Tastes and aromas are subjective things and everyone
perceives them slightly differently. Furthermore a person's
sensitivity of taste depends on what food or drink they
have consumed recently, how well they are feeling and how
old they are amongst others things. A persons sense of
smell can vary considerable too as well as being a function
of age and general well-being.
However professionals in the coffee industry still need
some type of criteria when discussing and analyzing coffee
samples and so they have attempted to create a common
language amongst themselves to help them compare and
understand certain characteristics of coffee taste and
aroma.
Whether these professionals are testing for consistency of
product or are sampling new blends they have created four
basic descriptive criteria that are recognised amongst
themselves.
1. Acidity - This is the most important distinguishing
characteristic of coffee. It is defined as a pleasant
sharpness around the edges of the tongue and towards the
back of the palate. Some people would describe the
sensation as dryness. Acidity should not be confused with
sourness, as a good coffee should have some degree of
acidity.
Acidity provides the punch to a coffee and a lack of such
will result in a dull, flat lifeless brew. Coffees
described as mellow have low acidity, but should have
enough to avoid blandness.
2. Body - This refers to the texture of the coffee as it is
perceived in the mouth. Is it rich and heavy or light and
watery for example. The body or texture of a coffee is in
direct proportion to the amount of oils and soluble
compounds extracted during the brewing process. A stronger
brew for example would be considered to have more body.
3. Aroma - This refers to the sensation perceived by the
nasal passages as a result of interaction with the aromatic
oils and volatile compounds released during the brewing
process. To properly appreciate the aroma, the nose should
be within a couple of inches of the brew and several deep
breaths taken through the nose. Descriptive associations
are then used to describe the smell. Examples include,
burnt, fragrant, musty, nutty, winey, spicy, chocolaty,
earthy and bland.
4. Flavour - This is used to describe the overall effect of
the previously discussed acidity, body and aroma plus the
main sensations experienced by our tongues such as
bitterness, sourness, saltiness or sweetness. This is the
most difficult criteria to get right and can be very
subjective. However a professional coffee taster will
comment on the complexity of the flavour, the balance (if
no one characteristic dominates) and the depth of body.
In addition to the terms used for relating to the aroma, a
professional will use other terms such as bright, buttery,
caramelly, fruity, grassy, harsh, lifeless, mellow, muddy,
mild, rubbery, and wild amongst others when describing the
flavour.
As you can see describing a good coffee can be as complex
as describing a fine wine, but with practice and a clean
palate the main characteristics of a coffee can be
effectively communicated.
----------------------------------------------------
For more information about coffee and coffee brewing
equipment visit http://www.cafebar.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment