How to Correctly Describe Coffee Flavors: A Professional Guide to Coffee Tasting and Terminology

FrontStreet Coffee - Introduction to Coffee Flavor Descriptions

The Taste of Coffee

When beginners taste the acidity in coffee, they do not need to focus too much on the specific names of acids. They should learn to distinguish instead between uncomfortable acidity, irritating acidity, strong acidity, dead acidity, and refreshing acidity.

Acidity is one of the terms used to describe coffee flavor. If a coffee has higher acidity, its aftertaste is crisp, refreshing, and pleasant. If the coffee's acidity is low, it produces a dull aftertaste.

Because acidity is often misunderstood, it can be described with words like bright and vibrant. Coffee acidity falls into two types: one is "bright, vibrant, moderate fruity acidity," and the other is "sharp acidity, over-fermented fruity acidity." The former is high-quality acidity, while the latter is inferior.

The Aroma of Coffee

The so-called aroma is the scent that rises after coffee is brewed. Descriptions of coffee aroma include caramel, fruity, floral, rich, spicy, and more.

Unpleasant aromas come from defects in the raw beans, improper roasting, or improper brewing at the end, while normal aromas are the sensations we can perceive, whether wet or dry. Coffee aromas can be broadly grouped into several types:

1. Fruity category: lemon, orange, plum, peach, asparagus, grape, apricot
2. Floral category: rose, wild ginger, jasmine, violet, mint leaves
3. Sugar-based substances: honey, brown sugar, caramel, sweet potato
4. Spices category: cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cocoa
5. Woody category: pine, cypress, cedar, sandalwood, forest floor
6. Special aromas: wine fermentation, musk, cream, leather

Overall Coffee Flavor

Flavor is the taste of coffee in the mouth. A coffee might taste slightly of chocolate or caramel, for example. When describing coffee flavor, you can start with the acidity, then the aroma. For instance, you might describe a coffee as follows: "The coffee has a crisp, bright flavor with subtle citrus notes and rich chocolate undertones."

Here are some typical flavor characteristics:

• Rich: referring to body and intensity;
• Complex: the sensation of multiple flavors;
• Balanced: all basic taste characteristics are satisfactory, with no one taste overpowering another;
• Crisp, bright, dry, lively, or vibrant: common in Central American coffees;
• Caramel-like: resembling sugar or syrup;
• Chocolatey: similar to unsweetened chocolate or vanilla aftertaste;
• Savory: subtle, delicate flavors felt on the tip of the tongue (washed New Guinea Arabica beans);
• Earthy: earthy aromatic qualities (typical of Sumatran coffee);
• Fragrant: an aromatic quality ranging from floral to multi-spiced;
• Fruity: an aromatic quality reminiscent of berries or oranges;
• Mellow and smooth: a rounded, smooth texture lacking acidity;
• Nutty: similar to a roasted nut aftertaste;
• Spicy: flavors and aromas reminiscent of various spices;
• Sweet: without astringency;
• Wild: a wild flavor, generally not considered pleasant (common in Ethiopian coffee);
• Winey: an aftertaste reminiscent of well-aged wine (common in Kenyan and Yemeni coffee).

Knowledge Point: During roasting, the moisture in raw coffee beans is slowly released, weight decreases, color deepens, volume expands, and aromatic oils are gradually released.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The vocabulary above becomes much easier to use once you have a few reliable reference coffees on hand, and FrontStreet Coffee's blends are a practical starting point. The FrontStreet Classic Blend is a traditional Mamba recipe of Mandheling and Brazil, deep roasted for dark chocolate, nut, caramel, and creamy flavors with a rich, mellow body that fits the "balanced" and "rich" descriptors. The FrontStreet Black Cocoa Blend is 100% Arabica, with ample crema and a mellow body, a clear example of "chocolatey." For the fruitier end of the vocabulary, the FrontStreet Strawberry Candy Blend layers a bright strawberry-candy sweetness that illustrates "fruity" and "sweet" at once.