How to Read the SCA Specialty Coffee Flavor Wheel - Download New HD Coffee Flavor Wheel Images

Introduction to Understanding Coffee Flavor Wheels

Many friends ask FrontStreet Coffee, "FrontStreet Coffee, FrontStreet Coffee, can I learn to identify coffee flavors by looking at the coffee flavor wheel?" For this question, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the flavor wheel, as a relatively authoritative coffee flavor guide, can indeed help people quickly and systematically understand coffee flavors if used properly. Combined with practice (drinking more coffee), FrontStreet Coffee believes you can quickly master the method of identifying coffee flavors.

However, the prerequisite is to correctly master the use of the coffee flavor wheel. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee will explain how to understand and digest this coffee flavor wheel.

The most commonly used version today is the coffee flavor wheel released by SCAA in 2016. Many coffee training institutions use this flavor wheel as sensory teaching material. Therefore, we will also use this flavor wheel as the blueprint for our introduction.

First Point: Don't Blindly Follow the Flavor Wheel

Although this version was first developed by SCAA in collaboration with the World Coffee Research (WCR), Kansas State University, German University of Agricultural Sciences, and coffee industry representatives—analyzing and testing 105 different samples from 13 coffee-producing countries and compiling them into the "World Coffee Research Sensory Lexicon" as the basis for the new coffee flavor wheel.

The University of California, Davis team used novel adaptations of traditional sensory and statistical methods, with 72 experts categorizing the flavor attributes in the lexicon. The data was then compiled and arranged into a wheel.

While this is quite professional, some flavor descriptions in it are extremely rare or even nonexistent in our country. For example, nutmeg is a rare food ingredient. If you haven't tasted this food, you cannot know what flavor it has, let alone identify this flavor in coffee.

Therefore, although all the flavor descriptions on the flavor wheel can appear in coffee, never blindly follow the specific flavors described on the flavor wheel.

Second Point: Finding Flavor Relationships in Coffee from the Flavor Wheel

This version of the flavor wheel is divided into three rings: inner, middle, and outer. The inner ring represents main categories, divided into herbal/planty, sour/fermented, fruity, floral, sweet, nutty/cocoa, spicy, roasted, and other categories.

The middle ring contains secondary detailed categories within each inner ring category. For example, the fruity category includes citrus, other fruits, dried fruits, and berries. The floral category is quite special—in addition to various colored flowers, it also includes black tea. This means that when you detect black tea notes in coffee, it actually belongs to the floral category.

The outer ring represents tertiary details, breaking down to individual items. For example, the citrus category includes fruits rich in citric acid such as lime, lemon, orange, and grapefruit.

Therefore, when tasting food in daily life, you can use the flavor wheel to train your senses and learn to classify various foods according to the flavor wheel. This allows you to systematically distinguish coffee flavors. For example, when tasting coffee and detecting acidity, you can determine which major category (inner ring) this acidity belongs to—is it fruit-like acidity, or more like carbonated drinks, vinegar, or fermented dairy products?

If you determine it's similar to fruit-like sweet and sour sensations, then next determine the detailed category within fruits (middle ring). If it's quite acidic with fresh acidic aroma (rich in vitamin C), it might be citrus. If it's acidic with sweet fruit flavors, it could be berries. If it's very sweet fruit flavors, it might be dried fruits. The final step is to identify the specific flavor. For example, within citrus there are lime, lemon, orange, and grapefruit—if you actually taste these several types, there are obvious differences in acidity level and aroma.

If you can't initially distinguish which specific flavor it is, you can rely on this three-level relationship table to first determine the detailed category flavor (middle ring). For example, when tasting coffee and detecting floral notes but not knowing specifically what flower, you can generally describe it as "floral" and then gradually enrich your flavor library (smell more, taste more, eat more, and remember more)!

Third Point: Using Colors for Association

This version of the flavor wheel was carefully colored by London creative agency One Darnley Road, with each color and tone carefully selected to better match corresponding flavors. For example, jasmine (white), rose (pink), and citrus (orange) in the floral category can be well connected through the colors of flowers and their aromas. For example, we often see some flavors described as "white floral notes," which actually refers to light and fresh floral notes similar to jasmine.

Moreover, just looking at the colors can easily help distinguish which are good flavors and which are undesirable ones. For example, colors like blue, gray, dark green, and earthy yellow don't look like food colors and can be easily identified as less desirable flavors.

Fourth Point: Details in Spacing Density

If you carefully observe the gaps between various categories, you'll understand their distant relationships. For example, both belonging to the berry category, blueberry and strawberry have relatively dense spacing, while blueberry and raspberry have relatively sparse spacing. Similarly, both belonging to the floral category, rose and jasmine have relatively dense spacing, while rose and citrus have relatively sparse spacing. This also reveals their flavor similarities.

Conclusion

After all this discussion, we're sharing how to understand the coffee flavor wheel. Understanding the flavor wheel won't immediately help you identify coffee flavors, but it helps you systematically organize the relationships between flavors in coffee. The most important thing is to taste more, then connect those experiences with the flavors on the wheel. Only then can you truly enter the world of coffee flavor sensory appreciation!

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