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Understanding the Coffee Flavor Wheel: Essential Guide to Specialty Coffee Culture and 2023 SCAA Coffee Flavor Wheel HD Chart

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Specialty coffee enthusiasts should be familiar with this SCAA flavor wheel, but many find it difficult to understand. Today, let's break down the structure and meaning of the flavor wheel! The flavor wheel is divided into the negative flavor spectrum on the left and the normal flavor spectrum on the right. Let's start by explaining the content of the right half of the flavor spectrum.

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Latest Chinese and English Versions of Coffee Flavor Wheel

Analysis of the Old Version Flavor Wheel

Fans of specialty coffee should be familiar with this SCAA flavor wheel, but many say they don't understand it. Today, let's briefly explain the structure and meaning of the flavor wheel! The flavor wheel is divided into two parts: the negative flavor spectrum on the left and the normal flavor spectrum on the right.

Right Side of the Flavor Spectrum

The Right Half

This section mainly deals with the classification and formation causes of coffee flavors and aromas.

Enzymatic fermentation: This refers to flavors produced during the processing of raw beans (such as washed, natural, honey processed) due to fermentation, such as floral and fruit flavors.

Sugar browning: This part includes flavors produced by caramelization and Maillard reactions during coffee roasting, such as nuts and chocolate.

Dry distillation: This part includes flavors produced by dry distillation reactions during coffee roasting, such as currant and smoky flavors.

Some people claim that "the flavor wheel represents flavors produced by different coffee roasting degrees from top to bottom," but in reality, dry distillation reactions occur from the beginning of roasting, so this statement is not entirely accurate.

The Left Half

This part is easy to understand - it's the different sensory classifications of basic tastes: sour, sweet, bitter, and salty. It's said that future flavor wheels will include umami.

Left Side of the Flavor Spectrum

Right Half

This section describes defect flavors that arise from improper handling during the harvesting and drying stages, as well as flavors that develop during storage due to aging.

If not processed promptly after harvesting or if drying humidity and temperature are unreasonable, fermentation will produce Rio flavors, fermented flavors, etc. During the drying process, if the temperature is too high and coffee beans heat up too quickly, it will cause fat decomposition, producing leather-like flavors.

During the storage of raw beans after processing is complete, some reactions still occur within the beans. Organic substances gradually change and are lost. New beans will have grassy flavors, and after several years of storage due to organic matter loss, they will develop straw and woody flavors. At this point, the coffee tastes very bland!

Left Half

This section covers changes caused by external environment (cleanliness, humidity, etc.) during the storage of processed raw beans, as well as flavors produced by whether temperatures are reasonable during the roasting process.

During the processing of raw beans, if the drying environment is not clean - for example, if beans are dried on the ground - the coffee will absorb surrounding odors, producing earthy flavors. Alternatively, if the location has too much humidity, coffee beans dry too slowly and may become moldy, producing musty flavors.

If the temperature rises too quickly during roasting and coffee beans are scorched, it will produce smoky, carbon-like flavors. If the temperature rises too slowly, it will diminish the coffee's flavors, making them seem dull and uninteresting.

On the right side, "fats changing chemically" and "acids changing chemically" produce defect flavors that are considered serious defects. In SCAA cupping, if these flavors are detected, 4 points will be deducted. The defects "fats absorbing odors" and "fats absorbing tastes" on the left are considered minor defects, resulting in a 2-point deduction if detected in cupping. The "improper roasting" and "loss of organic material" categories at the bottom are not considered raw bean defect flavors, so no defect points are deducted, but they will reduce scores in flavor performance.