee, it stands to reason that a lot of people have an interest in coffee news and reviews.

Washington, Oregon, and California are famous for their strong coffee cultures and long histories of roasting and consuming high quality coffees.  Minnesota, Maine, and Vermont are northern, cold-weather states, which could drive coffee interest and readership, especially in winter.

Montana and Wyoming are also northern states but, in the past, prior to COVID, they tended to appear well down the list.  It’s likely that COVID-era demographic shifts played our role in readership increases.  The local presence of many high quality coffee roasters in Montana (especially Revel Coffee and RamsHead Coffee Roasters) and Wyoming (JackRabbit Java and Mystic Monk Coffee) are likely driving interest in specialty coffees.

It’s not clear why Virginia would be so high on the list but there is no shortage of high quality coffee roasters – Roadmap, Ironclad, Index, Pinup, Merge — that are both serving and creating an enthusiastic specialty coffee scene.

If you are wondering what state is last on the list this year, it is Louisiana. We’re not sure why.

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What is a single-origin espresso? Very generally defined, it’s an espresso produced from a single crop of coffee grown and processed in a single country, region, cooperative or farm. In other words, it is not a blend of coffees grown in different places or at different times.

Single-origin (S.O.) espressos allow an espresso drinker to explore the wider world of coffee in the same mindful, informed way as coffee drinkers who taste their coffees brewed as drip or French press. With single-origin espressos, the curious espresso drinker can explore the sensory impacts of variables like tree variety, processing method, growing elevation and, to some degree, roasting strategy — explorations that are difficult to impossible to pursue with blends. Plus, single-origins have the capacity to surprise us, and make the simple act of tasting an espresso shot or cappuccino a memorable mini-revelation that tasting a routine blend, even a very good routine blend, can’t offer us.

Such coffee explorations would seem to be particularly supported by this month’s tasting, as all of the 13 top-rated coffees we report on are identified quite specifically: by specific farm or co-op, by variety of tree that produced them, and often by growing elevation. And we were able to tell something about the roasting by taking Agtron color readings of the beans.

Tasting Colleagues

I was joined in this blind tasting of single-origin espressos by John DiRuocco, vice president of coffee at Mr. Espresso, a long-established (founded in 1978) coffee roaster in Oakland, California. The Mr. Espresso motto, quite justified by its practice, is “Italian inspiration, contemporary taste.”

Kenneth Davids and John DiRuocco tasting espresso coffees at Mr. Espresso roastery in Oakland. Courtesy Jason Sarley.

We conducted the tasting over several days at the lab in the Mr. Espresso roastery, with Brandon Talley, assistant director of coffee quality at Mr. Espresso, pulling the shots on a Faema E71E, and Coffee Review’s Jason Sarley in a supervising support role. As usual, we generated the shots using 18 grams of ground coffee to produce 36 grams of finished espresso, a relatively standard ratio in North American practice. For the “with milk” assessment, the shot was combined with three parts whole milk, heated but not frothed on the steam wand. As always at Coffee Review, the tasting was conducted blind, with Jason delivering the coffees identified only by numbers to John and me.

Importance of Processing Method

When the tasting was finished and the results were tabulated, it turned out that one variable in particular moved to the front of the sensory line: processing method. (Processing method, readers will recall, describes the sequence of procedures that turn the moist seeds of fresh coffee fruit into dry, stable, roaster-ready green coffee beans.) The dramatic impact of processing methods involving anaerobic (limited oxygen) fermentation and its growing number of variations and applications tended to upstage the impact of other variables that create differences among green coffees, like tree variety, growing elevation and various more conventional processing methods.

Old Soul Coffee’s Natural Process “Unicorn Lot” drying at Anny Ruth Pimentel’s Finca Loma La Gloria in El Salvador. Courtesy of Jason Griest.

Thirteen of the coffees we tested achieved ratings of 94 or 95, all of which we review here. Among those top-rated 13 samples, nine, or almost 70 percent, were processed using methods that prominently incorporated anaerobic fermentation. Among the remaining four top-rated samples, two were processed by the conventional wet or washed method (all soft fruit residue was removed from the beans before they were dried), one by the honey or pulped natural method (skins were removed, but the fruit flesh or mucilage remained on the beans during drying), and one by the natural method (the beans were dried inside the entire fruit).

