How to Describe Coffee Body? What Exactly is Coffee Body? The Most Precise Definition of Coffee Body

The Difference Between Coffee Concentration and Body

FrontStreet Coffee has found that many friends often mistakenly believe that coffee concentration is directly related to its body. They assume that the higher the coffee concentration, the greater the body of the coffee.

In reality, this is not the case. To be precise, these two concepts are not even on the same wavelength. Why is this? Let FrontStreet Coffee break it down for you!

What is Coffee Body?

The "body" of coffee refers to the "weight" we perceive in our mouth after the coffee enters. Simply put, it's a tactile experience. When coffee has a higher body, we perceive its "weight" as heavier and silkier; when coffee has a lower body, we perceive its "weight" as lighter and thinner.

Here's a simple example: skim milk, whole milk, and cream. When we drink these different dairy products, our tongues receive distinctly different tactile sensations. Skim milk feels light and watery, with minimal coating sensation on the tongue; whole milk feels heavier, fuller, and smoother; cream feels very rich and heavy. The changes in body in these dairy products are primarily related to fats, and the body of coffee follows a similar principle.

Substances in coffee are mainly divided into two categories: soluble and insoluble compounds. Soluble compounds dissolve in water and are perceived by our sense of taste. Insoluble compounds cannot dissolve in water and require our sense of touch to perceive. Insoluble compounds in coffee account for 70% of the total, with the majority being coffee fibers and oils, which are the main contributors to coffee's body.

What is Coffee Concentration?

Coffee concentration refers to the proportion of soluble substances in the liquid. In the same amount of liquid, when the content of soluble coffee substances is higher, it means the concentration is higher. Since soluble compounds are perceived through taste, when there's more soluble content (i.e., higher concentration), the flavors we perceive become more intense.

For example, when we add 5g, 10g, and 20g of white sugar to three separate 100ml cups of hot water and stir until completely dissolved, then taste them sequentially, you'll notice that the 5g sugar water has a weak sweetness and tastes light overall; the 10g sugar water has an obvious and appropriate sweetness; the 20g sugar water is overwhelmingly sweet, almost cloying, and somewhat unpleasant. The same applies to coffee concentration - too high or too low concentration can diminish our coffee experience.

For instance, when we drink coffee with too low concentration, not only do we perceive minimal flavors, but it tastes bland, like drinking "coffee-flavored water"; when coffee concentration is too high, the flavors become too concentrated, resulting in confused and unclear profiles, even producing unpleasant sensations like sourness and bitterness that irritate the throat. Therefore, regardless of the beverage, concentration should be appropriate.

So now we can understand that concentration and body are not closely related. Concentration is a taste experience, while body is a mouthfeel experience. The reason people often associate concentration with body mainly comes from two sources: espresso and classic Japanese-style brewing. Both methods use high concentration and low extraction to achieve high concentration while maintaining a good extraction rate, resulting in a rich body, thus leading to misunderstanding.

In reality, this is simply because during extraction, the gaps in the filtering equipment aren't fine enough, allowing many insoluble coffee compounds to enter the coffee, such as oils and fine particles (woody fibers). Therefore, these coffees appear to have high body because of their high concentration.

However, if you filter them once with original wood pulp filter paper to remove fine particles and oils before drinking, you'll find they no longer have their original richness, but instead taste cleaner with clearer flavor profiles. It's worth noting that while the presence or absence of insoluble compounds creates distinctly different coffee experiences, there's no distinction between good or bad - it all comes down to personal preference.

Additionally, it's important to know that FrontStreet Coffee has only shared how brewing equipment affects body in the previous discussion, but that's not the whole picture. Coffee bean varieties, processing methods, roasting levels, and brewing techniques all influence coffee body in various ways. However, since most of us are end consumers, a basic understanding is sufficient.

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