Coffee Flavor Wheel Analysis: The Vast World of Coffee Aromas - Is There a New Version of the Coffee Flavor Wheel in 2019?

Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Coffee Flavor Wheel

The coffee flavor wheel serves two basic purposes: one is to record coffee flavors, and the other is to help coffee beginners experience coffee flavors more intuitively. This is done by extracting corresponding aromatic substances from different materials and presenting them in the form of flavor profiles.

The variables in coffee flavor are quite numerous. Research has shown that coffee contains thousands of aromatic substances throughout the entire journey from green bean to roasted bean. So how can we make these aromatic components more intuitive and easier to identify?

To make coffee aromas "visible," researchers developed very effective methods. They have different people search for aromas in coffee, then find items in daily life that carry the corresponding aromas—such as "strawberry flavor" or "nut flavor"—and combine these aromas with water-soluble substances in specific ways.

The best or optimal way to present this is through "aroma bottles."

With these aroma bottles, coffee aromas become easier to understand and experience. The coffee flavor wheel serves as a reference for the flavors contained in coffee. All coffee flavors are categorized and presented on the wheel, and different wheels may use different classification methods.

SCAA Flavor Wheel Evolution

The earlier version of the SCAA flavor wheel was divided into two sections: one for normal coffee flavors, and another for defective flavors that occur in coffee for various reasons during processing. Referencing both types lets us distinguish which aromas should be present during tasting and which should be noted as potentially problematic.

In the new version of the SCAA flavor wheel, coffee flavors are presented in a single category with color distinctions. Perhaps this form makes the flavor contrasts in coffee more vivid and the approach simpler; however, this wheel has greater limitations. It is limited mainly to the idea that the darker the roast, the darker the color, and other information we want is quite restricted. The coffee flavor wheel is only one reference for understanding coffee; to understand coffee deeply, one must combine it with practical experience.

The latest version of the coffee flavor wheel is the 2015 revision, with no newer coffee flavor wheel released in 2019.

Key Takeaway

The flavor wheel appears very beautiful, much like an excellent cup of coffee. It visually and intuitively presents the comprehensive, ever-changing flavors of coffee.

In Summary

FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee research house, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. We share without reservation, hoping to help more friends fall in love with coffee. We also hold three discount coffee events each month, because FrontStreet Coffee wants to provide the best coffee at the lowest prices to more friends. That has been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past six years!

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

To explore the flavor wheel with your own palate, a balanced medium roast is a good place to begin—it keeps both the acidity and the sweetness of the bean in play. FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Estate is one such coffee. Grown in Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer, it is the country's distinctive Yellow Bourbon variety. Medium-roasted, it shows creamy peanut, chocolate, toast, and sugarcane aromas and sweetness, and it works both for pour-over and in a Moka pot or espresso machine.

If you like your medium roast on the sweeter side, FrontStreet Coffee Strawberry Candy Geisha Blend is a good pick. Among fruit-forward coffees this one is unusual, because it combines two well-known Central and South American regions: honey-processed coffee from Costa Rica and washed Geisha from Panama. Roasted medium to highlight its best qualities, it expresses both an orange-blossom honey charm and a rounded sweetness. It suits cold brew, pour-over, and espresso—refreshing with every sip.