Coffee Tasting Notes: Definitive Guide For Beginners

Ever heard of a barista describing coffee tasting notes with fruits like blueberry, melon or lemon?

To the mass majority, when asked to describe the flavor notes of coffee, the adjective “bitter” comes up more often than not. This is especially evident to people who dislike drinking coffee as the harsh bitterness is what deters them from this beverage. 

A conventional method to cover the bitterness is through the addition of milk and sugar; pretty effective. As the specialty coffee wave spreads throughout the world. One would often hear coffee connoisseurs describing their coffee with flavor notes which does not make any sense. Chocolaty? Caramel? Blueberry? 

Upon hearing it as an avid instant coffee consumer, this sounds extremely ridiculous but also piqued my curiosity.

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At a glance: Coffee Tasting Notes: Beginners Guide To Coffee Tasting

What Are Coffee Tasting Notes? 

In a nutshell, coffee tasting notes are natural occurring flavors based on the chemical compounds present in the coffee bean itself.

For example, coffee with blueberry flavor notes meant that it contains similar compounds which are present in an actual blueberry. This is even more evident in coffees which originates from microlots.

Some of the more common examples you can use to describe coffee tasting notes are:

The experience of describing flavor notes in coffee is very much similar to describing food that you have for the very first time. One would use flavor notes of food that they are most familiar with to describe the foreign flavor notes they are tasting. 

For example, a person who has enjoyed the Durian fruit for ages would describe the fruit to be sweet, creamy and custardy. Whereas, someone who never had a Durian fruit before would describe it with an analogy, for instance, a pungent onion-like sock smelling fruit.

Perhaps this comparison is a little extreme but the point here is different people may have different perception of flavors. We all grow up eating different kinds of foods and we certainly have our personal affinity towards flavors. 

Hence, an activity called coffee cupping usually takes place with a group of coffee tasters who will perform a taste test of the coffee and describe the flavor of the coffee with the closest representation of the cupping notes in the form of common tastes or foods.

Author’s Note: It is essential to use fresh coffee instead of stale coffee which has been sitting on the shelf for ages. Stale coffee will most likely taste flat and boring or sometimes has a rancid flavor profile.

What Are The Factors Affecting Coffee Tasting Notes?

Before we learn how to taste coffee, you should first understand what are the factors that contribute to its differences. 

Throughout my brewing experience, the flavor notes in coffee are heavily dependent on 4 major factors; coffee varietal, processing method, roast level, and brewing method. 

1. Coffee varietal

Right at the source, coffee beans of different varietals and farming regions will have varying coffee tasting notes. 

Coffee cultivation in different regions involves variation in elevation, surrounding temperature, soil condition and type of coffee all contributing to the flavor profile of the coffee bean itself. 

For example, a Kenyan coffee beans are prized for their impeccable fruity and vibrant flavors. Moving back West to Columbia, Colombian coffee tasting notes are typically caramel nutty with moderate acidity; an excellent choice for new coffee drinkers. 

2. Processing Method

There are a few options that coffee farmers could choose to process their coffee. The three major processing methods are:

We’ve a little summary written in another blog post about the differences between these coffee processes. Basically, each of these processes uses different approaches to intensify and condense the flavor in the coffee bean and hence resulting in coffee beans with different flavor profiles.

A clear difference between a washed processed coffee and a honey processed coffee is that the latter will result in a syrupy coffee while the washed processed coffee will have a brighter and crisp coffee tasting note.

3. Roast Level

Roasting is another step that contributes to the development of the coffee tasting notes. 

Simply put, the roasting process adds heat to the coffee bean in the roasting drum. During this period, sugars in the coffee bean are caramelized which develops the body of the coffee; giving it more depth. In doing so, the some natural acids in the coffee bean will be lost in the process, thus reducing the overall acidity.

So, the longer the coffee bean is roasted the bolder the flavor and the lesser the natural flavor is retained. In other words, different levels of coffee roasts will yield different flavors.

So if you want to taste the natural flavors of the coffee beans, be sure to go for light roasted coffee beans!

4. Brewing Method And Recipe

The final factor which dictates how your coffee tastes is the brewing method.  

With the same coffee bean, brewing it as an espresso and a pour-over yields a vastly different cup of coffee. Espresso flavor notes are comparatively more intense with flavors bombarding your taste buds while pour-overs are generally more subtle and gentle. 

But intense does not mean that it is easier to pick up the coffee beans tasting notes. Some tasting notes are more pronounced in different brewing methods. 

Choose a brewing method that suits your bean best. If in doubt, ask your barista or roaster!

How to Identify Coffee Tasting Notes

We humans are all built differently, including our palates. Statistics show that only 25% of Americans are “supertasters” while 50% of them are “medium tasters” while the remaining are “nontasters”.

