Coffee Tasting for Beginners: How to Develop Your Palate
Not all coffee is made the same, which means it can have very different flavors. If you are new to drinking coffee or you just never found a coffee you like, it takes a little bit to figure out how and what to order. If you want to learn how to taste coffee like a pro, this guide will offer you some valuable insights into trying different types of coffee and figuring out how you should order to get a coffee you love.
Beginner’s Guide to Coffee Tasting
First things first, we need to figure out where you are now and where you want to be. Do you want to be an avid coffee drinker, or do you just hope to find a combination you can enjoy from time to time? Maybe you have always hated coffee, but you really want to find something you can tolerate. Or are you the friend who orders coffee with your friends, but you always suffer through drinking it?
It might just be a matter of figuring out what you do like and learning how to train your palate to accept the taste of coffee. There are avid coffee drinkers who can pick up all the tasting notes, much like they do with wine or other beverages. Coffee is incredibly complex, and with so many roasts and flavors out there, defining the tastes is an art.
To get started with coffee tasting, you need to get comfortable with coffee in general. Your tastebuds need to be prepared for the experience, and you need to be able to focus on the flavors when you taste that delectable cup of coffee.
Developing a Coffee Palate for Beginners
If you’ve always enjoyed coffee but never really paid attention to the aromas and flavors within the coffee, it can take some focused attention to really figure it out. Think of your coffee as an expression. The expressions that come from it come in the form of flavors and aromas. You may notice floral hints, choclate notes, tones of candy-sweet flavors, and much more.
The thing to note is that you aren’t just going to say “this coffee is sweet.” Instead, you’re deriving the type of sweetness it displays. Instead, you might notice a hint of brown sugar flavor or something that tastes like blueberries. These are just a few examples.
When you are just starting with palate development and picking out the tastes of coffee, try to focus on these details:
Sweetness - define the sweetness
Body - how does the coffee feel in your mouth (heavy, thick, light, etc.)
Acidity - think of tanginess, brightness, complex flavors, etc.
Overall Flavor - using your imagination, how would you describe the flavor? What flavors are you noticing? What can it compare to?
Finish - finally, how does the coffee finish when your sip is complete? What taste or impression does it leave you with?
When you combine these details, you start to think about the full taste of coffee. As a beginner, it will take some getting used to. Turn your focus to these categories and see what you can define. Over time, you will notice more as you taste.
The Basics of Coffee Flavors and Aromas
You may develop your own descriptive words for coffee tasting, but you will also start to notice that other coffee aficionados use specific words to describe coffee flavors and aromas. In fact, there is actually a coffee flavor wheel. It does differ, but a great go-to is the Specialty Coffee Association of America. This will be a good point of reference while you are training your palate.
The most common aroma descriptives are:
Nutty
Herbal
Flowery
Smoky
You can use words that fit into these categories as well. Whatever aromas you pick up will likely fall into one of these four sections.
The flavor palate is extensively larger, but most flavors on any flavor wheel will fall into these categories:
Salty
Sour
Sweet
Bitter
Acidic
Some coffees will have a combination of these in their flavor descriptions.
Learning Coffee Tasting Techniques for Newbies
If you want to taste your coffee and start describing it like the experts, focus on these things. Take a sniff and see what you notice. What notes do you pick up in the aroma? Perhaps you notice floral hints or pick up nutty aromas. Pinpoint the category you notice. You can describe specific things, too, but start with figuring out the type of aroma.
Now, take a sip of your coffee and really focus on the flavors. You can refer to a flavor wheel for inspiration, but don’t let it taint your tastebuds or sway your opinion. If you aren’t sure what you taste, try first determining the category of flavor it falls into. Do you notice salty, sweet, or acidic notes? Perhaps you notice more than one type of flavor. Take note of that to start. Now, take a few more sips and see if you can pinpoint more specific flavors in those categories.
Put it all together and you can describe your coffee as “a sophisticated blend with hints of lilac, vanilla, and the perfect finish of sweet cinnamon candy.” Of course, you may have a wholly different taste than this, but you get the idea.
Enjoy Every Taste of Coffee
Now that you know how to taste coffee like a pro, it’s time to test out your skills. You can start by challenging yourself to describe coffee every time you order. Try new things and break down the flavors and aromas with each taste you take. You can always ask your barista for the notes of the coffee you’re ordering. We’re always happy to share what we know!
When you come to The Foundry Coffee, we typically have two different drip and espresso offerings that vary wildly in flavor. If you’re feeling adventurous, ask about our Slow Bar! We always keep something exciting for you to try.