Coffee knowledge terminology for coffee taste evaluation

With regard to the evaluation of coffee, we have previously sorted out the evaluation of individual coffee, but most of them are personal perceptual feelings and lack of professional terminology description. Below, we will sort out the factors of coffee taste evaluation in more detail in the light of the terms and personal feelings of the World Coffee Organization.

According to the World Coffee Organization, the first coffee product evaluation terms are roughly divided into three parts: aroma, taste and taste.

(1) aroma (AROMAS)

Aroma is also divided into good aroma, bad aroma and neutral terms.

The good aromas are:

Flower fragrance Floral

This aroma is similar to the fragrance of flowers. The scent of flowers is generally described as the scent of jasmine, honeysuckle and dandelion. The aroma of flowers often appears in the aroma of coffee together with the aroma of fruit, while it is rare for a cup of coffee to have only the smell of flowers.

The scent of flowers is the most common aroma in coffee. Personally, I think the faint floral fragrance of Central and South American coffee such as Colombian and Salvadoran coffee is the most charming.

Fruity / citrus Fruity/Citrus

This aroma is reminiscent of the aroma and taste of fruit. It is generally associated with the natural aroma of berries such as blueberries and strawberries. The refreshing aroma brought by the beautiful acidity of coffee is often associated with the fragrance of citrus.

The rich fruity aromas of Kenya are easily reminiscent of the delicate and attractive aromas of the ripe fruits of tropical orchards.

Chocolate Chocolate-like

The smell is easily reminiscent of cocoa or chocolate. This is an aroma associated with the sweetness of coffee.

The ancient Ethiopian mocha beans are famous for their chocolate aroma and taste, so coffee mocha, the coffee with Italian concentrate and chocolate powder that resembles the taste of mocha and hence the name mocha, came into being.

Nutty aroma Nutty

This aroma refers to the fresh (rather than rotten) crisp smell of dried fruits, excluding the bitterness of almonds.

Especially in moderately roasted coffee, we can easily feel the crisp aroma of dried fruits such as chestnuts, walnuts and peanuts.

Wine flavor Winey

This smell refers to the combination of smell, taste and taste of the wine when drinking. This smell is often found in coffee with strong acidity or fruity aroma. Commentators should pay attention to distinguish between wine aroma and acidified smell and bad smell caused by excessive fermentation.

Kenyan coffee has the strongest aroma of full-bodied red wine, which is often felt in other coffees such as the Caribbean.

Spice Spicy

The spices mentioned here refer to sweet spices such as cinnamon, cardamom and cloves, rather than pungent spices such as pepper and curry.

Tobacco aroma Tobacco

This smell refers to the fragrance of tobacco rather than the smoky smell that is burning.

Caramel Caramel

This smell is easily reminiscent of the scorched taste when making sugar water, but critics should be careful not to confuse the smell with the scorched taste.

Herbal / raw / herbal Grassy/Green/Herbal

According to the drinker's personal association habits, this aroma can be described as the aroma of grass, a lawn, leaves, immature fruit, raw beans and herbs.

For those who do not like or are not used to coffee, this aroma indicates that they are going to drink a cup of bitter medicine, while for coffee lovers, it is simply an intoxicating cup of ecstasy.

Neutral terms:

Cereal / malt / toast like Cereal/Malty/Toast-like

The smell is reminiscent of baked grain, malt and freshly baked toast. These three words can be used interchangeably when tasting coffee according to the reviewer's personal habits, because they all have one thing in common is the aroma of roasted grains.

Rubber flavor Rubber-like

The smell is reminiscent of rubber belts, tires and rubber leather races. The term is not a qualitative description, it exists in a small number of coffee.

Tree fragrance Woody

The smell is easily reminiscent of trees, oak barrels, and cardboard.

Earthy Earthy

The smell is easily reminiscent of wet mud, dry soil or humus. Sometimes it smells like raw potatoes. It is often used to describe the bad taste in coffee.

One of the special emphasis here is that the unique earthy smell of Mantenin coffee is its good selling point, and the so-called bad earthy or dry smell comes largely from the dry processing of the coffee, that is, it is directly dried on the ground and absorbs the smell of the surrounding soil.

