Review #88: Noa Noa

Name of Roaster: Noa Noa

Location of Roaster (City, State, Country): Tahiti

Name of Roast: Café Tahiti Nui Type of Roast (Light, Medium, Dark): Medium Origin of Beans: N/A Price: $6.50 (8.8 oz.) (before shipping) Brewing Method (Drip, Chemex, AeroPress, etc.): Chemex Time Between Purchase and Brewing (Ballpark is fine): Thirty Days Aroma: Opening the bag, we noted warm wood, the roast note, a touch of smoke, and sharp dark chocolate underneath, followed by a rich ganache. On the pour, caramelizing sugar and white processed sugar show.

Flavor Profile: The coffee arrived on the sip with a mid-palate entry and medium-to-light body. Initial flavors of smoke, toasted walnut, cedar, and pine wash across the tongue, followed by a slightly viscous and cloying lime and black tea. The sides of the tongue pick up additional mixed bark flavors. A strong, aromatic finish of pine and the roast note persist.

Overall Impression (What did you think of it? Anything else we should know?): This is a basic, bare bones, dark roast coffee that is great for tourist purchases at the airport or in one of many gift shops or markets. It is not a coffee to order for its flavor profile. Rather, if you enjoy this flavor, we recommend going to your grocery store and buying an entry-level budget coffee and saving yourself the money it would cost to ship this coffee from French Polynesia. The flavor improved when we paired it with a sweet pastry (we tried it with monkey bread), and it also mellowed when paired with milk. It's worth noting that we were unable to find any whole bean offerings from Noa Noa, and so this was our first review using pre-ground coffee. Additionally, the bag notes that the beans are imported green and then roasted in Tahiti. We were unable to find a source location in our research, but the heavy hand on the roast likely diminished any flavor qualities that would point to the origin of the beans.

Final Score (1-10, with 10 being the best cup of coffee in your life): 6.4. Where to Buy: Noa Noa Looking to do a review of your own? Hop over to the Community and get to it!