Outstandings. The original Gesha that blew my mind. Intensely complex and flora, with peach, tropical fruit, earl grey. Perfect balance and perfect acidity.

Cupping Method:Pourover, Chemex, Natural Filter, 207 degrees F

One of, if not, the best coffees I've ever had. Blind tasted out of the Angel's Cup "Black" Gesha box, which I got as a gift for Christmas in January of 2023. We ordered another bag and it was consistent with the Angel's Cup tasting.

Where to start, incredible complexity. Honeysuckle, peach, jasmine tea. Acidity is perfect. Structure is perfect, almost like the finest wine that evolves in your mouth.

Cupping Method:Chemex pourover, 207 degrees F.

This is the best organic value coffee I've had. On those nose, I got cherry cola and champagne - that effervescence has really been there for me. This made brilliant pourover. Balanced, smooth, just the right amount of acidity. If I had a cafe where I had to serve one light roast all the time, this one might be it. Intelligentsia puts out remarkable quality at the scale they operate at.

Cupping Method:Chemex pourover, 207 F

The best coffee I had in 2022. I had this twice in the Intelligentsia store in Chicago. I doubt this is one you'll see in stock a lot but I hope it's available year to year. Might be worth setting a Google alert.

I think these are remarkable beans, carefully treated, then perfectly roasted by a great roaster. Mossto anaerobic means the coffee seed was submerged in its fruit pulped, and then the juice was expelled in a container for more than 3 days.

How to describe the result - there is a lot going on, and it's all amazing. The first thing you notice, on the nose and first sip is the floral notes, paired with a strong Earl Grey tea type scent. The acidity is crisp and just right through, a kind of pineapple lime, and then the finish is a combination of all of it, and lingers a long time.

Cupping Method:2x pourover in Chicago Intelligentsia, summer 2022

Great

Cupping Method:REally good

Great

Cupping Method:Yup

Best

Cupping Method:Hot

Smooth, versatile, and borderline chuggable. I wouldn't say this has a single standout trait.

Wonderful chocolate aroma with a little bit of sweetness.

Balanced acidity.

Slightly milk chocolate tailing into mid-palate strong black tea. It's very smooth but I'd take a little bit more brightness in the frutiness notes. That would have pushed it over the top.

Actually pulled it as espresso and it had a massive crema and a bit of watermelon funk came out.

Cupping Method:Grading as pourover, made with v60, 18:1 ratio, 197 degrees. I also made it at 205 degrees, and it was too hot.

Actually enjoyed the espresso as as well.

This is a fun and crazy espresso, very unique. It has a pretty interesting peanut butter banana brownie aroma. The roast itself is pretty intresting looking - while it's a single varietal caturra, the beans are pretty variegated in the roast color.

The chcocolate banana comes through in the cup. It has a nice mouthfeel with some natural sweetness. It's funky and fun. The crema is medium but a little light.

The can is cool looking but completely non-sensical packaging for espresso or coffee in general. Ha ha.

Cupping Method:Espresso, La Spaziale A53. 95C.

Very chocolatey medium dark espresso that pulls consistently with a massive crema and lovely mouthfeel. No burnt or bitter notes to be found here. Some nice natural sweetness. A slight hint of blackstrap molasses.

While I generally like my espresso to have a bit more acidity and complexity, I think this one does a really good job with what they are going for here.

Cupping Method:95C two shot pulls on La Spaziale A53

A nice gesha with outstanding mouthfeel and natural sweetness. Light vanilla, a satsuma note, and 3/4 palate of something like orange pekoe. an orange linger and clean finish. A slight honeysuckle floral overtone.

Cupping Method:Pourover.

18:1 ratio, v60 and Chemex, 196F and 197F.

Took a little bit to dial-in but was really good 4 weeks after roast date.

Tasty omniroast pink bourbon decaf that worked as pourover and espresso. Nice depth of chocolate character on espresso that's 50/50 tea/chocolate on pourover. Also some sweet orange, slightly floral, and a full-body with nice natural sweetness in the brown sugar range. A great one to have around for dessert.