But we can try our best and take our time to assimilate to the flavors. Simply put, the more you taste and learn the more you will be able to identify coffee tasting notes easier. 

So how do we identify coffee tasting notes?

1. Use The Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel As A Guide

There will be times where you have tasted a new coffee bean and your brain cells can’t seem to make a connection to any flavor that could best describe what you have just tasted. 

Fret not! The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) in collaboration with the World Coffee Research (WCR) worked with dozens of professional sensory panelists, scientists, coffee buyers and roasting companies and whipped up a reference chart to help people better describe coffee flavor notes. 

This is now known as the Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel. Complete with extensive sets of vocabulary to jog your brain to describe flavor notes of coffee where the mass majority could easily relate to.

I should also highlight that, you should understand that the Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel serves as a guidance and it is not absolute. 

We tend to relate flavors to what we are familiar with the most. In this sense, picking up flavor notes in coffee may sometimes be frustrating. Imagine picking up a fresh bag of Ethiopian coffee which supposedly features a blueberry notes, chocolaty finish with hints of vanilla and all you could taste was raspberry notes (assuming coffee brewing was done right. Trust me you are not the only one and it is perfectly okay.

2. Use Your Sense Of Smell

Who does not like the smell of morning coffee? For me, I’ve always had a dream to have my home smell like a coffee shop; freshly ground coffee and the aroma that fills the air when espresso is being extracted, you get the gist of it.

When coffee is served at your table, your first sense to be alerted is the smell. This is extremely important because the sense of smell is responsible for 80% of the taste. 

When tasting coffee, focus on both your taste bud and smell. Let it jog your flavor memory of the tastes of the foods you had before. 

3. Slurp Your Coffee

Coffee slurping is not that rude when it comes to identifying coffee tasting notes. It is in fact a crucial step when it comes to coffee cupping. 

By slurping your coffee, you take in the coffee liquid along with air into your mouth. This action of slurping partially atomizes the coffee and sprays it on your tongue. The tasting buds on your tongue will alert your brain to process the flavor it is tasting.

Slurping coffee also helps to cool down the coffee. You cannot really taste anything if the coffee is too hot.

But of course, do not do it excessively in a coffee house. It may sound rude. 

On a side note, you can always grab yourself a cupping spoon and start your own coffee tasting at home!

4. Locate And Identify Flavors

As the coffee coats your tongue, your taste buds will immediately fire off signals to your brain. In this moment, let the coffee sit and swirl around your mouth for a bit. Think wine tasting. 

What food comes to mind when you have first tasted the coffee? 

If you can’t precisely identify it, name something close to it. Since coffee contains a multitude of different acids, it is no doubt a challenge to pinpoint the flavor profiles present in the cup.  

This reminds me of MasterChef Australia infamous 1 Inch Cube Taste Test Challenge where various foods were cut into cubes of 1 inch and the blindfolded chefs with incredible palates were to guess the food. Of course, even with the mouthfeel and texture of the cubed foods, not everyone got it right! That said, you can actually train yourself to pick up and identify flavor notes in coffee.

Author’s Note: Acidity is often misunderstood as sourness. Simply put, acidity is a pleasant kind of sour like citrusy fruits. Sourness on the other hand makes your taste buds squirm in uneasiness.

5. Describe With Appropriate Words

Describing coffee as “nice” and “delicious” is not enough to characterize the coffee properly. 

It will be helpful to use more descriptive words and adjectives.

If you feel that your vocabulary is weak, do not worry. Here, I’ve put together 9 ways to help you describe what your coffee tastes like with some common coffee slang.

Describe the Acidity

All coffees contain a certain amount of acids which bear resemblance to many types of fruits. The only difference is the intensity of it. 

Words To Use: Citrus fruits like orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime. 

Describe the Mouthfeel

As the coffee swirls around in your mouth. This is the best time to judge the mouthfeel of the coffee you are tasting. 

Words To Use: Crisp, Dry, Syrupy, Astringent

Describe the Aftertaste 

You describe the aftertaste after you have swallowed the coffee (obviously!). 

Words To Use: Fruity notes like berries, Nutty notes or Floral notes.

Describe the Aroma 

You can judge and describe the aroma best when the coffee is freshly brewed as most of the aromatic compounds are still lingering around. 

Words To Use: Floral notes like rose and jasmine, Fruity notes like peach and blueberry. 

Describe the Body 

Similar to the mouthfeel, you can feel the body of the coffee when the coffee coats your tongue as you taste it. 

Words To Use: Heavy, Medium, Thin

Describe the Fragrance

Easily confused with aroma. Fragrance is the smell of the ground coffee before extraction. So smell your ground coffee, it usually has the natural fragrance of the coffee cherry. 

Words To Use: Floral notes like rose and jasmine, Fruity notes like peach and blueberry.

