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Coffee Flavor Wheel and Flavor Spectrum Basic Coffee Knowledge Latest SCAA Specialty Coffee Flavor Wheel

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, The coffee flavor spectrum was created in 1997 by Ted Lingle, senior consultant at SCAA, consisting of normal and abnormal flavor spectrums. The normal flavor spectrum refers to the flavors that coffee should have under normal conditions, while the abnormal flavor spectrum refers to flavors that occur when coffee beans are in abnormal conditions, such as improper processing, transportation, and storage, causing the coffee's proteins and organic acids

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When you visit FrontStreet Coffee, you can see two versions of the coffee flavor wheel hanging on the walls.

Coffee flavor wheels on the wall at FrontStreet Coffee

One is the coffee flavor wheel published in 1995.

The other is the coffee flavor wheel published in 2016.

Comparing the two versions of the coffee flavor wheel, you can notice that the 2016 version provides more detailed flavor descriptions. So what are the differences between the two versions?

The Birth of the Coffee Flavor Wheel

Regarding the definition of flavors, everyone has different opinions. Before 1995, people could not reach consensus on the definition of coffee flavors, leading to various contradictory descriptions. Or when tasting a flavor, suddenly unable to recall what it resembled, one would fall into deep thought.

To solve this problem, Mr. Ted Lingle, who served as SCAA Director at that time, published the first version of the coffee flavor wheel in 1995, providing everyone with a reference for basic coffee flavors and helping distinguish whether such flavors in coffee were good or bad.

How to Read the Old Coffee Flavor Wheel?

The old coffee flavor wheel is divided into two parts. The left side is the negative flavor wheel (commonly known as defect flavors), explaining the defective flavors caused by external contamination, internal contamination, aroma contamination, and taste defects in coffee beans, helping everyone identify which step went wrong when coffee shows defect flavors.

The right side is the positive flavor wheel, divided into taste (taste part) and aroma (aroma part). Looking from top to bottom, you can observe that the flavors are arranged from light to heavy. There are three stages that change coffee flavors: enzymatic reactions occur during coffee cultivation and raw bean processing, caramelization occurs after first crack, and dry distillation occurs after second crack. Therefore, we can directly understand from the old flavor wheel how flavors perform when roasting degree goes from light to dark and extraction degree goes from low to high.

Why Study the New Coffee Flavor Wheel?

After looking at the old coffee flavor wheel and then the new one, don't you feel that the new version looks more dense and dazzling? Careful observers might also notice that in the new coffee flavor wheel, there are varying gaps between flavors. Why is this?

The new coffee flavor wheel optimizes the old version's inability to clearly explain the relationship between aroma and taste, as well as the connection between defect flavors and positive flavors in a single chart. Therefore, SCAA first collaborated with World Coffee Research (WCR), Kansas State University, German Agricultural University, and coffee industry representatives to analyze and test the flavors of 105 different samples from 13 coffee-producing countries, compiling the "World Coffee Research Sensory Lexicon" as the foundation for the new coffee flavor wheel.

Then, 29 members without sensory training but with long-term coffee drinking experience and 43 coffee industry experts were invited to participate in cognitive tests about flavor relationships. Finally, coffee flavors were categorized into 9 major categories: floral, fruity, acid/fermented, green/herbal, other, roasted, spices, nuts/cocoa, and sweet. Among them, the "other category" and floral notes are polarized, while sweet, fruity, and floral notes were considered closest by most people.

How to Read the New Coffee Flavor Wheel?

The new coffee flavor wheel allows us to more intuitively understand the relationship between aroma and taste, as well as the connection between defect flavors and positive flavors, with more detailed direction for taste and aroma. Therefore, when tasting/cupping a coffee, we can refer to the new coffee flavor wheel, first look at the inner circle to determine the major flavor category, then look outward to determine the flavor classification, and finally look at the outer layer to determine the specific flavor.

As mentioned above, there are varying gaps between flavors in the new coffee flavor wheel. The size of these gaps indicates the sensory similarity between the two flavors. The smaller the gap, the higher the similarity between the two; the larger the gap, the more obvious the difference between them.