What Does Tea-Like Sensation Mean in Coffee Flavor Descriptions? Is the Astringency of Black Coffee the Same as Tea Sensation?

Many people know that although flavor descriptions may not contain many references to tea, Chinese people who have been familiar with tea since childhood often use "tea-like sensation" or "tea aroma" when describing coffee tasting.

However, regarding the "tea-like sensation" in coffee flavor descriptions, everyone seems to have their own understanding. Some believe it refers to the aroma of a certain type of tea, others think it should be the astringent sensation in the aftertaste, and some are accustomed to classifying it as a finish similar to tea liquor... So what exactly do baristas mean by "tea-like sensation"? And what characteristics do they use to identify it?

What is Tea-Like Sensation?

Tea drinkers often say: "Bitterness returns to sweetness, astringency stimulates saliva production." To understand tea-like sensation, we cannot avoid discussing the concepts of "tea bitterness" and "tea astringency."

The bitterness of tea liquor is often accompanied by the return of sweetness and saliva production. It enters the mouth with bitterness first, then transforms into a clean sweetness. As time progresses, the sweet taste gradually overcomes the bitter sensation, ultimately finishing with sweetness – this is known as "return of sweetness." Tea polyphenols are one of the main components that constitute tea color and aroma. Among polyphenols, tea tannins are the most abundant component that makes tea taste fragrant and creates a slight rough sensation in the mouth. The higher the tea tannin content, the stronger and more lasting the return of sweetness and saliva production brought by the tea liquor.

High-quality tea leaves paired with appropriate brewing conditions will present the tea variety's characteristic aroma type, return of sweetness, and lingering charm. For example, fresh and sweet green tea, fruit and honey-scented black tea, oolong tea with mixed floral and roasted aromas, aged and mellow Pu'er tea, and so on.

Why Does Coffee Have Tea-Like Sensation?

The brain processes memory and smell in the same region. The flavors each person experiences are closely related to their dietary memories. After coffee enters the mouth, taste buds first determine the intensity of sour, sweet, bitter, and salty. Then, during the swallowing process, aromatic compounds escape into the nasal cavity. At this point, our brain combines the tasted flavors with the aromas in the nasal cavity, presenting a flavor perception of eating a certain food from memory – this is called retronasal olfaction.

If the delicate aromas perceived through retronasal olfaction, combined with the mouthfeel experience before and after swallowing (return of sweetness, slight astringency, saliva production), remind one of the experience when tasting a certain variety of tea in the past, it indicates that we have detected a tea-like sensation in this cup of coffee. In other words, whether one can detect tea-like sensation from coffee depends on the drinker's familiarity with the aroma and taste of tea and the accompanying saliva production and return of sweetness.

For example, when FrontStreet Coffee drinks Panama's washed Boquete Geisha, it emits rich white floral aromas, fresh and sweet flavors, and bright, light sour and sweet mouthfeel, immediately reminding one of the experience of drinking Tieguanyin tea. Therefore, in FrontStreet Coffee's view, tea-like sensation is not just a single sensory feedback, but a comprehensive experience description brought by coffee.

Tea-Like Sensation ≠ Astringency

Astringency literally means not smooth, generally describing the rough texture food brings to the mouth, not a taste. The astringency in coffee originates from polyphenol compounds combining with salivary proteins, reducing oral lubrication while also increasing friction, consequently creating a sandy, convergent sensation on the surface.

Coffee enthusiasts generally believe that bitter and irritating astringency is an unpleasant experience, even masking coffee's unique and subtle flavors. However, there is also "good" astringency that can enrich coffee's complexity. Like the slight astringency of citrus fruit peels, paired with coffee's characteristic mild bitterness and fruit sourness and sweetness, it not only tastes like pomelo tea but also possesses a lasting return of sweetness.

A Thousand Tea-Like Sensations in a Thousand Minds

To find a certain "tea flavor" in memory, we need to combine the aromas, finish, and degree of return of sweetness in the mouth felt from coffee.

When FrontStreet Coffee tastes washed Yirgacheffe Gedeb coffee, it detects fresh and elegant floral aromas, clear sweetness, and a slightly astringent finish, much like unfermented green tea.

The natural-processed FrontStreet Coffee Yunnan Typica coffee, because the fruit pulp was retained to ferment together under sunlight, the coffee beans also absorbed more fermentation aromas. FrontStreet Coffee tastes sweet and mellow aromas from the cup, with a solid return of sweetness, possessing the taste profile of fully fermented black tea.

In addition to conventional tea types, some coffees with complex aromas also remind us of flavors in our memory bank. When tasting Ethiopia Konga Amederalo coffee beans, the sweet and sour taste like white grape juice, the fruity astringency and return of sweetness of grapefruit peel, mixed with elegant flower tea, reminded FrontStreet Coffee of a freshly brewed pot of rose tea.

Because in the world of tea, there are different types such as white tea, oolong tea, green tea, black tea, and Pu'er tea, even for the same "tea-like sensation," the definition in each person's mind may vary greatly. Finally, we wish everyone can find their desired tea-like sensation in their own brewed coffee.

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FrontStreet Coffee

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