If for you coffee only tastes like coffee, you’re missing out on appreciating the true coffee flavor notes that exist out there.
And notes — we’re not talking about musical notes, but rather sensory ones: the flavor and aroma that this beverage possesses and that are awakened during tasting.
But don’t worry, Consciencia Cafe won’t leave you hanging and will help you elevate your experience with a good cup of specialty coffee! Read on to understand better!
Let’s Start with What Coffee Notes or Sensory Notes Are
If you’re a great coffee lover or have started consuming specialty coffees, you’ve probably noticed that the packaging describes some coffee notes, such as: caramel notes, chocolate notes, red fruit notes, etc.
The notes serve as a “flavor guide” and are described so you can orient yourself and decide which coffee best suits your profile. In practice, it’s when you taste pure coffee and detect a flavor reminiscent of fruits, flowers, sweets, among others.
The notes are not artificially added — on the contrary, they are natural to the coffee bean and can be influenced by factors such as:
- Coffee variety;
- Origin;
- Terroir;
- Cultivation;
- Processing;
- Drying;
- Roasting, and many others.
What Are Coffee Notes For?
Just as they are influenced by different factors, they can also be used to highlight the characteristics of the bean by country, origin, process, etc.
Fans of the beverage are so accustomed to the notes that sometimes they’re a deciding factor when purchasing a specialty coffee.
This is because when you learn to identify flavors, you can understand the coffee profile that most pleases you — your preferences.
In other words, if you like a more sweet flavor, you’ll probably enjoy a red bourbon, for example.
Exploring All Senses with Coffee Notes
A cup of coffee can hide a universe of senses — it’s no wonder that more than 800 aromatic compounds have been identified in coffee. So much so that it’s common for notes to be related to aspects such as:
- Flavor: You know that impression coffee leaves in your mouth? That’s the flavor, which is generally associated with sweetness or bitterness. That’s why it’s common to see notes of chocolate, caramel, fruits, etc.
- Aroma: This is the strong point of every coffee. Who hasn’t smelled that wonderful coffee scent first thing in the morning and immediately felt energized? That smell we perceive even before taking a sip can include diverse notes.
- Acidity: It’s that sensation of freshness and liveliness in the beverage, generally perceived at the edges of the tongue, that adds complexity to the coffee.
- Body: When we talk about full-bodied coffee, we’re talking about the sensation of weight and texture of the beverage in our mouth. If it’s a light-bodied beverage, water serves as a reference. If very full-bodied, with heavier and creamier texture, an extreme example would be milk.
- Finish: It’s the impression that comes after tasting. It varies between short, medium, or long, being the sensory notes that persist after ingestion.
How Professionals Decipher Coffee Sensory Notes
It’s difficult for a person to detect all the nuances that a certain type of coffee can provide. This requires certain training of the palate and sense of smell, as well as attention to the most varied types of flavors.
That’s why the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) has, as a guide for baristas, the flavor wheel, created in 1995, largely inspired by the wine flavor wheel.
On this colorful wheel you’ll find various possibilities of aromas and flavors that a coffee can contain. To reach this result, tests were conducted on coffees around the world, and since there are always new developments in the market, the wheel has been constantly updated.
How You Can Train Your Palate to Discover Coffee Notes
The first piece of advice we can give is: start paying attention to the smells and flavors of foods. Appreciate your tasting moments and keep training your palate.
This can be done by tasting foods slowly. Let the flavor walk across your tongue and pay attention to the flavor and aroma you’re experiencing.
Likewise, it’s possible to use the coffee flavor wheel to start practicing, beginning with the most familiar sensations. Therefore, a good idea is to start from the center of the wheel, and as you experiment and identify flavors, move toward the exterior.
The easiest coffees to start practicing with are the sweeter ones, like those with chocolate or caramel notes, because these are more familiar flavors. Once you’re accustomed to identifying these flavors, try experimenting with more complex coffees.
Put Your Knowledge About Coffee Notes into Practice Here at Consciencia
There’s no better place for you to start practicing than here, at Consciencia Cafe. Our baristas can help you choose the best coffee to enjoy both at home and here at our coffee shop.
Another tip is to keep an eye on our Coffee Workshops. In them you’ll learn a lot about the universe of coffee and will begin your tasting practice.
Did you already know about coffee notes and all their characteristics? Tell us in the comments a bit about your experience with coffee!
Cover photo: by Dessy Dimcheva on Unsplash