What is the function of the flavor wheel? How was the flavor wheel born? What's the concept?

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What is the function of the flavor wheel? How was the flavor wheel born? What's the concept?

In the 2016 SCA Chronicle, Emma Sage, the association's coffee science manager, and Hanna Neuschwander of the World Coffee Research Institute take you to explore the scientific basis behind the new flavor wheel. The ultimate goal of this project is to understand the overall quality of coffee in a completely different way than cup testing. This is quantifiable and will not make much difference even for most cup testers who have done taste correction.

Despite intensive cup test certification training, it was reflected in the first round of tests that these sensory experts could actually drink more flavor than these certified cup testers. After tasting 13 Colombian coffees, the tester group used 59 words to describe the flavor, while the sensory experts group used 92 words to describe the flavor, and reached a 100% consensus on these descriptions. This proves that no matter how rigorous the cup testing process is, it cannot beat the assistance of science.

In order to officially start the experiment, we have made some basic preparations. At Kansas State University, five sensory scientists spent 150 hours analyzing 105 coffee samples from 14 countries. In order to avoid the interference of the difficult description of the cup flavor, these flavors will be matched to the specific taste perception.

For example, the BlackBerry will not be described as a berry grown on the mountain walls of Argentina, and as an appetizer at a lavish dinner, BlackBerry should be described as the realistic description of Smuckers's BlackBerry jam. These specific reference words allow cup testers to measure and quantify the strength of each flavor. After 99 words have been identified, another team of sensory scientists will confirm them.

To find words that match the 99 flavor descriptions on the flavor wheel, SCAA and the University of California, Davis, gathered sensory scientists and coffee industry experts to string them together. As a result, these words are divided into nine categories in the flavor wheel (sweetness, flowers, fruit, etc.).) A lot of complex graphics are used, and each category extends more second-and third-tier words that describe a particular flavor. There will be no such unrealistic words as the nectarine skin described by Four Barrel or the car bumper label.

Although many scientific methods seem to be used to describe the flavor of coffee, this does not stifle the space that the baker can play. Compiling flavor words is only the first step, and the goal is to describe the flavor in the same language. Through a deeper study of coffee varieties, and understand the reasons for the quality. These words are the beginning of an experiment to find out whether certain chemicals in coffee reflect specific flavors or are the result of factors that are more affected by the environment.

Once the congenital problem is solved, the acquired problem will also be solved, that is to say, farmers can be identified in a scientific way to the farming stage, highlight a specific flavor when planting, and open up a new way of planting. This will have a huge impact on the coffee industry for decades to come, and perhaps soon bean bakers will be able to bake coffee varieties as subtle as the 72 Mustang cushion leather.