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Coffee Characteristics
Coffee taste characteristics fall in three categories. They are body, taste, and acidity. Body is the description of fullness, an overpowering palate sensation or a full mouthfeel. This sensation is described as light, medium or full. The next characteristic is flavor. Flavor is described as strong, mild, sweet, citrus, woody, or smoky; or even a combination of these descriptive characteristics. The last is acidity. This can be described as slight, mild, heavy or reasonable. When the acidity is countered by the body and the flavor the coffee is characterized as well balanced. If the balance is not quite complete it is characterized as reasonably balanced and with, for example, a mildly acid, sweet, citrus finish. The finish is the lingering impression on the palate.
Superimposed over the previous characterizations is the starting, as well as ending, perception of the nose volatiles (compounds). These are also described as aroma or aromatic quality. Coffees with good body characteristics tend to taste smoother because the body overcomes any extreme flavor notes. Coffees with weaker characteristics tend to have stronger flavor taste because the flavor factor tends to overcome the moderating ability of the body. Darker roasted coffees have a richer, smokier taste. Only high grown dense beans should be used in dark roasts so that they can withstand the longer roasting time without carbonizing and tasting burnt. Properly roasted dark roast coffee should actually have a slightly sweet note. | MILD COFFEES | | | | | Coffee Selection | Characteristics | Mouthfeel | | | Aroma | Body | Flavor | | | Brazilian | good | medium | mild | soft | | Breakfast Blend | good | medium | mild | neutral | | Guatemala | good | medium | full/sweet | soft/smooth | | Ecuador | good | medium | mild/smooth | mellow | | Honduras | fruity | medium | mild/sweet | mellow | | House Blend | good | medium | mild | mellow/neutral | | Kenya AA | good | good | balanced | full palate | | Mocca Java | good | medium | rich/smooth | full palate | | Peru | good | medium | slightly fruity | soft/lingering | | Tanzanian | fair | medium | mild/spice | mild spicy | | Venezuela | good | good | full | full/mellow |
| STRONG COFFEES | | | | | | | | | Coffee Selection | Characteristics | Mouthfeel | | | Aroma | Body | Flavor | | | Kauai/Molokai Blend | good | strong | rich/bold | full palate | | Ethiopian Sidamo | good | medium | sweet/spicy | lingering flavor | | Java | good | full | full/rich | lingering flavor | | Colombian | good | medium | mildly acidic | slightly acidic |
| DARK ROASTED COFFEES | | | | | | | | | Coffee Selection | Characteristics | Mouthfeel | | | Aroma | Body | Flavor | | | French Roast | good | full | bold | full palate | | Vienna | good | medium/full | medium/bold | lingering | | Peru | good | medium/full | bold/sweet | lingering | | Venezuela | good | medium/full | rich/smooth | lingering |
| DECAFFEINATED COFFEES | | | | | | | | | Coffee Selection | Characteristics | Mouthfeel | | | Aroma | Body | Flavor | | | Natural | fair | medium | sweet/neutral | soft | | Colombia | good | medium | sweet | soft | | Mocca Java | good | medium | richer | lingering | | Dark Roast | good | medium/full | bold | lingering/acidic |
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