Coffee learning: coffee tasting is not as difficult as you think.

Follow the caf é (Wechat official account vdailycom) and found that Beautiful Cafe opened a small shop of its own.

Since when has "coffee flavor" become a necessary word for communication between lovers and practitioners? Since when did the "coffee tasting" become a "high-end" drink coffee? I don't pay much attention to this. Anyway, I just like to drink coffee every day.

Recently, however, some friends often ask, "how can I learn about coffee tasting?" I also feel that one or two words cannot tell you my opinion, let alone explain it in 60 seconds on the "sub-answer". So I think my own experience may be able to provide friends with a little reference for learning methods.

1. The support of theory to practice

Don't despise theoretical knowledge!

First of all, you should know: in the coffee tasting, the sense of taste can only tell you that it is sour, sweet, bitter and salty, and the flavor of coffee is perceived by the sense of smell. (please refer to the following article and click on the link)

Taste Hunter and Coffee (4) | the role of smell and touch in coffee tasting

You have to know: if you spray perfume on your body and then smell the coffee, your sense of smell will be affected. So, when you go to someone else's store for coffee and want something to drink, go with the natural scent of your body.

You should also know that when the body is tired or unable to concentrate, the sense of smell and taste will become dull. Therefore, when you want to improve your self-appreciation ability by participating in tasting learning or tasting activities, you should pay attention to rest and stay focused.

You should also know that long-term heavy eating habits will affect taste sensitivity, you may not be able to drink coffee that others drink salty, coffee that others think is very sweet, you may not feel it, others may think it is acerbic coffee, or you may find it delicious. Since you want to taste it, it doesn't matter to make a proper change.

You should know: most people's sense of smell and taste sensitivity are average, as long as you want, as long as you use the right learning method, everyone can distinguish a different taste from coffee.

I think you will understand: everyone's perception of smell will be different, when others say they drink a variety of flavors and you do not drink, don't be discouraged. Maybe they didn't drink what you had. Have faith in yourself!

The above seemingly nonsense words were originally theoretical knowledge written in the book.

two。 Help of tools to practice

The first utility: coffee flavor wheel

Foreigners do take the lead in the research of coffee science, and it is most important to learn from others.

The flavor wheel that I use most when I study coffee is COUNTER CULTURE COFFEE's coffee flavor wheel, which divides the coffee aroma into 10 categories with 119 odors.

For coffee rookies, the main function of the flavor wheel is:

Help you understand coffee: how the categories of coffee flavor are divided.

Change your original one-sided view of coffee: there can be so many aromas in coffee!

When you are tasting coffee, but can not say it, you can take a look at the flavor wheel, maybe you will find the words you want to say.

In fact, the smell in coffee is much more than that. I think even Xiaobai will understand this truth. Just as psychology divides people into four types of temperament, constellation divides people into twelve constellation personalities, and management divides people into nine types of personality. But there are so many people in the world, how can there be several categories that can be explained?

Similarly, coffee produces different flavors due to its varieties (genes), growth environment, climatic conditions, planting management, harvest management, post-processing, storage conditions, transportation, baking, preservation of ripe beans, and brewing methods and techniques, which can not be fully covered by a single flavor wheel. But the flavor wheel can guide you in the direction of identification when tasting coffee, and it can also help you understand the diversity of coffee flavors.

Just as people have good and evil, the smell in coffee is not all pleasant. Parents will teach their children to beware of bad guys and learn to identify them. When we study coffee, we also need to know what a bad smell is like.

Beginners often have a misunderstanding, always think that high-quality coffee is a single product hand-made, coffee tasting is to drink a single product of black coffee. Actually, this is very one-sided.

Italian coffee is represented by ESPRESSO, which also needs to use smell and taste to taste a cup of ESPRESSO with only about 25ML, and there is also a flavor map to guide us to taste. It is also divided into pleasant and unpleasant smells in this picture.

