Coffee Review Selects Costa Rica Blend Among the Best of 2015

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Coffee Review, a popular online publication known to millions of coffee lovers as the “Wine Spectator of the coffee industry,” has just revealed its third annual ranking of the year’s top coffees and espressos, and two blends from Costa Rica are among the Top 30 for 2015.

coffee cupping in costa ricaCoffees appearing on the list were grown in 11 different countries. The most frequently appearing origins are Panama and Ethiopia, with six coffees each. Other origins with multiple coffees on the list are Kenya (4), Colombia (2), Nicaragua (2), Costa Rica (2), and Sumatra (2).

The top roast from Costa Rica was given a 94 score by Coffee Review, and it is produced by farmers Alberto and Diego Guardia of Sonora Estate in Costa Rica. The blind test was described as deeply sweet, lyrically balanced. Honey, honeysuckle, hazelnut, cacao nib, crisp pear in aroma and cup. Gracefully and gently brisk acidity; silky, buoyant mouthfeel. The sweet honey/honeysuckle and the crisp cacao nib and hazelnut notes carry into a quietly flavor-saturated finish.

The Costa Rica Alberto Guardia Venecia roast is processed by the honey method, which means that the outer skin is removed as it is in the wet or “washed” process, but at least some of the sticky fruit residue is allowed to dry on the bean and later removed by machine along with the parchment skin. Temple Coffee is a quality-focused retail and wholesale specialty roaster active in Sacramento, California since 2005.

For the second year in a row, Coffee Review selected a roast from Panama as the top coffee of the year. This year’s No. 1 coffee is Finca La Mula Geisha, roasted by JBC Coffee Roasters in Madison, Wisconsin, from coffee beans grown on Willem Boot’s La Mula farm in western Panama.

Given that Coffee Review’s tasting facilities are based in the United States, it’s not surprising that 27 of the 30 coffees on the list were roasted by companies in the United States. California roasters dominated the rankings this year with 9 representatives overall. However, coffees roasted by companies in Canada, Taiwan, and China also appeared on the list at No. 29, No. 8, and No. 2, respectively.

The full list of the Top 30 Coffees of 2015 is available at CoffeeReview.com.

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