Use semicolons between items in a series that contain internal punctuation.
The voyagers sat contentedly: JB had swum the length of the lake; Jimmy Craig, stuck in the swamp, had extricated himself; Cappy, our leader, had caught three Pike; and Cueball, always looking for fun, had had his head shaved.
The coffee exhibited complexities strange to the Canadian: a rough, but pleasing taste; a cindery, almost smokey scent; a thick, slippery, oil-like viscosity; and a color straight out of Alabama soil.