Knowledge of coffee taste and taste evaluation of fine coffee

According to some traditional coffee evaluation index methods, coupled with the actual operation and habits of individuals, some knowledge of evaluating the taste of coffee was summarized. Generally speaking, coffee taste evaluation is mainly carried out from four aspects: aroma, taste, taste and aftertaste.

1. Aroma

The aroma of coffee is expressed in the form of gas in the flavor components of coffee. I think that the aroma of coffee is like the soul of coffee. Coffee without aroma has no vitality and can not bring people appetite and taste pleasure.

There are two kinds of coffee aroma: dry aroma and wet aroma.

Dry fragrance dry fragrance refers to the aroma emitted when coffee beans are ground into powder, when the aroma is the most complete and essential aroma of coffee, because with the contact of coffee powder with the air, the aroma of coffee will volatilize or be oxidized, so the aroma at this time is the most rich.

Wet fragrance wet aroma refers to the aroma emitted by water extraction of coffee.

There are many aromas of coffee, the common ones 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.

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.

Chocolate aroma Chocolate-like

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Some of the above descriptions of coffee aroma show good aroma, such as flower and fruit aroma, chocolate aroma, and some neutral terms, such as tree aroma, grain aroma, etc., but these two terms such as chemical flavor and rotten smell are bad terms to describe the aroma of coffee.

Second, taste taste

It is said that there are more than 900 subtle flavors in coffee, the details of which we don't know, but generally speaking, they are mainly related to the most obvious flavors in coffee.

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.

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. Because of the tone of bitterness, the other sour, sweet and salty coffee can be more clearly reflected, and the taste of coffee will be richer.

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.

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.

Astringent taste harshness

This is a bad taste of coffee, the appearance of astringency will make the whole cup of coffee not round and balanced, and because astringency is easy to stick to the tongue and throat, giving people an uncomfortable feeling.

Third, taste mouthfeel

The taste of coffee can be evaluated from the following aspects:

Brightness brightness

A good cup of coffee should first of all be bright and fresh, so that it can bring people pleasure and comfort. Coffee that is not fresh, poorly roasted or improperly extracted often gives a dull feeling and is not bright enough.

Purity cleaness

A perfect cup of coffee first requires no miscellaneous flavor, from the first sip to the aftertaste is pure, the taste is clean and refreshing.

Richness complexity

It refers to the richness of various flavors of coffee. The richer the taste of coffee, the stronger the taste and divergence of the taste.

Equilibrium degree uniformity

The taste of coffee should not only be rich, but also should be harmoniously integrated with each other, that is, balance.

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.

Roundness mellow

This word is used to describe the smoothness of coffee. If the coffee taste is pure, rich and balanced, it will naturally taste more round, whereas if the coffee taste is not balanced or astringent mixed flavor appears, the taste will appear rough and dry.

Fourth, Yu Yun aftertaste

If the aroma of coffee is the soul of coffee, then the aftertaste of coffee is like the echo of coffee. A good cup of coffee should not only give people a touching aroma from the beginning, but also give people a feeling of endless aftertaste even after drinking it.

The aftertaste of good coffee should be clean, sweet and long-lasting and strong.