SCAA Coffee Flavor Wheel Flavor Profiles: The New Coffee Flavor Wheel Offers More Intuitive Flavor Descriptions

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FrontStreet Coffee - Using the Coffee Flavor Wheel

1. Smell

The flavors in coffee are complex and varied. The step of smelling is extremely important because our nose can identify thousands of aromas, compared to our mouth which can only distinguish sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and umami tastes. The nose is truly our most powerful assistant for tasting and appreciating coffee. When we get a cup of Juliet, we can clearly detect the unique floral and fruity aromas specific to Juliet.

So what kind of flowers do its floral notes resemble? What kind of fruits do its fruity aromas resemble? Are they berry-like, citrus-like, or other fruits? Let's explore further toward the outer rings of the flavor wheel!

The careful observer might notice that the gaps between each flavor vary in size. These represent their similarity - the smaller the gap, the more similar the two flavors; the larger the gap, the greater the difference between flavors. Smell this cup of coffee again. Using this pattern from the flavor wheel, we can more accurately and clearly determine that Juliet has orange or grapefruit-like aromas, rather than lime.

If you have some experience in coffee tasting, you might also detect some rounded, full sweet aromas like caramel or honey.

2. Slurp Vigorously

The purpose of slurping coffee vigorously is to atomize the coffee the moment it enters the mouth, thereby filling the entire mouth and even connecting to the nasal cavity through the palate. This helps us find deeper flavors in the coffee. During the tasting process, we can still use the flavor wheel to gradually explore Juliet's deeper flavors - this will be an interesting process.

When tasting coffee, the flavors we perceive differ from the aromas we smelled earlier. For example, with the Juliet we smelled before, its citrus fruit aroma was closer to orange peel; now the taste we're experiencing is closer to orange juice.

Additionally, we can also appreciate Juliet's mouthfeel. It has a creamy, chocolate-like richness and silkiness, mixed with the taste of dry cashew nuts. The previous jasmine floral notes can only be slightly perceived in the aftertaste and finish of the coffee.

3. Identify

When identifying coffee flavors, our most powerful basis comes from the flavors described on the coffee bean packaging. At this time, we need to return to the flavor description and read it carefully. Still taking 90+ Juliet as an example.

"Building on the Geisha variety itself, it has floral aromas, and when tasted, it has flavors of orange peel, caramel, and dry cashew nuts." If any of these flavors weren't detected by you, try imagining "the color of this flavor" and then taste it again.

Because our visual perception can very effectively connect with our other senses, just like when we see the appearance of food, our minds imagine its taste. For example, when we smell Juliet's enchanting floral aroma, our mind visualizes "pink" flowers; when we taste citrus fruit flavors, we think of "orange" fruits. One of the great conveniences of the flavor wheel is also reflected here - we can quickly locate flavors in the diagram through imagined colors, helping us quickly pinpoint fleeting enchanting aromas, leaving them nowhere to hide.

These perceptions of "flavors" need to be accumulated in daily life. Of course, if you're a professional barista, you can use coffee aroma bottles and the WCR flavor dictionary to calibrate your sense of smell and taste.

4. Describe

The value of coffee tasting lies in sharing! Although most of the vocabulary on the flavor wheel and coffee bean packaging is easy to understand, we don't recommend being too constrained by the text above. Why not express and describe the information we taste in our own language?

In Brief

FrontStreet Coffee is a dedicated coffee research house, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. Our unconditional sharing is only to help more friends fall in love with coffee. Every month, we hold three coffee promotion events with deep discounts because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends drink the best coffee at the lowest possible price. This has also been FrontStreet Coffee's mission for the past 6 years!

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473