Costa Rica Black Honey Reina Elizabeth

The sweetness in the grounds has a plump fruit aspect layered in with rustic sweet notes, like palm sugar, and salted caramel. There's a note of fermented fruit in the wet aroma that comes off like fruity natural wine, with mild sweetness of honey, and dried date. At first sip, I found the fruits in the cup to be a bit buried under sweetness, making more of an impact as the coffee cooled. What you're left with is a cup with lightly fruited sweetness, bright accents, and bittersweet undertones, particularly when roasted to a City/City+ range. Notes of dark sugar and agave nectar are accented by hints of fruit tea infusions, along with dried apricot and plum. The top end has a brisk, tannic mouthfeel that brings structured acidity to the flavors and also draws out the fruit characteristics a bit. Accents of rustic cocoa come into play once the coffee cools off a bit, bringing some added depth to the sweetness, and filling out the finish. One of my roast batches hit just the start of 2nd Crack (Full City+), and was surprisingly syrupy-sweet. Roast toned chocolate flavors were much more pronounced, with notes of Belgian dark chocolates and toasted nibs, but there were also juicy fruit elements highlighted by accents of dark stone fruits, plum and fig, and syrupy canned fruits. At 3 days rest, it worked wonders in my espresso machine too. Evaluated at 18 grams of coffee in, 26 grams espresso out, over 30 seconds, the base flavor was deep toned and chocolatey, interspersed with blackberry juice and lemon, tangy acidity, and a finishing note of amaretto cordials. Delicious!