An elegant, extraordinary tribute to the pleasures of the sensation coffee people call acidity. Here the acidity is robustly dry yet alive with a full, fragrant sweetness. Everything dances and rings in this coffee.
A solid American-style breakfast profile: Dry and acidy but balanced, complete, closing on rich. Everything is up front, however: limited dimension and development.
A tribute to dark-roast fruit character. In the nose deep with prune and sweet pipe-tobacco tones. In the cup the fruit comes up dry and pungent before softening and sweetening toward the finish.
Considerable dry-chocolate intrigue behind the dark-roast pungency. The aroma is extraordinary: light and buoyant with sweet vanilla-chocolate notes and a hint of nut. Settles down in the cup, where the pungency turns the chocolate tones pleasantly dry and smoky.
Another holiday coffee distinguished by a dark-roasted, pungent heart. The pungency dominates, but reads as rich and resilient, and is complicated by an unusual taste tickle. I want to call it cedar, but a publicist might call it spice. It's a pleasant holiday-themed sensation.
A clean, direct dark-roast profile. The dominant pungency is free of carbon and dances rather lightly on the palate, with some spicy overtones and space for them to echo.
A compromise coffee between dark and medium roast, pleasantly low-key, but not much range or dimension.
A very comfortable, low-key cup. The dark-roast pungency is pronounced but easy-going. Just enough richness to satisfy. Not much nuance but some sweet echoes.
A stark pungency dominates: Sweet and rich in the nose, but hardens uncomfortably in the cup, where the sharpness is softened by the barest hint of shadow sweetness. Suggestions of nut in the aroma and dry fruit in the cup barely escape from under the hand of the roast.
A wonderful nose, full of bittersweet chocolate and deep vanilla tones, but disappointing in the cup: a clean, dry, but rather hard pungency bullies nuance into submission. A hint of carbon, little sweetness.
Dominated by a dry, unforgiving pungency. The center of the coffee has little resilience or shimmer. A touch of hard, rubbery taste surfaces in the finish. I have to assume that something went wrong with the roast.