A stage in the multi-staged fermentation procedure for Royal Flamingo Coffee’s Colombia Red Fruits at Edwin Noreña’s Campo Hermosa in Colombia. Courtesy of Royal Flamingo Coffee.

The impact of the anaerobic ferment could be felt in the often striking sweetness and surprising aromatic complexity among all of the nine anaerobic-process samples. However, the only sample that displayed explicit anaerobic character in its candyish sweetness and perfume-like flowers was the Royal Flamingo Colombia Red Fruits Campo Hermosa Edwin Noreña (94). John very much admired this coffee at 95 and felt it was coherent and complete in its originality, with its intense aromatics supported by a sound structure. For me, however, there was a bit too much strawberry gummy and not quite enough coffee, though I managed a 92. But I suspect many readers will go with John’s take on this one. Give this striking coffee a try.

John and I switched sides with the quietly melodic, elegant Speckled Ax Ethiopia Dame Dabaye (John 92, Ken 95, net 94), which I found pure, poised and flawless. John found it a pleasing but straightforward washed Ethiopia espresso. But, again, try it; you may not be blown away, but I strongly doubt you will throw any of it away either.

Tree Variety

The celebrated Geisha/Gesha variety of Arabica, with its elongated beans, fine structure, and intensely floral, cocoa and stone-fruit character, has been one of the main vehicles that ambitious coffee growers have relied on over the past couple of decades in their often successful attempts to differentiate their green coffees and attract recognition and higher prices for them. Authentic Geishas, particularly those grown from seed of the original Panama strain (Geisha T2722), continue to impress with their grand but balanced structure and intense floral, fruit and cocoa aromatics.

Young coffee trees at Edwin Noreña’s Campo Hermosa in Colombia.

But Geishas may no longer seem as new and different as they once did. So applying anaerobic processing to a coffee from a respectable but otherwise unremarkable tree variety is an alternative way to surprise the buyer with aromatic fireworks and seductive sweetness. And at lower prices than might be expected for coffee from Geisha trees, with their often stingy yields and fussy needs. Of course, producers can double down and apply anaerobic processing to their Geishas, as is the case with the Big Shoulders Coffee’s anaerobic natural Marcela Gesha Espressso (95), Euphora Coffee’s anaerobic washed Colombia Buenavista Ataraxia Geisha (94), and AOI Coffee’s Ethiopia Growers Reserve Gesha Village Gaylee Special Fermentation (94), all of which pursue a distinctive cup by means of both distinctive tree variety and anaerobic processing.

Origin and Single-Origin Espressos

Seven of this month’s 13 highest-rated samples were produced in Colombia, all in southern or south-central Colombia. Of the remaining six, three were produced in Ethiopia, one in Rwanda, one in El Salvador, and one in Hawaii.

Why the preponderance of Colombias, obviously a popular origin, but until recently not the go-to origin for coffees intended for espresso? (Traditionally, that would be Brazil.) Mainly because a cluster of farms in southern Colombia appear to have mastered the use of complex methods of anaerobic fermentation, which, performed skillfully, can transform a high-grown, potentially acidy coffee into a lower-toned, richly complex, espresso-friendly coffee.

MK Coffee’s Rwanda Rulindo Red Bourbon drying in the “honey (fruit flesh) at Juru Coffee in Rwanda. Courtesy of Linking Coffee and Juru Coffee.

True, some of the other successful coffees in this month’s tasting used simpler, more direct applications of anaerobic methods than the Colombia farms. But, all in all, only two out of this month’s top-rated 13 samples were processed using legacy methods traditionally associated with the origins that produced them: The Wonderstate Colombia Sierra Morena Pink Bourbon (95) is a traditional washed-process Colombia, and the Speckled Ax Ethiopia Dame Dabaye (94) a traditional washed Ethiopia. Local tree variety may contribute to the success of MK Coffee’s Juru Rwanda Rulindo Red Bourbon Honey (94), though the honey processing method is atypical for a Rwanda.

Stay tuned, but it appears that the expectation that we can make consistent associations between coffee origin and coffee cup character continues to erode as ambitious farmers all over the world tinker with tree variety (e.g., Geisha) and processing method.