Animal odor Animal-like

This smell is easily reminiscent of the smell of animal fur and feathers. This is not an absolutely bad taste, and occasionally appears in the aroma of some coffee with a special taste.

Lime-soil flavor Ashy

The smell is reminiscent of ashtrays and the fingers of smokers, or smoke from cleaning the fireplace. This is not a bad description of the smell of coffee, but can generally be used as a reviewer's description of coffee roasting.

Scorched / smoky Burnt/Smokey

This smell is often found in burnt food. The term is often used to judge deep-roasted coffee beans.

Chemical flavor / drug flavor Chemical/Medicinal

This taste is easily reminiscent of the smell of chemicals and medicines. This term is commonly used to describe the Rio flavor of coffee, the residual smell of chemical reactions, or the aromatic hydrocarbon-like smell emitted by strong-scented coffee.

Bad smell:

Rotten / rotten Rancid/Rotten

This smell is generally reminiscent of the oxidation and spoilage of some foods. Rotten generally refers to the smell of fat or dried fruit oils that take too long, while decaying refers to the decay of plants. Reviewers should be careful not to mistake coffee with a strong smell for a rotten smell.

(2) taste TASTES

Acidity Acidity

A typical flavor of organic acids. This sour taste comes from the tannins in the coffee. It is a seductive, distinct and pleasant sour taste, which is different from the general excitant sour taste of overfermentation.

High-quality Arabica beans will first have good acidity, which is a remarkable feature that distinguishes them from Robesda beans, which only have a strong bitter taste. So if we drink instant coffee made from Robesda beans, we can't feel the acidity.

Bitter Bitterness

A special bitter taste found in quinine, theophylline, caffeine, etc. This bitterness is a suitable bitterness for human consumption and is affected by the degree of baking.

The bitterness of coffee is its basic taste and its charm. If coffee is as sweet and sour as juice or yogurt, it won't cause us so much contemplation and insight, and we don't have to find a cafe to order a cup of coffee and sit for a long time.

Sweet Sweetness

This flavor is typical of sucrose or fructose and is always associated with fruity, chocolate and caramel flavors. It is also often used to describe the sweetness produced not by the addition of aroma but by the coffee itself.

Coffee is bitter, but the charm of coffee lies not only in its bitterness, but also in the infinite sweetness that emerges after it is bitter.

Salty Saltiness

It tastes like salt water. The salty taste of coffee is not obviously and directly felt because it is bitter and sour.

Sour Sourness

This refers to the overly strong, irritating, and uncomfortable taste of coffee, which is sometimes associated with the fermented smell of coffee. Here, reviewers should pay attention to the difference between acidity and acidity.

If the coffee beans are oversoaked during processing and lead to fermentation or improper operation during extraction, it is easy to produce this bad sour taste.

(3) MOUTHFEEL taste

Alcohol Body

This is a term that describes the physical property T of coffee. A strong and pleasing fullness rather than a thin and light feeling.

The mellowness of coffee depends on a variety of factors: the variety and planting area of coffee beans, the way coffee beans are processed, the degree of roasting of coffee beans, and the way coffee is extracted. For example, beans from Africa are generally more mellow than those from America, while Italian concentrates made by atmospheric pressure are extremely mellow.

Dry Astringency

This word is used to describe the sticky and unsmooth feeling in the mouth after drinking coffee. Poor quality and improper extraction of coffee beans can cause this feeling.

The above is sorted out according to the data of the World Coffee Organization. In fact, I think that the balance of coffee taste and aftertaste are also two very important aspects.

Taste balance

It refers to the richness of various flavors such as acidity, bitterness and sweetness, as well as the organic harmony of these flavors. A good cup of coffee should not only be rich in taste, but also coordinate with each other.

Yu Yun

After drinking the coffee, it stays in the mouth for a long time and extends to the throat and even into the heart and lungs.

The aftertaste of good coffee should be clear and refreshing and long-lasting, just as a coffee advertisement said: Didi fragrance is strong, the meaning is not enough!