Reviews for Manzanita Roasting Company

Intense, spicy-sweet, chocolaty. Mexican chocolate (cocoa nib, vanilla, cinnamon, sugar), oak, orange zest, juniper berry or a light whiff of gin in aroma and cup. Sweet but crisp and balanced in structure, with a savory bottom. Light, though quite syrupy, mouthfeel. Cinnamon dominates in the short finish, but cocoa comes forward in a sweet and long-lasting finish.

Crisply sweet, spice-toned. Dried papaya, caramel, tangerine zest, pink-peppercorn, vanilla in aroma and cup. High-toned, sweetly tart in structure with juicy, bright acidity; lean, though satiny-smooth mouthfeel. The resonant, richly drying finish is laden with sweet notes of caramel and papaya in the short, turning more savory-leaning in the long, with hints of pink peppercorn wrapped in vanilla.

Evaluated as espresso. Delicate, subtle, balanced. Roasted cacao nib, clover flowers, molasses, cedar, orange zest in aroma and small cup. Satiny-smooth body; sweetly nut-toned finish. In three parts milk, floral and cocoa tones bloom in the short, while hints of bright orange zest resurface in the long.

Balanced, classic in structure. Baker’s chocolate, cedar, dried fig, magnolia, tangerine zest in aroma and cup. Crisply sweet, gentle acidity; round, plush mouthfeel. In the deeply rich finish, the flavor consolidates to notes of cocoa-toned fig with a hint of tangerine zest.

Evaluated as espresso. Reviewer Jen Apodaca (95) loved this coffee: “rosewater, Meyer lemon, peach preserves, honey and brown sugar … Sweet and aromatic from start to finish … a standout in milk.” John DiRuocco (91) was less enthusiastic, though he praised this coffee’s delicacy and raisin and sweet chocolate notes. Ken found enough to like (blood orange, rose-like flowers, sweet pipe tobacco) to squeeze out a 90. All three reviewers found what they liked most about the coffee carrying into three parts milk.

Deeply and sweetly pungent. Dark chocolate, apple, fresh-cut cedar, cherry blossom in aroma and cup. Crisp, juicy acidity; syrupy mouthfeel. Cherry blossom and cedar dominate in the gently drying finish.

Evaluated as espresso. Deeply savory/sweet, floral-toned. Apricot, cedar, dark chocolate, a hint of lush narcissus in aroma and small cup. Creamy, light mouthfeel. Nut and rosemary notes surface, complicating the cedar in the savory, slightly tart finish. The herby cedar lingers in three parts milk, and apricot resurfaces.