Roast Color and Espresso

Traditionally, Italian practice is to roast for espresso to around what Americans might call a darkish medium roast. However, when a taste for espresso drinks and European-style cafés first developed in the U.S. in the 1980s, roasters went really dark for espresso brewing. They aggressively dark-roasted high-grown Central America or Colombia coffees, producing intense, bitter coffees that required the softening, buffering impact of hot frothed milk to render them drinkable. Later, many American specialty roasters migrated toward something more like the original Italian tradition: moderately dark- to medium-dark.

Today, of course, on the leading edge of the U.S. specialty coffee scene, taste in roast style has completely flipped, regardless of brewing method. Rather than everything dark, as was the case 20 years ago, today virtually everything is light. Sometimes very light, regardless of intended brewing method.

Of the seven U.S. coffees reviewed this month, six are light-roasted. Only one, the Speckled Ax Ethiopia, was roasted modestly darker, to a little past second crack, classifying it as a moderately dark roast. The six coffees from Taiwan roasters were a bit darker roasted than the U.S. samples, tending toward medium or medium-dark, though none could be called outright dark roasted.

Omni Roasts and Acidity

Most of this month’s coffees probably qualify as what some in the coffee world call omni roasts—roasts that the roaster feels will do well when subjected to almost any brewing method.

This practice—one roast for all brewing methods—has a practical advantage for coffee sellers, of course. Fewer products, a more compact inventory, and perhaps simpler communication. The increased technical sophistication available today in managing roast, facilitated by computer control and monitoring, may help roasters apply roasting practices that tend to round sharpness and soften and integrate acidity in lighter roasts, making them more espresso-friendly.

The potentially bright, aggressive acidity characteristic of high-grown, light-roasted coffees has always presented a problem for espresso brewing. Some years ago, when the practice of pulling espresso from such bright, lighter-roasted coffees took off, I recall tasting some rather imbalanced espressos. Although we still run into an occasional rather sharply acidy single-origin espresso at Coffee Review, our tasting for this month suggests that roasters are becoming increasingly skillful at sourcing and light-roasting single-origins for all-purpose brewing, and, by implication, for espresso.

Acid-Reducing Anaerobics

The fact that there were so many anaerobic-fermented coffees among the espressos we tasted this month may have helped the acidity-reducing cause. Anaerobic processing tends to reduce or soften acidity, often replacing it with a backgrounded lactic tang, while encouraging a sweetness that helps balance any bitter edge to the acidity.

Single-Origin Espressos in the Café

When we decided on this month’s topic, we were a little afraid that single-origin espressos had had their day and were on their way out of fashion.

Perhaps. However, we received a reassuringly large number of submissions for this topic.

Roasters who sent us top-rated coffees and with whom we subsequently corresponded were largely divided about the value of single-origin espressos in their cafés. Generally, Taiwan roasters were more positive than were North American roasters, and for good reason, given brewing espresso at home appears more popular in Taiwan than in the U.S. Mark Shi of Taiwan’s MK Coffee reports: “Since Taiwanese cafes banned on-site drinking during the Covid-19 pandemic and most customers were working from home, I found that many people who drank coffee every day bought automatic espresso machines at that time, so for the beans suitable for espresso (including blended beans and single-origin beans), the demand is trending higher and higher.”

Arthur Chen of Taiwan’s Balmy Day Coffee Office (Ethiopia Anaerobic Washed G1 Wild Rose S.O. Sidamo, 94), offers an extended recommendation for how roasting for espresso should be conducted (slowly), concluding that single-origin espressos “… should be like a taste bomb, allowing the flavor of the coffee to be concentrated and focused, so that the single-origin coffee flavor can bloom in the mouth like fireworks.”

American Single-Origin Skeptics

A generally more skeptical attitude among American roasters regarding single-origin espressos is voiced by Old Soul Coffee’s Jason Griest (El Salvador Finca Loma La Gloria Natural Process “Unicorn Lot”, 94). Jason writes, “Single origin espressos can be fun, but we find a ‘good’ one elusive to find and so, rarely have one on the bar at our shops.” Jason echoes the position of many North American roasters, who feel that an espresso coffee needs to be versatile above all: “Our main espresso blend called The Remedy is made up of three components, designed to complement each other in terms of body, acidity and sweet/bitter notes that can be enjoyed both as a straight shot and with milk.” Lee Paterson of Hawaii’s Hula Daddy (Kona Espresso Special Selection, 94) points out that “Since most of our sales are to North America, where drip coffee is king, espressos are a small part of our business.”

