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The dark roast style leans toward carbon here but remains on the flavorful side of it, turning the Sumatra richness pungent and darkening the sweet tones with hints of what a publicist might call chocolate. If this coffee had showed some development I would have rated it higher, but the profile made its statement and stood pat from there. As with the other Café d'Alma coffees in the cupping, I suspect a loss of aromatics in shipping.

Low-toned, full-bodied, absolutely solid at the center (maybe too), with slight hints of fruit and sweetness at the edges. In other words, a typical Sumatra. Would be a classic Sumatra if there were something more going on inside that center or a little more shimmer or lift around those edges. As it is, substantial, satisfying, but a touch inert.

An understated sweet liveliness lifts the rather stolid heart of this coffee. I can't cite any grace notes, simply a very pleasant, sweet lift. Good dimension, but (for a Sumatra) a rather shallow bottom.

Another solid, heavy-centered Sumatra. Here, however, the dark center reveals hints of wine and a character more complexly pungent than sweet. The pungency is free of earthy or hard notes, and reads as the very quintessence of rich.

Not entirely typical for a Sumatra, but something of a revelation: an almost Latin-American brightness up front before the deep Sumatra tones prevail, pulling us down into a broad, deep, sweet vanilla-tinged center. An amazing range, from the fleeting floral top notes to a pungently rich bottom, plus a long, satisfying development that carries straight through to the vanilla memories in the aftertaste.

It wasn't entirely clear whether it was a thin, attenuated quality that put this semi-dry-processed coffee near the bottom of the cupping (three reviewers explicitly used the word "thin"), or an off-taste too subtle to be called a defect but unpleasant nonetheless. I called it a "baggy hardness"; three other panelists also used the word "hard" to describe it; others used close synonyms like harsh and bitter. On the positive side, several praised this coffee's sweetness.

Perhaps this coffee was betrayed by our sample roasting. Four of ten reviewers mentioned burned or smoky tastes that may have been owing to a rushed or overdeveloped roast. Two identified a fault that may be associated with the coffee and not the roast -- a slightly medicinal or harsh character. No grace notes were cited, although the term "soft" came up frequently as usual. I was definitely in the minority with this coffee: I felt it required patience, but developed nicely: "At first heavy but nondescript, but then a gentle, light, levitating sweetness dances off the top," I wrote.

"Clean, monolithic," one cupper wrote. "OK but same old same," wrote another. One of four coffees in the cupping for which no faults whatsoever were cited; on the other hand, this carefully prepared coffee elicited only mild praise. The acidity was predictably characterized as "soft" (five of ten reviewers). Words like sweet and caramelly popped up occasionally. Only one reviewer actually effused: "chocolaty and sweet; nutty flavor."

Although this dry-processed coffee scored roughly the same as the three preceding samples, reviewers' comments seemed to indicate a coffee with more character and development. No faults or weaknesses were noted, and a tone of quiet respect ran through the few comments on flavor and aftertaste: "smooth - mellow"; "very pleasing." A split vote on body: about half the reviewers who commented found it heavy, and about half thin or light.

"Yes! This is a coffee for non-believers. This sample will convert the pagans," wrote one reviewer, apparently a supporter of Brazil coffees. Well, most of the pagans stayed unconverted, still groveling about before their acidy Central-American idols. The usual vanilla and nut tones were noted approvingly in the aroma, the soft sweetness of the acidity observed, but little enthusiasm emerged in the categories of body, flavor or aftertaste. "Not much depth," complained one. "Very uniform throughout the range in all taste aspects," remarked another carefully, "not lacking anything in particular, yet not exceeding in any category either." Three reviewers noted mild faults, two with a forest products theme: "papery; wet cardboard," said one; "woody" complained the other.

Although this quietly elegant Brazil didn't attract the sort of raves the highest-rated Guatemala elicited in our July 1997 cupping, it did stimulate admiring comment and the highest rating in the cupping. "Excellent overall. Stands by itself as an estate coffee." "This coffee is the best of the lot." Admiration centered on a smoothly substantial body and a deeply nuanced flavor. Three reviewers identified the grace notes as chocolate, a term that came up only occasionally with other coffees. One even qualified chocolate by category: "bittersweet chocolate, not sweet!" .

We couldn't make up our collective mind about this wet-processed coffee. I found it light and pleasantly bright -- appropriate to a good wet-processed coffee from lower altitudes. Several agreed, finding the acidity fruity and sweet. Others, however, reacted critically to the delicate profile: "Washed ... blah!" exclaimed one. Assessments of body were surprisingly varied, ranging from thin to buttery and full. Finally, two reviewers found flat-out fault with the profile: "dirty," complained one; "baggy" (flat, ropey taste), accused the other.

This coffee was roasted so darkly and probably at such high temperatures that little was left to taste except overwhelming carbon plus a hint of high, singing sweetness that emerged in aroma and finish. The green coffee the roastmaster started with may well have been excellent, but the roast certainly wasn't.

Once again, a rather flat astringency, a sort of strident monotone, dominates the center of the profile, abetted in this case by a touch of carbony sharpness. Some fruit and sweetness, though the grace notes tend toward the tobacco and herb.

Not much in the way of grace notes or fruit, but a very full body and an impressive range and dimension. The finish is rich and deep-toned. Only a trace of Red-Sea wildness from the Yemen.

A clean but slightly oppressive hardness or astringency dampens the fruity Mocha-Java richness. A touch of carbon. The background fruitiness pleasantly hints at chocolate in the finish.

A rather complex dark-roast cup. Clear carbon, but the roast was conducted with enough deliberation to preserve some richness and a touch of sweetness. The most engaging complication was in the dry center of the profile: a pruny, complex pungency that read as chocolate in the aroma. The carbon reasserted itself in the aftertaste.

The strength of this excellent Mocha-Java is in the full, rich body and complex bottom. The low notes remain alive, complicating and deepening through the finish. Not much lift or sweetness at the top, however. The only grace notes I detected were a touch of carbon and some heavy pruniness.

Clean and decisive profile, but a bit too much wallop and not quite enough tickle. Little sweetness or nuance. Some dimension, but a rather hard, winy (not fruity) acidity dominates, sitting on the rest of the profile.

A rather rough ride. The first impression is complex, but not entirely pleasantly so: a hard, ropey sensation sits on the profile. Behind and around the hard center a bracing, fruity richness opens, but we never get completely out from under the hardness, which, among other things, seems to depress the sweetness in the fruit.