Special Reserve coffees are handcrafted on small family farms and remote estates. They may be recent winners of the prestigious “Cup of Excellence” competitions, or our prize for being the highest bidder on an unparalleled coffee found at auction. We may encounter them on our journeys to familiar origins, or they may hail from regions just emerging on the coffee scene. In every case, they epitomize our unique approach to sourcing and our worldwide search for coffees with unsurpassed aromas and exceptional flavor profiles.
Beans this distinctive are often produced in very small quantities, so each batch is roasted to display the coffee’s fullest expression of flavor and aroma. Our Special Reserve selections pair the farmers’ best work with the art and craft of our Master Roasters. This kind of partnership creates coffees that are limited in supply, but endless in delight.
Current Selection
Finca El Valle
A contemplative cup with heavy body and bright but tempered acidity. Intensely aromatic, the flavor is infused with ripe fruit tones: plum, black cherry, and apricot.
Critics are saying...
Our first two collections of Special Reserve coffees garnered rave reviews:
Colombian Dos Quebradas (August 2006)
“A deep, spicy floral character - dusk flowers, tea rose - leads in aroma and cup, supported by low-acid fruit notes - peach, cherry - and hints of milk chocolate and leather. The acidity is deep-toned and round, the finish rich and clean.”
--Kenneth Davids, Editor, Coffee Review
Panama La Esmeralda Geisha (December 2006)
“Very sweet-toned, exquisitely balanced aroma with floral, candied lemon and sweet herb notes. In the cup intense, tartly sweet acidity and buoyant mouth feel with white wine and continued sweet lemon notes. The barest hint of chocolate in the cup blooms with soft explicitness in the surprisingly sweet finish.”
--Kenneth Davids, Editor, Coffee Review
Rwanda Karaba Bourbon (March 2007)
“Sweet, rich, deep, pungently juicy aroma: cedar, oranges, banana, a hint of flowers. In the cup lean-bodied with a brightly pungent acidity, intensified floral notes, and a cocoa-chocolate cast to the fruit. The slightly dominating acidity softens in the finish, allowing the juicy orange and banana notes to bloom in a long, complex finale.”
--Kenneth Davids, Editor, Coffee Review
Gombe Reserve (June 2007)
“Dominated throughout the profile by crisp, complex dry berry notes (think blackberries and cedar) with deep, sweet undercurrents of honey and chocolate that emerge with particular clarity as the cup cools. The tart berry notes also carry suggestions of dry, light-bodied red table wines.”
--Kenneth Davids, Editor, Coffee Review
“…These beans do have a light touch, with a medium roast bringing out pretty, tropical fruit flavors…”
Wine Spectator, June 2007