Undoubtedly, coffee has firmly embedded itself in the daily routines of countless individuals around the globe, resulting in the consumption of billions of cups each day. Whether it's sipped as the initial morning ritual or savoured during a work break, one question remains: How often do we pause to truly savour the taste of our coffee?
The process of tasting happens in two different places - in our mouths and in our noses - and it's important to think about these two parts of the process separately when learning to taste and talk about a coffee.
The initial phase of the coffee-tasting process takes place on the tongue, where we detect the relatively basic tastes of acidity, sweetness, bitterness, saltiness, and savouriness. However, when we come across descriptions of coffee that highlight flavours such as chocolate, berries, or caramel, it's important to note that these flavours are actually detected by the olfactory bulb situated in the nasal cavity.
TASTING TRAITS
When coffee tasters engage in their work, they often document their observations on a score sheet. While different processes may call for various types of score sheets, there are certain attributes that are commonly evaluated across the board. These attributes typically include:
Sweetness - How much sweetness does the coffee have? This is an extremely desirable trait in coffee, the more the better.
Acidity - How acidic is the coffee? And how unpleasant is the acidity? If there is a lot of unpleasant acidity, the coffee will be described as sour. A lot of pleasing acidity, however, gives the coffee a crispness or juiciness.
Mouthfeel - Does the coffee have a light, delicate, tea-like mouthfeel or is it more of a rich, creamy, heavy cup? More is not necessarily better, low-quality coffees often have quite a heavy mouthfeel, coupled with low acidity, which are not always pleasant to drink.
Balance - This is one of the most difficult aspects of coffee to assess. A myriad of tastes and flavours occur in a mouthfeel of great coffee but are they harmonious? Is it like a well-mixed piece of music or does one element dominate the cup?
Flavour - This is not just about describing the different flavour and aromas of a particular coffee, but also about how pleasant the taster finds them. Many new tasters find this the most frustrating aspect of coffee tasting.
Information provided by: The World Atlas of Coffee, James Hoffmann, 2nd Edition