Anny Ruth Pimentel’s Finca Loma La Gloria in El Salvador. Courtesy of Jason Griest.

Tim Coonan of Big Shoulders Coffee (Marcela Gesha Espresso, 95) takes a more encouraging middle-ground position: “Our S.O. espresso program serves three purposes. These are coffees that are challenging for roasters and baristas alike. So it’s educational for us. We find these are appreciated by those regular customers who are looking for an opportunity to both learn more about coffee and also [are] willing to explore some boundaries in the process. These are customers who also enjoy their espresso solo, not with milk.”

American Single-Origin Enthusiasts

Taking a wholehearted pro-single-origin position are Bryan and Beth Brzozowski of Royal Flamingo Coffee (Colombia Red Fruits Campo Hermosa Edwin Noreña, 94), who are planning to extend their successful e-commerce and wholesale business to a brick-and-mortar café this year. They write, “Single-origin espresso is something we’ve become known for in our coffee community and has played a major role in our e-commerce and wholesale growth. When we open our café next month, we’ll be leaning hard on single-origin espresso. … For example, we’re planning to have a few options on the menu where customers can order a drip and a shot of single-origin espresso comes alongside (a pair we are calling the Barista’s Boilermaker).”

Wilson Alva of Finca Sierra Morena, producer of Wonderstate Coffee’s Colombia Sierra Morena Pink Bourbon. Courtesy of The Coffee Quest.

Summing up the pro-single-origin side is Caleb Nicholes of Wonderstate Coffee: “We believe that single-origin espressos have a distinct and important role in specialty coffee. In all of our café locations, we offer both a single-origin espresso, which is roasted lighter, as well as a deeper roasted blend. Having a lighter-roasted espresso option gives us the opportunity to introduce our customers to a very light-roasted espresso experience that is very much reflective of a coffee’s variety, micro-climate and processing style. While brighter, more fruit-driven and aromatic espressos can be jarring for some coffee consumers, it is an excellent way to expand perceptions around what espresso can be. We love to surprise our customers with something they have never tasted before, and single-origin espresso is one of the best ways we have found to do that.”

Single-Origin Espressos at Home

Of course, café owners need to please nearly everyone who comes in the door. Consumers only need to please themselves—or at most their families and guests. So perhaps the single-origin espresso game, with its potential for coffee exploration and sensory revelation (along with its risk for temporary disappointment) is best played by consumers at home. If so, we feel that the coffees we review this month offer an excellent and diverse starting point.

John DiRuocco Reflects on the Tasting

John writes: “Roasters from all over the world submitted their finest offerings from familiar to exotic. It was an exciting challenge to describe and evaluate these coffees. The vast assortment of processes and varieties translated to a thrill ride of aroma, acidity, and fruit. As a roaster based in Italian coffee tradition, our approach to espresso at Mr. Espresso is based on the idea of balance and roundness, something that can be enjoyed several times a day, every day. What set the best of the coffees we tasted apart for me were not only flavor profiles that contained explosive fruits, intricate floral flavors, and intense acidity, but those that were balanced by a pronounced sweetness and round body to create a memorable espresso experience.”

Thanks to the roasters who greatly enriched this report by sharing their ideas and experience regarding single-origin espresso coffees: Matt Bolinder, Speckled Ax Coffee; Bryan and Beth Brzozowski, Royal Flamingo Coffee; Chris Chao, AOI Coffee Roaster; Arthur Chen, Balmy Day Coffee Office; Tim Coonan, Big Shoulders Coffee; Jason Griest, Old Soul Coffee Co.; Albert Hsu, OLI Cafe; Miguel Meza, Paradise Coffee; Caleb Nicholes, Wonderstate Coffee; Lee Paterson, Hula Daddy Kona Coffee; Mark Shi, MK Coffee Roasters; May Wang, Euphora Coffee; Zhou Tzuchiang, Bargain Cafe.

