Department of Chemistry
Coffee Aroma, Flavour, Body & Acidity
Wine is not the only sophisticated drink in which we can taste many different facets and personalities of the type, region, and quality. Coffee is very similar to fine wines in its sophistication, popularity and ability to pair with certain foods to make for a wonderful experience.
Aroma
This is the first hint of how your coffee will taste. In fact, most of your sense of taste actually comes from your sense of smell – which is why coffee can smell so sublime and taste so satisfying.
Your sense of smell is directly related to your sense of taste. If a coffee smells very rich and robust, you can expect the taste to have these characteristics as well. If a coffee smells mild and weak, chances are it will taste that way too.
Body
This is the weight or thickness of the beverage on your tongue. Imagine the difference you can feel on your tongue between skimmed and whole milk. A difference in thickness and weight.
Body ranges from light to full. We sometimes use the wordy “syrupy” to describe full-bodied coffees like Sumatra.
Oils and solids are released when coffee is brewed, these are what determines the body that you perceive. If you are just starting out with tasting coffees it may be difficult to tell the difference in body from one coffee to the next. The coffee with a heavier body will hold more of its flavour.
Acidity
In coffee-tasting terms, this doesn't mean sour or bitter. Acidity means a lively, tangy, palate-cleansing property, ranging from low to high. Think of the range from still water to sparkling water, and you'll get the idea. A Latin American coffee like Colombia Nariño Supremo is quite lively on the tongue, so we say it has a high acidity. In contrast, a coffee like Sulawesi is quite smooth and mellow – it has a low acidity.
Similar to wine, acidity effects how coffee is tasted The acidity of a coffee does not describe whether a coffee is bitter or sour. A good coffee will never be bitter or sour.. Acidity is a crisp, bright, lively pleasing taste in your mouth, It will not make you squint as if you just tasted a lemon! It may leave a dry feeling on your tongue, this is ok and how acidic is purely a personal preference.
Some coffees naturally have a higher or lower acidity. Without any acidity coffee would taste very bland.
Flavour
This is the all-important melding of aroma, acidity, and body that creates an overall impression. What does the flavor of the coffee remind you of? For example, drinking Kenya often reminds us of grapefruit. There’s just a hint of citrus to it. But when we say that, we don’t mean that Kenya is grapefruit-flavored – it still tastes like coffee. There are many different ways to describe the flavor of coffee, just as there are many different ways to describe snow.
Here are just a few typical flavour characteristics, but University of Coffee recommends a practical way of learning. It’s much more fun. So when you try your next coffee, don’t just think whether you like it or not, swish it around and examine it before you swallow it. Put an intelligent, thoughtful look on your face, so people don’t think you are being rude!
Coffee flavours can fall into many categories, just like wine and learning to recognize them will take time and tasting a wide variety of coffees. What a great excuse.
Richness
Deals with the body & its fullness.
Complexity
if you’re having trouble pinpointing any individual flavors, the coffee is probably a complex blend consisting of multiple flavors and characteristics. Bright, Dry, Sharp, or Snappy - these are characteristics of the acidity in coffee.
Chocolaty
Many coffees will offer a lingering taste of chocolate.
Caramelly
Some coffees feel almost syrupy sweet in the mouth.
Delicacy
A slight flavor felt just on the tip of your tongue.
Earthy
A soily characteristic.
Fragrance
An aroma that can range from floral to spicy.
Fruity
Some coffees leave a taste of berries or citrus in you mouth..
Mellow
Like mentioned above, a lack of acidity with a smooth taste
Nutty
A lingering taste of roasted nuts.
Spicy
Sometimes you can taste a hint of a spice such as cardamom or pepper.
Winey
An aftertaste of an aged wine .
Coffee Roastings
There are different levels of roasting which contribute quite a bit to the flavour and quality of coffee.
There are 5 known levels of roasts for coffee:
- Cinnamon Roast: Although the name can sound quite tasty, it really has nothing to do with the flavour, but it refers to the colour. A cinnamon roast coffee is a light cinnamon brown colour. it has the highest acid content of any other roast and it is usually used by mass commercial producers of coffee. This roast simply doesn't make a good cup of coffee.
- City Roast: A dark coloured bean with no oil traces on the bean. It has a light almost caramel like flavour. This bean is often used as the base for flavoured coffees. It does not have a dark, full bodied flavour. This roast is ideal for people who love the taste of coffee but don't care for the dark or heavy bodied tastes of espresso.
