Espresso Evaluation’s tasting stories intention to reply espresso questions that may solely be answered by tasting the coffees that pose the questions. Often, this implies blind-tasting an entire lot of coffees — 50 to 100 per article — and reporting truthfully on what we discover, together with calling consideration to the best of those coffees with evaluations and scores.

In 2025, we plan 5 such tasting stories.

February-March: Nationwide Roasters

This yr’s first report for February/March asks the query: What is going to espresso lovers who take pleasure in refined small plenty of traceable coffees from smaller roasters discover after they purchase from bigger specialty roasters that promote nationwide, in some circumstances, worldwide? (We’re taking a look at you, Starbucks, Peet’s, Blue Bottle, Counter Tradition, Entire Meals, et al.) We’ll anonymously order a variety of coffees from a number of these massive nationwide roasters, blind-taste them and check them for freshness, then report on each the successes and failures with scores and evaluations.

April-Might: Roasters on Route 66

Highways and low have lengthy been entwined in American fable, and for our April/Might report we’ll take a digital drive alongside some of the storied highways within the U.S.: Route 66.  We’ll pattern coffees from a few of the many regional roasters near that route, a stretch of freeway that for many years carried vacationers throughout the U.S. heartland from Chicago to Los Angeles, by eight states and 292 cities.

June-July: Robusta and Different Non-Arabica Species

Espresso Evaluation readers are likely conscious of certainly one of specialty espresso’s most persistent taboos: Thou shalt not roast or promote espresso from bushes of the Robusta (Coffea canephora) species. Traditionally, the specialty espresso world has averted having something to do with Robusta, the hardier, cheaper various to Arabica that now provides round 40% of the world’s espresso. This prohibition is essentially tacit and unspoken, however relies on a judgment of Robusta’s cup character as inescapably bland and bitter in comparison with Arabica’s higher sweetness, brightness and complexity. The one motive a espresso firm would roast Robusta, espresso lovers have been given to consider, is to economize.

Now, on the extra adventurous edges of the specialty espresso world, there’s a new curiosity in Robusta. It’s pushed largely by the specter of world warming, which has the potential to radically cut back lands appropriate for the manufacturing of Arabica, a fussy plant that requires comparatively excessive rising elevations within the tropics with cool nights however no frost. Robusta, however, can thrive at hotter temperatures than Arabica and is usually a lot hardier. Lately, the seek for a extra climate-resilient espresso plant has prolonged to different espresso species as nicely — to Liberica, a hardy species broadly grown and consumed in southeast Asia; Excelsa, intently associated to Liberica; and Stenophylla, a uncommon and lately rediscovered species that, analysis suggests, tolerates excessive temperatures whereas displaying a variety of sensory character just like high-grown Arabica.

For our June/July 2025 report, we will likely be testing as many examples of specialty Robustas and specialty variations of different non-Arabica species as we are able to flip up. We are going to almost definitely contemplate blends that make vital use of Robustas (minimal 50%) in addition to single-origin choices, and can settle for submissions meant for both brewed or espresso preparation.

August-September: Mocha-Java Blends

The world’s first mix, Mocha-Java, mixed the one two coffees the world knew in round 1720: Mocha from Yemen and Java from the Dutch colony of that identify. Regardless of the arbitrary nature of this mixture and uncertainty about how these early coffees truly tasted, Mocha-Java has remained a remarkably productive mix idea, retaining a core sensory expectation whereas stimulating usually impressed variations. Are modern variations of this mix worthy of its lengthy and distinguished historical past? We are going to survey and have fun a few of the newest variations on the richly generative Mocha-Java theme with our August/September 2025 report.

October-November: Costa Rica Coffees

For many years, Costa Rica was famed for its high-grown, meticulously ready washed coffees, cleanly traditional in profile, the final word in consistency. Then, beginning within the 2000’s, the Costa Rica “micro-mill revolution” exploded with its processing experiments. All of the sudden, we had brandy-toned natural-processed Costa Ricas, svelte honey-processed Costa Ricas, and ultimately, candy-toned anaerobic-processed Costa Ricas, all competing with the clear, sweetly vivid Costa Ricas of custom.

Whither Costa Rica in 2025? Will it lean extra towards the sensory surprises of processing experiments or the hovering magnificence of the traditional? Discover out with our October/November report.

December: High 50 Coffees of 2025

Yearly since 2013 we’ve revealed an inventory of the High 30 most fun coffees from among the many 1000’s we examined.  In 2013 roughly sixty coffees scored 94 factors or increased. Clearly, any espresso incomes 94 factors or increased is outstanding. Nevertheless, some coffees are rarer and extra distinctive than others. We felt we might make some troublesome decisions and arrive at a remaining record of 30 with out omitting any that clearly deserved inclusion.

Nevertheless, the variety of coffees we check annually has grown from roughly 300 in 2013 to over 700 up to now yr. And in these intervening 11 years, we now have seen an increasing number of distinctive coffees come throughout our cupping desk, as producers, merchants and roasters all develop extra inventive and resourceful, and alternatives for collaboration amongst them intensify. If, in 2013, 60 coffees out of 300 scored 94 factors or increased, in 2024, roughly 30 out of 700 scored 96 factors or increased. It seems that the time has come to broaden our record of 30 prime coffees to 50. We sit up for sharing our High 50 Coffees with you on the finish of the yr.