Reviews for Allegro Coffee Roasters

Muted, crisply chocolaty. Baking chocolate, graphite, cashew, lily, brown sugar in aroma and cup. Sharp acidity; light-bodied mouthfeel. Finish consolidates to notes of graphite and brown sugar.

Deep, sweet, chocolaty. Chocolate fudge, black cherry, fresh-cut fir, hibiscus blossom, brown sugar in aroma and small cup. Sweet-tart structure with crisp, apple-like acidity; velvety-smooth mouthfeel. Gently drying finish with a chocolate throughline and fir undertones.

Sweetly savory, high-toned. Blackberry, freesia-like flowers, orange zest, brown sugar, juniper in aroma and cup. Rich, savory acidity; delicate, though rather syrupy mouthfeel. The finish is especially savory-toned, resonant with notes of juniper (berry and bark) and bittersweet orange zest.

Muted, sweet. Roasted cacao nib, apricot, tangerine zest, unroasted hazelnut, fresh-cut fir in aroma and cup. Quiet, gently tart acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates in a drying finish with some sweetness in the long.

Spicy, crisply sweet. Green apple and grape, sandalwood, roasted cacao nib, a hint of myrrh in aroma and cup. Round, brisk but juicy acidity; silky mouthfeel. Citrus and sandalwood, in particular, carry into a dry, zesty finish.

Sweetly crisp, balanced, quietly complex. Brown sugar, freesia-like flowers, delicate chocolate, sweet grapefruit in aroma and cup. Soft, gently tart acidity; light, satiny mouthfeel. Hints of chocolate and brown sugar carry into a resonant finish.

Crisp, quietly complete, balanced. Hazelnut, fresh-cut fir, cranberry, a hint of oregano in aroma and cup. Rich, round acidity; lightly syrupy mouthfeel. Flavor consolidates in a simple, rich finish.

Crisply sweet, giddily lively. Complex flowers (lilac, lavender, freesia), butter, roasted cacao nib, brown sugar, dry berry in aroma and cup. Delicate, sweetly bright acidity; silky mouthfeel. Sweet-toned, flavor-saturated finish.

A cup displaying all of the idiosyncrasy and complexity that makes Yemen such a fascinating origin. The aroma is funky, rich, pungent, all haloed by sweetness. The body is rich and buttery. The controversial, slightly composty overtones to the fruit that turn some palates off to Yemen are gently dominated here by the pungent taste of the roast, turning the fruit into a sensation as much tactile as olfactory, a sort of smoky, dry-toned richness.

Considerably more emphatic and complex than the Armeno aged Sumatra, apparently owing to the handling of the roast. The same hardness characteristic of many aged Sumatras of recent years is enveloped here with a soft, almost candy-like sweetness, modulating to a dry, tobaccoish finish. Sweet notes prevail in the aftertaste.

Another juxtaposition of hard-toned pungency and soft sweetness, although here the sweetness blooms with subtle floral notes in finish and aftertaste. Somewhere in the overlap of hardness and sweetness an additional little nuance emerges, a pleasant spicy tickle.

Another coffee in which the hard tones characteristic of many traditionally processed Indonesian coffees are precariously mellowed by an ingratiating sweetness. The combination of (perhaps musty) sharpness and sweetness hints at chocolate, particularly in the finish.

The brightly assertive, sweetly fruity acidity that Kenya enthusiasts love is on full display here, cradled by a richly textured body. As a bonus we get the treasured Kenya berry notes, although the panel wasn't sure whether they were blueberry, blackberry, strawberry or just "berry." Berries and all, I found this otherwise splendid Kenya a touch shallow in dimension compared to the highest-rated Gaturiri.

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.

Extraordinary aroma: powerfully sweet, enveloping and complex, with tremendous dimension. Almost as impressive in the cup: Full-toned acidity softened by peach or prune, resonant and richly dimensioned, with a sweet, full, almost sugary finish complicated by hints of dry chocolate or tobacco.

The exhilaratingly bright, complexly winy acidity turns slightly hard and herbal as it settles on the palate, limiting the vivacity of the first impression. As the coffee cools the profile relaxes, allowing some rich sweetness to emerge behind the acidity.

No carbon and lots of sweetness here, smoothing and rounding the dark-roast pungency. A pleasing smokiness turns sweet and ambiguously chocolate in the aftertaste.

The aroma was curiously flat, the body ordinary, but the acidity splendid: powerful without shrillness, complex, alive with muted wine tones. Smoky hints in the cup turned slightly hard and tobacco-like in the finish, but softened again in the rich aftertaste. .

High, wild, winy notes rip through this coffee, first thrilling us, then turning uncomfortably lush in the finish, finally leveling out in a relatively clean aftertaste. American coffee culture hasn't made up its mind about this overripe, edge-of-compost taste. Is it a strange and wonderful gift of nature to be treasured, like the carefully cultivated mold in certain cheeses? Or do we dismiss it as a symptom of poorly-handled coffee?