What is the function of using flavor wheel in cup test? How to taste the flavor?

What is the use of flavor wheel in cup test? How to taste?

Flavor wheel is a tool designed for coffee cup testers to express the way coffee aroma is composed and how it works. Here are some tips for using the flavor wheel and how to use it properly!

STEP.1 Concept

This coffee flavor wheel can be used by both general coffee lovers and professional cup testers, with the emphasis on "carefully tasting coffee." Coffee tasting has different aromas and tastes at different stages:

1. freshly ground coffee aroma

2. The aroma of coffee brewing

3. ... the flavor of sipping coffee into the mouth.

STEP.2 Using the Flavor Wheel Starts at the Center

It is suggested to start from the center and develop from the outside. The most basic taste is concentrated in the center position, and the more detailed flavor and taste are extended outward. For example, when tasting, you can stop at a position and slowly extend it outward, and you will get a more accurate description. For example, when you drink coffee, you can feel the aroma of flowers in your mouth. You can extend to the flower flavor block to find out more about the direction. The use of coffee flavor block is not limited to one, because there may be fruit, flowers and other diverse flavors, you can repeat the test steps many times, confirm that you can fully describe the coffee flavor, the basic coffee flavor wheel usage has been mastered.

STEP.3 The adjectives on the flavor wheel

Flavor wheel charts are words used in the World Coffee Research Sensory Lexicon standard. Most flavor wheel users will not be trained to use this standard attribute theory for coffee science training, but vocabulary can still determine the standard attributes on the flavor wheel, and cup testers can seek clear and explicit descriptive vocabulary.

STEP.4 It is recommended to record the memory aroma and taste experienced

You can refer to the vocabulary of WCR as the reference explanation basis, record the aroma and taste you taste, and find the corresponding words according to the chart blocks, which can be cited as the positioning taste basis.

STEP.5 Relevance of adjectives

To understand the attributes of the vocabulary, go back to the center of the graph and use a specific attribute to describe the coffee you just tasted, and look at the surrounding attributes. There are spaces between attributes, there are different spatial distances, if there are two attribute units connected, it means that these attributes are related; if there are small spaces, it means that the association is not so close. The greater the separation distance, the less similar the attributes are.

STEP.5 The color indicated on the flavor wheel means

People's vision, will be affected by the color of food, and then produce impressions and taste and other sensory links. For this reason, visual terms can be used to describe the taste of coffee, for example: coffee may taste "bright", with this awareness, you can see the color on the flavor wheel, the effort to link various descriptions and colors to express this attribute, can help people who are uncertain about the direction to find descriptors, such as feeling nuts, can be guided by the flavor wheel to the coffee color block, looking for similar taste adjectives such as hazelnut or almond.

SCAA coffee flavor wheel is only a reference scale, each person drinks coffee to feel the taste and aroma is not the same, because everyone's experience or cognition is not necessarily the same, described coffee taste will have differences. No matter correct, every opinion has reference value, and you can speak your own opinions frankly while drinking coffee.