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A view of the Pacific Ocean from Hala Tree’s coffee farm in Captain Cook, Hawai’i. Courtesy of Hala Tree.

When most of us think of Hawaiʻi, we think of perfect beaches, iconic sunsets and unparalleled relaxation. When coffee lovers think of Hawaiʻi, “Kona” is often the first word that comes to mind. But while the Hawaiian Islands are, indeed, a paradise, they’re also a place where coffee is a critical part of the economy — an economy that’s been hammered over the past few years by the Covid-19 pandemic and by devastating wildfires, not to mention agricultural pests and diseases specific to the coffee industry.

This month, we not only take a look at the islands’ coffees — roasted by locals — we also scope out what residents, most of whom can’t afford to buy Hawaiʻi-grown coffee for daily drinking — like to have in their morning cup.

Brandon von Damitz of Big Island Coffee Roasters surveying coffee trees at Silver Cloud Farm. Courtesy of Braden Tavelli.

There are three main kinds of Hawaiian coffee roasters: coffee farmers who roast their own green coffees, roasters that sell only Hawaiian-grown coffees (mostly to an international market), and roasters that sell both Hawaiian coffees and coffees from other origins.

The Current Context of Coffee in Hawaiʻi

While Hawaiʻi contributes only 0.04 percent of the world’s coffee production, coffee is the second most profitable crop grown in the state, a close second to macadamia nuts (College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai’i at Manoa).  Most of the coffee grown in the state is exported. During the 2022–23 harvest season, Hawaiʻi farmers produced 24.8 million pounds of coffee, down 9 percent from the previous year (USDA). One of the chief reasons production is down is the emergence of coffee leaf rust (CLR), a fungal disease that has devastated entire coffee industries elsewhere in the world. It first appeared on Maui in 2020, then several weeks later on Hawaiʻi Island, known as the Big Island, which produces the vast majority of the state’s coffee crop. (For reference, the Big Island has more than 1,400 coffee farms, while Maui has just over 300, Kauaʻi has three, and O’ahu and Molokai each have one.)

Coffee cherries ripening on Monarch Coffee Farm in Kona, Hawai’i. Courtesy of Monarch Farm.

Before CLR, coffee berry borer (CBB) was the biggest threat to the state’s coffee crop. CBB was found in Kona in 2010, O’ahu in 2014, Maui in 2016, and Kauaʻi and Lānaʻi in 2020 (College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai’i at Manoa) . This beetle, endemic to Central Africa, was responsible for decimating almost all of Maui’s small crop that year. Management techniques are now in place to somewhat curb its potential for destruction, but it remains a force.

Lastly, there were several wildfires in 2023, and the unprecedented scale of the fire that destroyed the town of Lahaina, Maui, has affected the state’s economy overall, both in terms of its largest industry, tourism, and in terms of the loss of dozens of coffee-related businesses. Maui Grown Coffee, the island’s largest producer, has not yet resumed operations, and many coffee shops were destroyed or displaced.

One of Hawaiʻi’s strengths as a producing region is that its coffee prices are not, as they are in most origins, tied to the commodity coffee market. In the 1980s, Kona’s rising star and the marketing brilliance behind it allowed the region to sell its coffees for much higher prices than any other origin. Today, the average price of unroasted Kona coffee is $26.50 per pound, while the average price for Arabica coffee is $2.03 per pound. So, why aren’t Hawaiian coffee farmers paving their driveways with gold? Two simple answers: Yield is down, and costs are higher than anywhere else in the world where coffee is grown.

We review many Hawaiʻi-grown coffees each year, but this report looks at the state’s current coffee scene from a broader perspective, as we invited roasters based anywhere in Hawaiʻi to send us samples from any origin. We received 45 samples: 31 roasted on Hawaiʻi Island, seven on O’ahu, three from Maui, and four from Kauaʻi.

We review here the 14 top-scoring coffees, 11 Hawaiʻi-grown and three grown elsewhere.

