From Coffee Tasting to Tasty Coffee
When it comes to really enjoying a cup of coffee, understanding HOW to taste it can enhance your overall coffee experience. Here are a few tips to help you explore the nuanced flavors in your next cup:
1. Start with Fresh, High-Quality Beans
The assumption is that you are drinking for enjoyment rather than effect. The foundation of tasting notes in coffee begins with quality beans. At Ole Dog’s, we use organic, ethically- sourced, single-origin beans. In a prior post — (Beans and Water: Elements of Coffee), I shared in greater detail about quality ingredients.
Many store-bought coffees will typically have a “use by” date, and I’ve seen those dates range from 12 months to 24 months out, neither of which sounds all that fresh to me. We proudly place the “roasted on” date on the front of our bags so you know exactly what you’re getting.
Whole bean coffee, properly stored, should last at least a year (although if you’re reading this blog, you’re probably wondering who lets a bag of great coffee sit around for a year.) Properly stored means a cool, dry place. You can use a vacuum-sealed container if you’d like. Our bags are resealable, which we believe is sufficient.
Put yours in a cabinet that is away from a steam or heat source (don’t put it above your stove, for instance.) Likewise, don’t put it in your fridge or freezer; otherwise, you’ll allow moisture every time you open it up, which increases the aging process. We keep our coffee in a drawer in our home coffee bar, and that works out great.
As stated in previous posts, grinding as you go gives you the most flavorful cup of coffee. Freshly roasted coffee beans from a reputable micro-roasted brand help ensure optimum flavor profiles.
2. Prepare Your Coffee Mindfully
The brewing method and coffee-to-water ratio can significantly impact the taste of your coffee. Experiment with different brewing techniques to see how each method enhances or subdues the notes in your coffee. We will begin exploring many of those various methods in the near future.
In the meantime, continue to document your journey so that when you find your perfect cup, you can duplicate it at will.
3. Engage Your Senses
Sometimes, we just can’t wait to get that wonderful liquid into our mouth, but the aromas are a large part of the overall experience.
Before taking a sip, engage your senses by inhaling the aroma of the freshly brewed coffee. Be intentional, not carefree, when enjoying a whiff. Try to pick out the various fragrances; are they fruity, floral, or nutty? Something else?
4. Slurp & Identify
When you take your first drink of coffee, make it a sip. Do so with your teeth together, breathing it in with your mouth. This will cool it off but also distribute it around your tongue and palate. Swish it around gently. Think “wine snob,” minus the noise (and spitting.) This will help you savor the coffee and focus on identifying the specific flavor notes present.
Common flavor profiles in micro-roasted coffee include fruity, chocolatey, floral, nutty, spicy, or earthy notes. Take time to pinpoint them and consider how they evolve as the coffee cools. Also, recognize that they should change from year to year, as coffee beans are a crop, like any other.
Their flavor depends on the bean type, geography, climate, soil content, etc. Those should change, even if slightly, between growing seasons. If you’re drinking a coffee today that has tasted the same for the past 20 years, you might ask yourself how is that possible. The only options I’m aware of for that are through additives or by over-roasting the bean. Neither of those speaks to the coffee enthusiast in me. How about you?
5. Consider the Mouthfeel
Mouthfeel, often referred to as “body,” is a weird concept for many. When you take a sip, pay attention to how the coffee feels in your mouth (hence, mouthfeel). You’re not just looking for the taste but how the coffee feels on your tongue and the roof of your mouth, etc.
Is it light and delicate, or heavy and velvety? You may find that you enjoy a heavy or full-bodied coffee more than a mild one, or vice-versa. Explore variety; it is a quest, after all.
6. Practice Regularly
Tasting and identifying notes in coffee is a skill that improves with practice. The more you do so, the more you refine your palate and deepen your understanding of coffee flavor profiles.
By following these tips and techniques, you can unlock a world of flavors within your cup of micro-roasted coffee. Remember that tasting notes are subjective, so trust your palate and enjoy the journey of discovering the intricacies of coffee flavors. Cheers to your next sensory coffee adventure!
