Tips for cup tasters: introduction to cup testing

When testing a cup of coffee, we should distinguish whether the flavor, alcohol thickness, acidity and wet aroma of the coffee are pleasant. Most cup tasters use the following criteria to judge coffee.

Acidity Acidity:

Acidity is an essential feature of coffee and is the feeling of dryness that coffee produces at the edge of the tongue and the back of the palate. The effect of coffee acidity is similar to that of red wine, with a strong and exciting texture. Without enough acidity, the coffee tends to be flat. Acidity is different from sour taste, which is an unpleasant and bad taste feature.

Wet aroma Aroma:

The wet aroma is difficult to separate from the flavor. If there is no sense of smell, our basic sense of taste is only sweet, sour, salty and bitter. The wet aroma enriches the taste discrimination of the soft palate. Some subtle and delicate differences, such as the "floral" or "wine" characteristics, come from the wet aroma of brewed coffee.

Alcohol thickness Body:

Alcohol thickness is the feeling of coffee in the mouth, that is, the feeling of stickiness, thickness and richness produced by coffee acting on the tongue. The difference between drinking whole milk and drinking water is a good example. Our perception of the alcohol thickness of coffee is related to the oil and solids extracted by coffee. The alcohol thickness of Indonesian coffee is significantly higher than that of South and Central American coffee. If you are not sure about the alcohol thickness difference of several types of coffee, try adding the same amount of milk to the coffee. Coffee with high alcohol thickness will retain more flavor when diluted with milk.

Flavor Flavor:

Flavor is the overall feeling of coffee in the mouth. Acidity, wet aroma and alcohol thickness are all components of flavor, and it is their balance and homogenization that produce our overall sense of flavor.

Here are some typical flavor features:

General flavor characteristics General flavor characteristics:

Richness-refers to the thickness and richness of alcohol;

Complexity-the feeling of multiple flavors

Balance-all basic palate features are satisfactory, and no one taste masks the other.

Pleasing flavor features:

Fresh, bright, dry, light, or lively-(common in Central American coffee):

Caramel-like sugar or syrup

Chocolate-like unsweetened chocolate or vanilla aftertaste

Delicious-delicate flavor felt on the tip of the tongue (Arabica beans from New Guinea)

Earthy-the aroma of the earth (typical Sumatran coffee)

Fragrant-an aromatic quality, ranging from floral to spicy

Fruity-an aromatic quality reminiscent of berries or oranges

Sweet and mellow-round, smooth, lack of acidity

Nutty-- similar to the aftertaste of fried nuts

Spicy-reminiscent of the flavor and aroma of various spices

Sweet-- non-astringent

Wild-a wild flavor that is generally not considered pleasant; common in Ethiopian coffee; alcoholic flavor-an aftertaste reminiscent of fully ripe wine (common in Kenyan and Yemeni coffee).

An unpleasant flavor feature:

Bitter-A taste produced at the root of the tongue, often caused by overbaking

Dull, non-irritating-neutral in flavor

Charcoal-smelling of charred carbon

Inanimate-- same as "Flat"

Mixed-smelling-musty, reminiscent of the taste of eating dirt

Earthy-- with "mixed smell"

Insipid-no sour taste, lack of wet fragrance and aftertaste

Grassy-reminiscent of freshly cut grass

Rough-- a harsh, catch-like, rough quality

Muddy-sticky but not strong in taste

Stiff-starch resembles texture, similar to water cooked with pasta

Rough-the feeling on the tongue, similar to eating salt

Rubber smell-similar to the smell of burnt rubber (commonly found in dry processed robusta beans)

Soft-the same as "boring, non-irritating"

Sour-similar to the sour taste of unripe fruit

Thin-acidity-free, usually caused by insufficient extraction

Turpentine-- tastes like turpentine.

Water-like-lack of alcohol thickness and stickiness in the mouth

Rough-wild quality.