Hawaiian Farmers Roasting Their Own Green Coffees

There’s a long local history of coffee farmers roasting up small batches of their coffees to sell at farmers markets and farm stands, but these are, by and large, not the best representation of these coffees. Farmers are not typically trained roasters. There are some notable exceptions to this rule, and we cupped six coffees from roasters who are also farmers, and who paid precise attention to both sides of the operation.

Laura Ross (left), roaster, and Karen Paterson, co-owner of Hula Daddy Kona Coffee. Courtesy of Hula Daddy.

The highest-scoring coffee in this report was Hula Daddy’s wildly impressive Laura’s Reserve SL34 (97), produced at the company’s farm in Holualoa (North Kona) and roasted by Laura Ross, who’s been with Hula Daddy for more than a decade. Co-owner Karen Paterson, who founded Hula Daddy with her husband, Lee, in 2002, says, “The major challenge of growing coffee in Hawaiʻi is labor costs. With benefits, our average hourly pay is over $25. A Central American grower pays workers less than $2 an hour performing the same work, and labor rates in African countries are around $20 a month.” Hula Daddy sells only retail-roasted coffee (as opposed to green coffee or wholesale), both onsite and online, all exclusively from the Patersons’ own 10-acre farm. Its primary customers are buying coffee for home use, and only 10 percent live in Hawaiʻi. The SL34 is an aromatically intoxicating Kona version of a variety of Arabica traditionally grown in Kenya and is exuberantly complex.

Kraig Lee of Kona Farm Direct raking coffees drying on a concrete patio. Courtesy of Kona Farm Direct.

Kraig and Leslie Lee of Kona Farm Direct have been growing traditional Kona coffee for more than 25 years. In the past eight years, they’ve begun experimenting with new varieties, including Geisha. Kraig Lee says, “No doubt, the unique Kona soil and environment can produce some of the best quality coffees in the world, but there are dozens of ways you can screw it up. If you don’t pay attention to the details, you can turn great coffee into average or worse. I am so fortunate that I have employees who pride themselves in taking care of the land, picking only ripe cherries, and properly processing and drying the beans.” Kona Farm Direct’s 100% Kona Classic (94) is a lively, balanced Typica, sweet-toned, chocolaty and rich.

Lorie Obra, co-founder of Rusty’s Hawaiian in Pahala Hawai’i. Courtesy of Rusty’s.

Rusty’s Hawaiian is another longtime family farm, based in the Ka‘ū growing region on the east side of Hawaiʻi Island south of Hilo. Founded by Rusty and Lorie Obra in the late 1990s, Rusty’s was on the cusp of making a name for Ka‘ū coffee, a region in the shadow of Kona. When Rusty died of cancer in 2006, Lorie committed to actualizing their dream, and Rusty’s, now a world-class roaster as well, put Ka‘ū on the map. Rusty’s Classic Ka‘ū Peaberry (94) is lush, decadently sweet, deep-toned and sensuous. Lorie’s daughter, Joan, and son-in-law, Ralph Gaston, moved from the mainland to Pahala (where Rusty’s is located) full-time in 2011, and the couple run the operation with Lorie, who’s still going strong in her seventies. Gaston says that there are many challenges involved in farming coffee in Hawaiʻi: “The increased cost of production, primarily due to the spread of coffee leaf rust, has been difficult to deal with. This means more for treatment of CLR, managing that with the treatment for coffee borer, increased costs for fertilizer, not to mention rising labor costs. It’s a lot of pressure on the cost of production.” A full 40 percent of Rusty’s online customers are based in Hawaiʻi, and the remaining 60 percent are from the West Coast (California, Oregon, Washington) and Alaska, with a small percentage in Canada, Japan, Germany and Korea.

Kona’s Heavenly Hawaiian is one of several Hawaiian farmer-roasters working with non-traditional varieties of Arabica. The Kona Geisha Champagne (94) submitted for this report has elegant notes of nectarine, star jasmine and cocoa nib, a profile very similar to the traditional Geishas of Panama.

Brewing a pour-over at Monarch Coffee Farm in Kona, Hawai’i. Courtesy of Monarch Coffee.

