Clean, but flavorful Ethiopian with a little bit of malolactic mouthfeel, every so slightly creamy/smooth to go with the black tea, strawberry, and peach notes.

Cupping Method:Bean Advent Calendar

Leaderboard Season 20. Blind tasting and scoring.

Wush wush isn't for everyone I think, but I liked this one. It has a wonderful mouthfeel, and some very interesting notes for a washed coffee. It's quite sweet, and I do think ruby red grapefruit with raw sugar is a good comparison to what I get. I get a little bit of jasmine and red tea. I'm not sure it's one I'd go out and buy a whole bag of, but it's it's an interesting and fun coffee.

Cupping Method:17:1, 92C on Hario v60 worked well.

Roaster's Pack Advent, Coffee #7.

Crystal clear on the roaster's notes, pink lemonade, dark chocolate, passionfruit. Bright acidity and good overall balance. It's relatively straightforward, there and gone, but the two notes played are lovely.

Cupping Method:92C, 17:1 in Hario v60

Nutty, chocolate, super sweet and clean. Very enjoyable medium roast.

Cupping Method:Just added hot water

This is my third Swerl coffee in a month, which is kind of wild for a Swedish roaster to show up in my rotation so often. I would put this one around a B or B minus for my palate. The cup opens with some genuinely nice notes, especially blackberry and a clear lemon like acidity that gives it snap up front. But as it moves through the middle and into the finish, it starts to lose balance. The sweetness and mouthfeel do not really follow through, and the later palate turns a bit cloying. There is also a drying, slightly tannic sensation that reminds me of what you get from an over brewed cup of tea. Not a bad coffee at all, and the fruit and acidity are solid, but it does not quite come together for me in the back half.

Cupping Method:Leaderboard S20

Lovely Burundi. Bright and balanced acidity with pink lemonade, strawberry, and brown sugar notes and just enough sweetness. Only very slightly winey and funky.

Cupping Method:Pourover made by barista in Rochester Fairpour

I was surprised by how good this coffee was. Very well balanced, naturally sweet. Very smooth, great depth and endurance in the chocolate note with a blueberry and citrus acidity. Clean finish. Pass the drive test as I finished a cup during a 1 hour drive.

Cupping Method:Had it at The Coffee Press in Batavia, NY driving to Niagara Falls!

Very tasty straightforward but dynamic as a Cometeer pod (not their espresso beans). Characteristic silky sweet Cometerr mouthfeel blends well with deep chocolate note, sweet orange, blueberry, and almost marshmallow sweetness. Subtly just a touch nutty. Very nice.

Cupping Method:Just added water.

Sweet, smooth, slightly nutty, caramel, sweet orange. Really good. Maybe the best airport lounge coffee I've ever had?

Cupping Method:AMEX Lounge DCA

Missed this one. Just have the 4.5 grade. Was a MCL coffee from Bean Archives.

Delicious Cometeer pod that's fairly straightforward. Very smooth, sweet, and satisfying with milk chocolate front end, peanut, and caramel. One of the best medium roast Cometeer Pods I've had. A coffee you could serve to a group and be 100% sure everyone would enjoy it.

Cupping Method:Just added hot water.

Very clean tea-like gesha. White flower. Nice mouthfeel and natural sweetness. Generally quite enjoyable, my one gripe would be that the fruity characteristics are a little bit indistinct. A bit plummy/pruney alongside some tropical notes. Sort of like a weird Mai Tai (roaster said papaya, which also makes sense).

Cupping Method:Tried 3 temps on the v60 at 17:1.

Delicate tea-like coffee with trademark Ecuadorian nuance. Whiteflower with a silky, honeyed medium mouthfeel. Pomelo fruitiness that trails to strawberry. Clean finish.

Cupping Method:17:1, 92C in Hario v60 worked well.

Running through BNA airport for work and needed an espresso. Thought this was pretty good, very good crema, balanced, smoke, spice, blackberry acidity, great depth of chocolate upfront and linger.

Silky clean Gesha I picked up from Easydays. Tea driven with a smooth, honeyed mouthfeel. It has a very slight melon and white flower undertone. It could use a winning secondary note but it's an enjoyable coffee and would probably be very reasonable for the quality in Sweden.

I'm reviewing the Cometeer capsule here. It's appealing and quite good. Immense natural sweetness, great depth of chocolate flavor, a tiny overtone of blackstrap molasses, and for a dark roast, balanced acidity and fruitiness (strawberry/blueberry). Usual silky Cometeer mouthfeel (a plus for me). Finish is short but clean.

Not a smash hit or anything but a very satifying/comforting medium-dark roast type cup.

Cupping Method:Cometeer capsule from their Advent Calendar, just added water. Yes it's November and I'm drinking these out of order.

Fun experimental type coffee with interesting floral and funky notes, but not in excessive quantities. Lead-in for me is ruby red grapefruit, a nice bittersweet version. Lavender and rose for the floral notes. I would've actually liked the rose hip note as some complexity/brighter acidity on back end would have completed it. Slightly creamy mouthfeel. A fun one overall, but definitely happy to get it as a sample rather than full bag.

Cupping Method:I got this coffee in a trade. 17:1 in v60.

