Is it normal to smell like coffee? Why does coffee smell like alcohol? What's wrong with the strong smell of cold extract ice dripping ice brewed coffee?

"Red wine","champagne","whiskey"... In the flavor introduction column of coffee, we can often see a variety of wines. Many law-abiding citizens will ask Qianjie after seeing it, whether this coffee contains alcohol and whether they can drive after drinking it.

After receiving a positive answer that it is non-alcoholic and can drive, most friends will immediately ask the standard question,"Why does coffee smell like alcohol?" So today, Qianjie came to share with you how the smell of alcohol in coffee appeared ~

The source of the aroma of coffee was mentioned in a tweet shared by Qianjie some time ago. The various flavors we feel in coffee mainly come from the aroma emitted by the coffee. For example, the reason why we can feel the flavors of strawberry, citrus, etc. from coffee is because coffee has aroma molecules with the same flavor as strawberry and citrus. Although they are not complete, we can associate strawberries and citrus with some aroma molecules.

There are also floral aromas such as jasmine, chamomile, red wine, and whiskey. Because coffee has the same aroma components, we can associate various floral aromas and various aroma from coffee. The interesting thing about coffee is that we can taste different aromas from different coffees. Some coffees will have obvious floral aromas, some will have prominent fruit aromas, and some will have a fascinating aroma. There are many factors that distinguish them: variety, origin, processing, baking, and extraction method. That's right! It is another series of links from seeds to cups.

For the aroma of wine, the most influential link can be said to be the processing of coffee. No matter what processing is, the coffee will ferment during the processing process. During fermentation, coffee produces lipids, alcohols and other aroma components that are the same as the aroma components. The deeper the degree of fermentation, the more likely the coffee will appear to have aroma, or the more obvious and intense the aroma will be. If you are a friend who has been involved in coffee, you should have discovered that it is easier to capture the aroma of alcohol in sun-cured and anaerobically treated coffee than washing it with water. The reason is that sun exposure and anaerobic treatment will allow coffee to ferment for a longer and deeper time, so coffee beans after these treatments will more easily have aroma. For example, several beans in the Qianjie Bean List, such as Qianjie Esther ALO, Qianjie 90+ Manor Eleta Rose Summer, Qianjie Boundary Manor·Xizhao, etc., are all treated in this way, and then they all have a certain fruit wine aroma.

But not all sun-cured, anaerobically processed coffee will have aroma. Because the processing process, the types of coffee beans used, and the planting environment of coffee beans are different in different places, they will affect the aroma and corresponding concentration generated after coffee processing. So that's why it's all sun-treated, with some beans with a distinct aroma and some without. In addition to processing, the degree of roasting can also affect the aroma of the coffee, but the influence of roasting is more on the tonality of the aroma. For example, Qianjie 90+ Manor·Juliet Rose Summer in Qianjie bean list, Qianjie used different curves to bake several different degrees of baking before selling, in order to select the most suitable baking degree for this bean. degree.

Then through cup testing, it was found that the aroma of the lightly baked 90+ Juliet rose summer will be fresher, which is similar to the lighter tonality of champagne; while the aroma of the slightly baked 90+ Juliet rose summer will be heavier and closer to wine. Even coffee beans that do not have obvious aroma flavor can have obvious aroma after a special extraction method! Cold extraction is a special extraction method that can add aroma to coffee.

Ice drops, cold bubbles, and other methods of extraction with cold water are called cold extracted coffee. If you have tried it, it should be easy to find that this kind of coffee will have a very strong aroma. However, this aroma is not entirely inherent in the coffee beans themselves, but is more fermented in a special stage in the production process. In the production of cold extracted coffee, in addition to extraction, there will also be a period of refrigeration and standing time. Coffee cannot be drunk immediately after the extraction is completed, because the coffee taste is not complete at this time! The flavor of the coffee can be perfected only after a period of refrigeration and standing.

This refrigeration and standing process is a fermentation process, during which cold-extracted coffee will transform into a richer aroma and taste, including the aroma of wine. So this is why cold-brewed coffee and ice-drop coffee cannot be drunk immediately after being extracted, because they still need to be refrigerated and fermented to develop various flavors.

To sum up, I believe you can understand why coffee has a aroma of wine. But what you need to know is that the article on the front street refers to black coffee without adding anything, and special/blended coffee is not included in it. If you find the aroma of wine in the introduction of special/blended coffee, then it is really possible that it has wine added. Be sure to ask clearly before drinking to prevent drunk driving ~~~

- END -

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473