Specialty Coffee flavors and aromas

Tasting notes on coffee always feel elusive; somehow, you’re supposed to pick up cardamom and grapefruit out of this cup that does not have either ingredient.

Hopefully, this guide to tasting notes clears a little of the ambiguity. Tasting notes are highly individual; the notes are meant to convey what you perceive and believe certain sensations and flavors are. Although there are exhaustive resources and certifications you can go through to grow your skills in evaluating coffee, you may not have the opportunity to take these courses. Luckily, there are many other ways to learn how to pick up tasting notes.

Tasting notes are the markers/waypoints of your sensory journey through the vast flavors within your cup of coffee. As your palette experiences these sensations, you can pause and think of words to describe what you’re tasting. If you don’t have the words to make sense of what you’re experiencing, that is fine. Communicating your coffee tasting perceptions takes time and a lot of practice.

The tasting and evaluating coffee journey can be described by several vital sensory components: aroma, body vs. acidity, flavor, and aftertaste.

Tasting notes come from what the coffee reminds you of. Does it remind you of sweet things? What kind of sweet? Is it sweet like chocolate, tea, or something else? What is the texture like? Is it smooth and full, harsh and watery, oily, velvety, juicy, or even just a pleasant coating on your tongue?

As it rests in your mouth for a moment, did the flavors change? Is that a bit of acidity? Is it acidic like citrus? Floral? Spicy like cinnamon or cardamom? Earthy?

After you swallow the coffee, what’s left? What sensations are you experiencing? Are they pleasant or unpleasant? What does it remind you of? How would you tell someone about this and know they can predict what it will taste like when trying it?

Take a moment to taste the world around you for the next few days, not just your morning coffee. Try to describe something you taste each day as if you describe it for someone who will not have the opportunity to experience the flavors for themselves but instead will only ever know what you tell them about it. What did it smell like, what was the texture, what were the immediate flavors, what did it feel like as you swallowed it, did it leave an aftertaste, and what was that aftertaste like?

Tasting notes come with thought, practice, and adventures. Try to evaluate the world around you like a cup of high-quality coffee; what does it mean to you? What does it remind you of? Remember that tasting notes are intended to be strictly objective; there are no good or bad attributes; there is just what stands out to you, the coffee taster.

Here are a few charts to break down what you should look for in a cup of coffee.