Solid balanced blend that I found very versatile. Makes good lattes and filter that keeps everyone happy. Milk chocolate and red apple are the main notes I get as filter. Espresso brings out some bergamot florality.

A lovely Ethiopian with some
bite in the black tea note, and a grape, blueberry, and blackcurrant mid-palate. Smooth and pleasant mouthfeel with balance throughout. No fireworks but a nice origin roast.

Very clean, even looking roast on variety sized heirloom beans.

Cupping Method:I had a 15g sample and made it 17:1 at 92C with the Hario v60.

I did not love this coffee when hot as the walnut note is pretty prominent and bitter. Cool/warm it's quite good. Blueberry, peach, very strongly brewed black tea with nice balanced, natural sweetness, and mouthfeel. The walnut ends up being a light and pleasant accent.

Cupping Method:This was the “classic” drip at Revival in Lexington, MA.

Very juicy and fruity. Roaster says milk chocolate but I think it's strongly oolong tea platform. I get blackcurrant and a good red delicious apple as the fruit notes. Honeyed sweetness and mouthfeel. Bright and lively Kenyan.

Single dose via a sample trade. I think enough to make a grade here though. there's not a mind blowing cup of coffee here, but also not a bad cup. very steady, central American with silky mouth feel. I get berry medley, green grape, and sweet orange. it's very fruity, but perhaps missing a bright acidic turn or extra layer of complexity that would put it over the top.

An Ethiopan that drinks a lot like a Kenyan, right down to the slightly savory note when hot. The mid-palate is bursting with pineapple, ribena, and black grape. It'a a big more that dominates the cup. It'a not subtle, floral, or tea like your typical Ethiopian.

I had tha Konga once at Perkatory and it was much more like a tradition Ethiopian. Enjoyed this one though.

Cupping Method:Pourover at Jeje's in shop (took it to go)

Well-balanced, peach iced tea like Ethiopian. White flowers, light jasmine or honeysuckle undertone. Unfussy with a pleasant mouthfeel. Doesn't hit the complex or juicy heights some of this years Ethiopians have gotten to, but this is a nicely executed roast of a classic lot.

Cupping Method:I liked it lighter which brought out the florality.

I actually filed the below review after drinking the 3rd cup warm/hot. I bumped the score up after drinking the 3rd extraction (medium version) cooled. It came together without the sort of sour melon mouthfeel I was getting at the end. Instead I get a little Midori! So pretty rewarding with the dial-in. Like many complicated Kenyans, not one for the faint of heart.
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I tried 3 different extractions of this, light, medium, heavy. There's a lot going on but I couldn't get to come together. Fresh red plum, ruby red grapefruit, and black currant are fruit notes with the heavier extraction. Hibiscus and cranberry in the acidity. I never get balanced and in all cases I get a cloying aftertaste.

One of the very best early coffees I reviewed for the site was a Rwandan from Whiptail that was outstanding. I keep trying Whiptail hoping to get back to it. There's is a lot of about this Kenya. It's quite different from the raft of purple fruit Kenyans this year.

Melon and persimmon are the two major notes for me, along with a honeysuckle florality. It's quite naturally sweet but also quite tart. it's a very easy coffee to drink but complex, and I would say the only thing that keeps it from being a five star here is the finish. It has sort of a cloying, acidic linger. It's easily cleared up with a shot of sparkling water, but it wouldn't necessarily be. I wouldn't want to walk out of the café with on the palate.

Cupping Method:Drip at Revival in Lexington, MA.

SQ1's Thaddeus Espresso shows itself as both approachable and layered. The aroma leans toward dried stone fruit and cocoa, and the shot carries plum and raisin sweetness lifted by a bright blackberry acidity. The balance shifts into bittersweet dark chocolate with brown sugar smoothing the finish. The body is syrupy without being heavy, the acidity lively but controlled, and the crema good, giving it presence in the cup. This is a comforting yet dynamic espresso that works well on its own or with milk (my wife really liked her latte).

Cupping Method:Double espresso at Smoot Standard in Cambridge, MA (barista held up the pictured bag)

This Ethiopian natural offers clean, fruit-forward notes of strawberry and red grape, with a smooth texture and a touch of funk for complexity. A good deal of natural sweetness. The hibiscus note mentioned by the roaster didn't show up for me and that would have pushed it to 5 stars.

But overall fhe cup remained balanced and refined. Among this season's many Ethiopian naturals, it stands out for its clarity and polish but a few others have had a bit bright acidity and more complexity.

Cupping Method:Pourover at Intelligentsia in Watertown, MA

Complex espresso that has nice salty chocolate and blackberry notes. Perhaps some tamarind. Whether you like this espresso will depend on how much you like a persistent earthy overtone. It's present throughout the shot and dominates that finish.

Cupping Method:Doppio at Revival, Cambridge Alewife

A lovely pink bourbon with the roaster's notes of watermelon and pink starburst the star of the show. Smooth, honeyed mouthfeel and sweetness. Very subtle jasmine undertone. There's not a lot of complexity but it's a very enjoyable easy drinker.

Cupping Method:17:1, 93C on v60. A little bit hotter accentuates the notes without adding any bitterness.