My personal experience tells me that flavor wheels and sensory maps are very useful. But to make good use of it, the first thing is to have a correct attitude and mentality:

[coffee has and not only has the smell in the flavor wheel, do not be limited by tools]

[the tool should serve the people who use it, and if you are not comfortable with it, you can change it]

Before you become a big shot, ask others for advice as modestly as possible. Sometimes you use the wrong method if you don't use the tools well.

The second utility: coffee aroma bottle

The first thing I came into contact with was the 36-flavor fragrance bottle in France, which divided the smell of coffee into four groups, each with nine odors, one of which was defective. After training, I can easily tell the bad smell of coffee. However, this set of perfume bottles is very expensive.

This year, I bought another 100-flavor coffee bottle, and when I was bored, I compared it with the flavor wheel:

Among the flavor rings of COUNTER CULTURE COFFEE, 50 odors can be found in 100 flavor bottles.

In the new edition of SCAA flavor wheel (a total of 83 odors), 29 kinds of odors can be found in 100 flavor bottles.

28 of IIAC's ESPRESSO sensory maps (a total of 47 pleasant smells) can be found in 100 flavor bottles.

The effect of 100 flavor bottles on coffee rookies can be seen in the new clerk in our shop. When she first arrived, whether she did a cup test with me or had coffee with me, she said she couldn't drink it. After several days of bottle sniffing training, she was able to discuss the flavor of coffee with me. Perhaps it can be said like this: it's not that she couldn't drink it before, but she just couldn't say it.

The advantages of this set of incense bottles are:

Slightly cheaper

There are many odors available for practice.

The disadvantages of this set of incense bottles are also very obvious:

The lid won't tighten.

It's easy to taste.

The trace of chemical industry is too obvious to be heard for a long time.

The liquid is a little less, but it may evaporate if you smell it more times.

However, if it can help you realize your dream of tasting coffee, these shortcomings are not a big deal. There are always more ways than difficulties, and we can find ways to make up for our shortcomings.

Although it is slightly cheaper, it is actually not cheap. For many enthusiasts who want to join the industry, they have to spend so much money before they have made any money. Sometimes they feel distressed. If you know someone who has this tool, and he is selflessly willing to let you practice for free, you might as well seize the opportunity.

The third utility: delicious food

Not every big shot relies on perfume bottles to train their sense of smell. Many people just don't miss every opportunity to taste delicious food, and every time they taste it very seriously. In that case, can you do the same?

The smell of the actual fruit may be different from the bottle, or it may be very close. But we can't say that the perfume bottle smells wrong. After all, the variety and maturity of fruit can also bring about differences in aroma.

Is it possible to be exposed to more odors to make your diet more diverse?

The most cost-effective way to practice is to capture the smell in life and form memories in your own mind.

If you have time, you can go to the market and practice for the smell of spices and vegetables.

If you don't have time, you can buy it home and practice.

The smell of practice should not be limited to those listed on the flavor wheel.

| some time ago, we were drinking all kinds of scented tea and spiced tea.

3. Drink a lot of coffee

Take part in more cup testing activities or coffee tasting events. Drinking a lot of different coffee at one time, capturing the different flavors of the coffee in the comparison is more effective than drinking it cup by cup.

You can choose like this:

1. Participate in the coffee cup test meeting with different treatment methods from the same area, and compare the different flavors brought by the treatment method.

two。 Take part in the coffee cup test meeting with the same treatment method from different places, and compare the different flavors brought by different places.

3. Participate in the coffee cup test of different roasting methods of the same coffee bean, and compare the differences brought by roasting.

4. Participate in the coffee cup test of different varieties from the same area, and compare the different flavors brought by the tree species.

5. Take part in the tasting study to understand how defective beans make you feel.

If participating in an activity counts as practice, it is recommended that you learn about the tree species of coffee beans, the origin of coffee, the treatment of coffee beans, and the climatic and soil conditions suitable for growing coffee. Practice is more meaningful.

Try to participate in the event with an open mind, listen to what others drink, and share your tasting experience with experienced people. Confident people can also be humble.

In this way, you will quickly drink the different flavors of the coffee, and you will be able to tell the quality of the coffee.