I don't drink a lot of Thai coffee so this one took a little bit of getting used and a touch to dial-in. Although I didn't actually change that much in my various iterations, so maybe it's more me.

Rabbit Hole has fantastic tasting notes, and pomegranate and green apples are spot on. They aren't sharply acidic as you would get in the fruit, but definitely detectable. It's very sweet and just slightly funky. It's perhaps a little herbaceous in a neutral way. Overall, and an interesting and fun coffee.

Cupping Method:Part of 7 coffees I ordered from Rabbit Hole this month. 195-197F range, 18:1 ratio, Hario v60.

I didn't take great notes towards the end of Leaderboard Season 15.

Cherry
Caramel
Sweet
Caramel
A bit herbal/funky

Guessed it was a robusta strain and was right here...but I enjoyed it.

Cupping Method:Leadearboard Season 15

A highly characteristic Ethiopian with good balance and nice mouthfeel. Notes - tea, peachiness, a hint of brown sugar.

Cupping Method:Season 15 of Leaderboard Coffee, made at 197F in Hario v60, 18:1 ratio. Also in Chemex.

I drank this as part of Leaderboard season 15, and I only noted a score and I thought it was a robusta varietal. Not sure why I took such crappy notes.

Catching up on Leaderboard Season 15 data entry.

I really liked this Rwandan from Little Waves, as much I have any Rwandan, which I usually find solid but undistinguished.

For a washed, I thought this had a bit of funkiness to it. I got an almond overtone, a satsuma type citrus, and a nice natural sweetness and medium mouthfeel. I thought it had a very rich aroma with a bit of spice on the grind.

Cupping Method:v60, 18:1 ratio, 197F - part of Leaderboard S15. I ended up getting this one right though I struggled with it possibly being the Ecuadorian.

Balanced, clean coffee with exceptional mouthfeel and hits the roaster's notes nicely (peach, vanilla, floral). Peach sweet tea character overall. Peach acidity is really nice. Very smooth. Limited complexity but a nice easy drinker.

Cupping Method:V60 and Chemed, 197F worked well, 18:1. Had a 100g bag.

I got a cold brew to walk back up to the Canyons resort after having an espresso at the Garden Cafe. Baldoni was the roast used. I'd say it drinks more like a medium, but was a very good choice for cold brew on ice. It's very smooth, with excellent depth of the chocolate note, and a clean citrus acidity. The acidity is fairly light. A very nice caramel sweetness with a slight cashew tinge. While it's not super complex, this is a coffee I'd recommend to many of my friends who like a straightforward roast with lower acidity.

Cupping Method:Cold brew on ice at Garden Cafe in Park City, Utah.

Another day, another Park city espresso.

This one was very good in a slightly different vein than ones I've had recently. I found this to be a very smooth espresso with a syrupy mouthfeel. Dark chocolate lead, then a smooth mid-palate, and blackberry and tamarind finish.

Cupping Method:Double espresso at Garden Cafe in Park City, Utah

A tasty espresso.

Leads with a deep, unsweetened, and slightly bitter chocolate profile. I agreed that the sweetness is slightly date like. There's a fairly substantial hit of blackberry acidity that I think balances the slightly bitter, slightly earthy chocolate note.

Cupping Method:Double espresso at Tina's Bakery in Park City

Mill Creek roasts this house blend for Atticus Coffee in Park City that delivers a well-rounded dark roast espresso.

It leans into chocolate notes with a pleasing depth of flavor, balanced by subtle smoky and earthy undertones that don't overpower. The acidity is mild, staying in the background, while the mouthfeel is smooth and complemented by a rich crema.

A great shot for those who enjoy a darker roast without it being overly intense.

Cupping Method:At Atticus Coffee in Park City, Utah. It's on Main Street.

