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Who Makes The
BEST COFFEE
Editorial sacred-geometry illustration for Smiley Ludlow Blend, not a photograph of this coffee or its packaging

Editorial illustration · not a coffee photograph

Editorial sacred-geometry artwork for Smiley Ludlow Blend; not a documentary photograph

Editorial illustration

Editorial sacred-geometry artwork for Smiley Ludlow Blend; not a documentary photograph

Editorial illustration

Editorial sacred-geometry artwork for Smiley Ludlow Blend; not a documentary photograph

Editorial illustration

Smiley Ludlow Blend

Roasted by Onyx Coffee LabRoaster's website
TRADITIONAL PROCESS
TagsCaturraBourbonCastilloDark roastDark ChocolateMolassesWine-likeArabicaBlendOnyx Coffee LabIndependent
Blend: Colombia · EthiopiaDark roast
Brand
Onyx Coffee Lab
Roaster website
Visit website
Countries
Colombia · Ethiopia
Regions
—
Town
—
Farm / Station
Varies by component — see below
Farmer / Producer
Multiple contributors — see blend components
Species
Arabica
Type
Blend
Grade
Not specified
Varieties
—
Process
See individual components
Roast
Dark
Tasting notes
dark chocolate, molasses, red wine, dried berries, thick and syrupy
Fermentation
Smiley’s exact source line reads “24 hr aerobic washed & natural.” It does not clarify whether the 24-hour statement applies to every component, one component, or a process stage, and it does not map washed versus natural processing to either origin.
Drying
Smiley states sixteen days on average without a drying surface or component mapping. Onyx’s exact wholesale summary says raised-bed dried without mapping that claim to a component. Both statements are preserved with attribution.
Product page
Roaster's site
Date reviewed
—
Why some details are blank
  • formal gradeNeither exact partner page publishes a formal green-coffee grade; the record is set to Not specified.
  • origin relationshipsThis is a rotating Colombia–Ethiopia blend; exact regions, farms and producers are not disclosed.
  • variety and process allocationFour varieties and washed/natural language are listed in aggregate, without component percentages or assignments.
  • fermentation and drying allocationSmiley’s 24-hour aerobic and 16-day statements and Onyx’s raised-bed label are not mapped to rotating components.
  • altitudeOnyx lists 1,800 m without identifying which component or season it describes; Smiley publishes no elevation, so no canonical scalar is stored.
  • AgtronThe exact pages conflict: Smiley lists 64.3 while Onyx lists 99.5. Dark is retained as the shared categorical roast level.
  • roast date and component crop datesThe evergreen rotating blend does not publish a release-wide roast date or component harvest dates.
  • public sentiment ratingCupper’s exact listing is unrated and no qualifying independent tasting review with a transparent score was found.
  • owner tasting inputNo owner tasting observation, approval, score, verdict or review date is recorded.
Spotted an error? Report a correction →
Sourcing explained

Who grew each part of this blend?

This coffee combines separately grown lots. A producer named for one component is not the grower of the entire blend. Rotating Colombia–Ethiopia blend using Caturra, Bourbon, Castillo, and SL28 with washed and natural components; percentages and component-level assignments are not disclosed.

Colombia component

Country:
Colombia
Proportion:
Not disclosed
Research note:
Variety and process assignments are not mapped to this origin in the exact source.

Ethiopia component

Country:
Ethiopia
Proportion:
Not disclosed
Research note:
Variety and process assignments are not mapped to this origin in the exact source.

Check the roaster’s current component disclosure ↗

The transparency chain

FROM THE BAG
BACK TO THE LAND.

A blend contains several origin chains, not one farmer or country. The component records above show each documented origin; undisclosed details stay undisclosed.

  1. 01
    The name on the bag
    Smiley Ludlow Blend
  2. 02
    The brand
    Onyx Coffee Lab
  3. 03
    The roaster
    Onyx Coffee Lab
  4. 04
    Varieties
    Not disclosed
  5. 05
    Farms / processing sites
    Not disclosed
  6. 06
    The growers
    Multiple contributors — see component details above
  7. 07
    Regions
    Not disclosed
  8. 08
    Countries
    Colombia · Ethiopia
From the roaster

Onyx Coffee Lab is a highly awarded specialty coffee roaster based in the United States, recognized for its commitment to transparency, sustainable sourcing, and precise roasting techniques.

Why this coffee is noteworthy

A rotating Onyx-produced collaboration whose retail source documents both origins, four aggregate varieties, mixed process language, a 24-hour aerobic statement, average drying time, Agtron 64.3 roast target and intended filter/espresso use—while the exact wholesale source publishes conflicting release-level process, drying and Agtron metadata.

The honest process breakdown

WHAT DID THEY ACTUALLY
DO TO THIS COFFEE?

01
Bounded the rotating blend

Preserved Colombia and Ethiopia, four aggregate varieties, and the absence of component percentages, farms, producers, regions or variety assignments.

02
Separated source conflicts

Attributed Smiley’s washed-and-natural, 24-hour aerobic, 16-day and Agtron 64.3 statements separately from Onyx’s washed-only, raised-bed and Agtron 99.5 wholesale summary.

03
Refreshed exact retail facts

Verified the 10-ounce retail bag at $24 USD as sold out on 2026-11-07; Onyx’s $93 listing is a wholesale case pack and was not substituted for the retail offer.

04
Protected tasting evidence

Added no owner score or public sentiment rating. Cupper’s exact listing remains unrated and does not qualify as an independent tasting review.

What was added?

Current retail offer, corrected formal-grade status, clearer source-conflict boundaries and a fresh exact-release sentiment search.

What wasn't added?

No farms, producers, regions, component percentages, single country, single variety, single process, canonical altitude, owner tasting or numerical public sentiment was inferred.

Why it matters

The record treats Ludlow as a rotating multi-origin blend and keeps conflicting partner metadata from becoming false component-level provenance.

What you might taste

Dark chocolate, molasses, red wine and dried berries with a thick, syrupy body, according to Smiley; these are brand descriptors, not owner observations.

Sources for these process claims
  • · https://www.smileycoffee1972.com/products/smiley-ludlow-blend
  • · https://onyxcoffeelab.com/en-int/products/smiley-coffee-ludlow-blend-10oz-case
  • · https://joincupper.com/coffees
Coffee profile

In the database. Not tasted. Not scored.

This coffee is in our database because we can reliably document it — but we haven't tasted and scored it yet, and we never publish a score we haven't earned.

Outside reviews and internet discussion — is kept clearly separate from our own review. When we taste it, our full review appears here.

The internet pulse

What the internet is saying about this coffee

Research complete — no qualifying reviews yet

Our research pipeline scanned public reviews, videos, forums and discussions for this coffee (last pass 2026-11-07) and found no independent review of this exact release that meets our verification standards. When qualifying sources appear, they'll be published here.

What we found

Cupper lists the exact Smiley Ludlow Blend as not rated. Brand pages, the Onyx wholesale listing, retailer mirrors, café-location commentary, different Onyx blends and this site’s own profile were excluded. Zero qualifying independent exact-release tasting sources remain.

Until then, meet the people behind it:

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