Monarch Coffee’s “Hapa” (meaning “half”) (93) is a post-roast mélange of light-, medium- and dark-roasted Kona Typica, a comfortingly familiar Kona profile that’s crisply chocolaty and sweetly nutty. Abby Munoz, director of operations and daughter of co-founders Greg and Susy Stille, describes Monarch’s relationship with its customers as collaborative: “The values our customers hold dear — quality, sustainability, ethical sourcing, community involvement and enriching experiences — guide their purchasing decisions and loyalty to our brand. … This connection goes beyond a transactional relationship; it’s a shared journey towards a more sustainable and community-focused way of living.” She also speaks to the challenges of selling Kona coffees exclusively, saying, “Compared to other major coffee-producing countries, Kona’s output is minuscule, and restricted growing regions with strict geographical regulations that limit production area means limited supply, which leads to higher production costs. Logistics and sustainability are also big challenges for us. Due to the island’s remote location, shipping costs are a major hurdle.” Munoz also mentions CLR, volcanic eruptions, the effects of climate change, high labor costs and labor shortages as additional challenges for small farms in Hawaii.

Jean Orlowski of Hala Tree Coffee conducting a farm tour. Courtesy of Hala Tree.

Hala Tree’s SL28 Honey (93) is another variety associated with Kenya that, produced in the context of Kona terroir, is floral, citrusy, cohesive and confident. Hala Tree co-owner Danielle Orlowski says, “Having high production costs pushes us to make sure we produce one of the best coffees in the world. This is accomplished by paying attention to details, from farming to processing. Being in control of the process from tree to cup is what ensures our quality.”

Kona-born Mark Takizawa has a five-acre farm, Kona Hills Coffee (not to be confused with the large-scale 1,900-acre farm by the same name), where he’s done everything himself since 1987. His 100% Kona Extra Fancy (92) is a classic profile with notes of baking chocolate, date and hazelnut.

Hawaiian Roasters That Sell Only Hawaiian Coffees

Miles Mayne, of Silver Cloud farm, checking on coffee drying on raised beds. Courtesy of Braden Tavelli.

Big Island Coffee Roasters sent in a collaborative coffee in partnership with farmer Miles Mayne. This Ka‘ū Giant Maragogipe (95) is the result of co-founder Brandon von Damitz and Mayne’s many yeast experiments over three harvest seasons. The version they landed on uses K1-v1116 yeast from Lalvin, with anaerobic fermentation for 72 hours. This uniquely composed, big-beaned Maragogipe cup is driven by notes of stone fruit, hop-like florals, resiny amber and distinct tangerine. Co-founder Kelleigh Stewart acknowledges the challenges of working exclusively with Hawaiʻi-grown coffees, but also speaks to the opportunities it affords: “When people ask, ‘Why is Hawaiʻi coffee so expensive?’ this initiates a dialogue for deeper engagement and understanding of the supply chain. There’s so much more supply chain transparency and ethics with Hawaiʻi coffees. And the chain is much shorter because there’s little room for middle people. And a much greater percentage of the purchase price goes directly to the farmer. … So, while dealing with an ‘expensive’ product poses challenges, it’s easy for us to be proud of our farmer relationships, knowing we’re fostering an ethical, transparent supply chain. I often turn the question around and ask people, ‘Why is the rest of the world’s coffee so cheap and undervalued?’”

Pacific Coffee Research (PCR) has an interesting backstory. A women-owned business founded as Hawaiʻi’s first education and coffee training center, PCR offers analysis of green and roasted coffees, Q-grader courses, barista training, equipment procurement and maintenance, and much more. And now, PCR has its own line of retail-roasted coffees developed in partnership with local farmers with an emphasis on women producers. The 100% Ka‘ū Navarro (93) submitted for this report, a blend of Pacamara and Catuaí, is from Delvin and Nette Navarro’s Ka‘ū farm. Centered around fruit and floral notes, this blend is complicated by a compelling sweet herbaceousness. Co-owner Madeleine Longoria Garcia also notes the limited supply of Hawaiian-grown coffee, the impacts of CLR and the 2023 wildfires as significant challenges of working exclusively with Hawaiʻi-grown coffees.

The Pacific Coffee Research team. Courtesy of PCR.

