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 don't need to focus too much on the specific names of acidity, but should learn to distinguish between: uncomfortable acidity, irritating acidity, strong acidity, dead acidity, and refreshing acidity.

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

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

The Aroma of Coffee

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

Unpleasant aromas are caused by defects in raw coffee beans, improper roasting, or improper brewing at the end, while normal aromas are the sensations we can perceive, whether wet or dry aromas. Coffee aromas can be broadly categorized 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. For example, coffee might taste slightly of chocolate or caramel. When describing coffee flavor, you can start with the coffee's acidity, then the aroma. For instance, you might describe 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 and 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: rounded, smooth texture lacking acidity;
• Nutty: similar to 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 the roasting process, the moisture in raw coffee beans is slowly released, weight decreases, color deepens, volume expands, and aromatic oils are gradually released.

In Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a research institution dedicated to coffee, happy to share knowledge about coffee with everyone. Our unconditional sharing is only to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Additionally, we hold three discounted coffee events each month because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest price—this has been our mission for the past six years!

Important Notice :

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