- Viennese Roast: These beans are a little darker and have some oils on them. They have a darker roast flavour.
- French Roast: Very dark brown beans with high amounts of oil on the bean surface. They have a dark roast flavour and a full body.
- Espresso Roast/Italian Roast: Very dark, almost black in colour and very oily surface. They have the boldest flavour of all roasts and are typically only used to brew espresso.
A note on coffee flavor
Describing the tastes of different roasts is as subjective as putting a wine into words. In both cases there’s no substitute for your own personal taste, so sample away! (Many descriptions below are based on Kevin Knox and Julie Sheldon Huffaker’s Coffee Basics: A Quick and Easy Guide.)
Light Roast
Aliases: Cinnamon roast, half city, New England
Roaster Watch: After about seven minutes the beans “pop” and double in size, and light roasting is achieved. American mass-market roasters typically stop here.
Surface: Dry
Flavor: Light-bodied and somewhat sour, grassy, and snappy.Medium Roast
Aliases: Full city, American, regular, breakfast, brown
Roaster Watch: At nine to eleven minutes the beans reach this roast, which U.S. specialty sellers tend to prefer.
Surface: Dry
Flavor: A bit sweeter than light roast; full body balanced by acid snap, aroma, and complexityDark Roast
Aliases: High, Viennese, French, Continental
Roaster Watch: After 12 to 13 minutes the beans begin hissing and popping again, and oils rise to the surface. Roasters from the U.S. Northwest generally remove the beans at this point.
Surface: Slightly shiny
Flavor: Somewhat spicy; complexity is traded for rich chocolaty body, aroma is exchanged for sweetnessDarkest Roast
Aliases: Italian, espresso
Roaster Watch: After 14 minutes or so the beans grow quiet and begin to smoke. Having carmelized, the bean sugars begin to carbonize.
Surface: Very oily
Flavor: Smokey; tastes primarily of roasting, not of the inherent flavor of the bean
Everyday Coffee Alchemy
Coffee roasting coaxes golden flavor from a bland bean. Unroasted beans boast all of coffee’s acids, protein, and caffeine—but none of its taste. It takes heat to spark the chemical reactions that turn carbohydrates and fats into aromatic oils, burn off moisture and carbon dioxide, and alternately break down and build up acids, unlocking the characteristic coffee flavor.
Brewing the Best Coffee at Home
It’s not just the machine that makes great coffee – the “four fundamentals” of proportion, grind, water and freshness are even more important. Armed with a little coffee knowledge, you can create great coffee with a coffee press, home brewer or espresso machine.
Proportion
Use the right proportion of coffee to water – this is the most important step in making great coffee. For the most flavorful cup, we recommend 10 grams of coffee for every 180 milliliters of water. If coffee brewed this way is too strong for your taste, you can add a little hot water to your cup of brewed coffee.
Coffee Tip - 10 grams coffee equals 180 milliliters of water
GrindDifferent brewing methods have different grind requirements, but in general – the shorter the brew time, the finer the grind. For example, coffee ground for an espresso machine should be very fine, because the brew cycle is only 18-23 seconds long. But for a coffee press, the coffee should be ground coarsely, because the water and coffee are in direct contact for four minutes.
Espresso machines: Fine grind
Drip coffee makers: Medium grind
Coffee press: Coarse grind
WaterA cup of coffee is 98 percent water. So the water you use to make coffee should taste clean, fresh, and free of impurities. Water heated to just off a boil (90° to 96° C) is perfect for extracting the coffee’s full range of flavors. Any cooler and the water can't adequately do the job.
Coffee Tip - Clean water = Better coffee
Freshness
Coffee is fresh produce, and its enemies are oxygen, light, heat, and moisture. To keep coffee fresh, store it in an opaque, airtight container at room temperature. You can store it that way for up to a week. For the best results, coffee should be ground just before brewing.
Coffee Tip - Fresh coffee = Less than one week old
Coffee Tasting Techniques
Ultimately, tasting is simply about comparing and contrasting. When you taste just one coffee at a time, it’s hard to do with no context to compare against.
But if you try two or three coffees, you can compare them not only in terms of your personal preference, but also in terms of aroma, acidity, body, and flavor. Here’s one tip though: When tasting more than one coffee, always taste lighter bodied coffees first and work up to fuller bodied coffees.