But in addition, she argues, “The price model used in Hawaiʻi should be replicated globally. In order to have financially sustainable businesses, growers need to be able to sell their products based on their real costs and required profit margins versus having their products’ worth being dictated based on where the C-market happens to land on any given day. Our global industry talks about this all the time, as we don’t have a financially sustainable industry, and no one is really doing very much to change that. The current model gives buyers too much power when it comes to price and strips growers of negotiation power because everyone is looking at the C-market.”

Hawaiian Roasters That Sell Both Local and Global Coffees

Little-known fact: It’s illegal for roasters in Hawaiʻi to import green coffees from Africa. This outdated law hearkens back to concerns about agricultural contamination, but it’s still on the books, and it’s why you’ll see coffees from Central and South America and Indonesia at local island coffee shops — but not African coffees.

Teodoro Garrido, founder of Mama Cata Farm in Boquete, Panama. Courtesy of Klatch Coffee.

Well-known to the virtual pages of Coffee Review, Hilo-based Paradise Roasters used to have a roasting facility in Minnesota. Now that the company is fully Hawaiʻi-based, owner Miguel Meza specializes in rare microlots from the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Panama and, of course, Hawaiʻi. For this report, we review the richly floral, fruit-saturated Panama Mokkita Natural Mama Cata Estate (96) with notes of wild strawberry, lavender and black sage. Meza says, “We did not start out as a roaster of Hawaiʻi-grown coffees, but rather as a specialty coffee roaster. Due to the extremely high cost of producing coffee in Hawaiʻi, 10 times that of most other countries, the market for Hawaiʻi-grown coffees is limited as a daily-drinking coffee for most consumers. Moreover, we like variety and want to offer the widest array of sensory experiences possible with coffee, some of which cannot (yet) be found within coffee just from Hawaiʻi.” He adds that, “Like every other producing origin, the majority of the coffees produced in Hawaiʻi are commercial quality, not specialty. As a very small producing region, the quantities of high-quality coffee from Hawaiʻi are quite limited. Many of our Hawaiʻi coffees we produce from the cherry stage to ensure quality and apply proprietary processing techniques on them to create a diversity of cup profiles.”

Maui-based Origin Coffee Roasters submitted a JN Farms Double Anaerobic Red Bourbon (94) produced in Ka‘ū, an aromatically wide-ranging cup with notes of spice-toned florals and sweetly tart fruits. Owner Heather Brisson-Lutz loves Hawaiʻi-grown coffees but finds that she needs to also provide coffees from other origins for her local customer base: “It is challenging to market coffees not grown in Hawaiʻi in our local markets, but we have found that many of the local residents enjoy these coffees because they offer different flavors, and their price points are friendlier for daily coffee drinkers. We want to keep our coffees accessible not only in price point but also in terms of flavor profiles, processing methods and varieties.”

Kailua, O’ahu-based ChadLou’s Coffee Roasters sells both Hawaiʻi-grown and international coffees. The Cruz Loma Anaerobic Washed Ecuador (93) we review here is equal parts sweet, tart and savory (think dark chocolate, macerated kiwi and tarragon). Its popular coffee shop caters to both visitors and locals, offering a large menu of specialty coffee options as well as artfully designed bags to take home.

Hanalei Coffee Roasters is a micro-roaster on Kauaʻi’s North Shore in the stunningly beautiful town of Hanalei. Its Sunrise Blend (92) of coffees from Maui and Honduras is a friendly, easygoing and affordable coffee with notes of golden raisin, cashew, orange zest and cane sugar. The roaster has a selection of 100 percent Hawaiian coffees in addition to its coffees from Central and South America.

Maui Oma Coffee Roasting Co.’s 100% Hawaii Three Island Blend (92) is a combination of coffees grown on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui and O’ahu. Cocoa-toned and richly nutty, it’s a good introduction to the coffees of the Hawaiian Islands for newcomers to the genre. Maui Oma is located in Kahului, Maui, and primarily works with Hawaiian coffees but also has a selection of coffees from Central and South America and Indonesia.

Supporting the Hawaiʻi Coffee Industry

Whatever your coffee jam might be, Hawaiian roasters offer the world in a cup. In addition to buying coffee directly from the roasters featured in this report, you can support Maui’s wildfire recovery efforts here:

MauiGrown Coffee – Go Fund Me

Maui Food Bank

People’s Fund of Maui

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