Flavorful espresso with massive crema and nice depth of flavor. Rich chocolate, spice, and definitely the cedar note mentioned by the roaster, but presented in a way that's very pleasant. Has some complexity and evolves in the palate. One of the better airport espressos I can remember.

Cupping Method:Equator Coffee kiosk in Terminal A of Logan Airport. Service a little bit disorganized and slow (missed my order). Rating solely based on coffee.

Very good medium roast espresso. Chocolate, blackberry, lime hit with boldness. Some maple syrup sweetness/overtones. Really nice balance and mouthfeel. Tails off a little on the finish for me, but very good espresso overall.

Cupping Method:Double espresso at Wild Valentine in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Looks like a custom roast for Wild Valentine.

Nicely roasted fairly characteristic Costa Rica with chocolate, a little bit of tea and a clean citrus and fresh pear note. Very clean finish and very nice mouth feel. Reminds me a little bit of an elevated breakfast blend. The depth of flavor and mouthfeel was very nice. For me, this was between a four and a 4.5 but I rounded up.

There was a lot to like about Pour City although it might be trying to do a bit too much in a small venue.

Cupping Method:Pourover at Pour City in Franklin Lakes, NJ

Very tasty filter, coffee with almost no bitterness whatsoever, slight almond character, and then leads into bright orange a little bit of tea and a little bit of chocolate and an extremely clean finish with a lightly lemony linger.

Cupping Method:Filter at Radial Coffee in Vernon, CT. Drank in the car on the way to NJ. The barista told me this was the blend they used for filter.

I liked this coffee. Brazilian coffee is not typically my favorite, but this one had a bit more of what I like and a bit less of the notes I don't.

The lead is a big red fruit note. It's nutty, plummy, and a bit funky. There's some caramel/cashew overtones. It's clean, with a little lingering complexity in the funk. I like the description of the guarana from the roaster.

Seems like a cool roaster here from Portugal and I made a note to check out more of their coffee.

Cupping Method:Leaderboard S15, Coffee #4. Made with Hario v60, 197F, 18:1.

This was a blind tasting but the size of the beans (very big) made it fairly obvious this was the Pacamara, with Tanzania the logical origin. I had a similar coffee from Nomad a year ago, and it was reminiscent.

This one from Hex, who's been on my list to try, had a very silky mouthfeel, almost glycerine. I could have taken it be a Chiroso if the beans weren't so big. It has a strong tea character (I got black tea more than the roaster's note of red), and a bright citrus note, something like a satsuma or tangerine. I liked this coffee overall - it wasn't super complex or fireworks but very enjoyable to drink.

Cupping Method:Leaderboard Coffee game, blind tasting (S15, coffee #3). Made with Hario v60, 18:1, 197F

Well, I thought this coffee might have been Kenyan as it had many of the characteristics of Kenyan coffee: currant, strawberry, citrus, smooth, and clean. Silky mouthfeel and slight savoriness. I didn't necessarily get a tomato but it was enough to throw me off (actually the roaster listed tomato as a trait here.) Overall, a pretty nice coffee for pourover that's pretty different from the other washed Chirosos I've had.

Cupping Method:Blind tasting from Leaderboard Coffee game. Hario v60, 18:1 ratio, 196F.

This was an interesting and different espresso that worked in a very different way for me.

It's a touch milk chocolate, and then sweet ruby red grapefruit, like when you put brown sugar on it for breakfast. Not very bitter or grapefruit ride, just that sort of citric, sweet, tart, and slightly bitter character. It's bright and pretty tasty if you're into it (which I am).

The crema is on the light side but pretty persistent.

When I tasted it I personally liked it but I was sure how it would work in lattes. I had ordered it as an extra bag because we have latte-drinking guests. Turned out everyone was pretty happy. Folks, including myself, liked it a bit more than another single origin medium roast I had ordered that week from Trade.

Cupping Method:I bought this coffee from Trade, and mainly made it as an espresso (including a lot of lattes for family).