Describe the Flavor 

Pretty much like describing food, you describe the flavor and characteristics of the coffee with adjectives. 

Words To Use: sweet, sour, tart, bitter, astringent.

Describe the Region

The region of origin of the coffee usually does tell a lot about their flavor profiles. For example, Ethiopian coffees are usually known for their unmistakable frutiness. 

Words To Use: Ethiopian, Columbian, Guatemala 

Describe the Roast 

The type of roast has a heavy influence on the final flavor of the coffee. 

Words To Use: Light, Medium, Medium-Dark and Dark Roast

Step-by-Step Guide To Coffee Tasting 

Here’s a quick guide to identify your coffee flavor notes; 

Start with the center of the wheel where it describes the most generic flavor profile before slowly working your way outwards to the outer wheel. If you do not find the food that is in the wheel, do not worry! As mentioned above, the flavor wheel merely serves as a general guidance!

A good beginner exercise is to brew two coffees with distinctive flavor profiles; one which features fruity notes while the other features nutty profile. Have both coffees in front of you and taste them in an alternate manner. 

This way, one could start familiarizing your palate with coffees which are fruity and nutty and could easily tell them apart. From here, as you familiarize yourself with the high-level flavor profiles, you can slowly start exploring the finer tasting notes.

7 Tips To Pick Up Coffee Tasting Notes For Beginners

The whole fuss about picking up coffee tasting notes can be pretty daunting for beginners. Even trivial changes like from a regular cold brew coffee to a hot cold brew coffee, the flavor profile can vary tremendously.

So to help you out, here are 7 tips to help you improve on picking up flavor notes in coffee.

1. Try Different Types Of Coffee Beans

We all have our favorite go to café for our coffee fix. Instead of sticking to your favorite coffee bean and coffee roaster; Be adventurous and try out coffee beans from different regions and different roasteries.

2. Get a few friends to taste coffee with you. 

Coffee tasting with friends allows you to debate the flavor notes and makes the whole experience much more fun and engaging. Plus, it will be a pretty cool social gathering event for like minded individuals.

3. Join cupping sessions. 

As the coffee culture wave spreads, specialty coffee shops have been sprouting on every corner of the streets. Chances are they host cupping sessions for a small fee or sometimes free as a community service. Join them!

4. Savor Your Coffee

Begin to savor and understand flavors of food that you are consuming. In the current fast paced world, we do seem to just chow down on meals and move on with more important life matters. Instead, take your time and concentrate on the flavors of food. Try to relate flavors and describe them.

5. Train Your Palate

Try various foods which are related to the attributes presented in the Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel. If you have never tasted a cherry in your life, you will most definitely not be able to relate to the cherry flavor and may probably relate it to a raspberry instead.

NotBadCoffee has developed an interactive Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel which describes each attribute in the wheel. Pretty useful!

6. Taste Coffee With A Cleansed Palate

Remember that coffee has multiple compounds that make up its overall flavor profile; some are subtle while some are more pronounced. 

Having external flavorings coating your tongue may distract your taste buds from its maximum potential!

Cleanse your palate with refreshers to reset your tasting sensors on your tongue.

7. Sign Up For Coffee Education Courses

Look for coffee education courses. One of the best ways to understand coffee is to build your fundamental knowledge of coffee. There are ample private institutions and cafes that aims to educate the public about coffee as it is both beneficial to the industry and consumer.

There are plenty of coffee education groups around and they offer extensive classes ranging from introductory courses to professional certification. Hit them up if you are interested to learn more.

FAQ On Coffee Tasting Notes

How do you describe coffee tasting notes?

Tasting notes are the unique natural flavor elements that coffee beans have, the best way to describe it would be like different variations of Apples. You can have the sharpness of A granny smith and the super sweetness of a pink lady, both still apples and nothing added, but two completely different flavors.

What are the 5 elements of tasting coffee?

Coffee professionals everywhere share a common way of breaking down a brewed coffee into observable parts. On our teams, we focus on five taste categories we find most helpful in differentiating one cup of coffee from another: sweetness, body, acidity, flavors, and finish

What does coffee flavor taste like?

The flavor and aroma range from chocolate and nut to fruity and floral. Good coffee has a natural sweetness that is complemented by a refreshing acidity. Bitterness is always present in coffee, but it never dominates the cup. Despite what many believe, coffee isn’t supposed to be bitter.

Coffee Tasting Notes: Closing Notes

Now that you have a fair idea about coffee tasting notes and how to identify them, head out to your favorite café and order yourself a cup of coffee. I challenge you to start picking out flavor notes from the coffee.

Talk to your barista about the flavor profiles and I am sure they will be more than happy to engage in a conversation with you (if they are not too busy of course!).

Even better if you decide to branch out and experiment with different coffee beans as a home brewer. Maybe you would come up with your own preferred blend. At the end of the day, it all comes down to preferences.