Tasting notes play an vital position in specialty espresso. Not solely do they assist information shoppers’ flavour expectations, however they’ll additionally permit roasters to type a extra cohesive model identification.
Alongside the rise of specialty espresso has been a desire for lighter roast profiles. And with this shift has additionally been a wave of extra novel and progressive style and mouthfeel descriptors – together with “crème brĂ»lĂ©e”, “structured”, and “melted chocolate ice cream”.Â
These flavour notes are actually thrilling, and are positive to spark a whole lot of curiosity from each seasoned and new specialty espresso drinkers. On the identical time, nevertheless, it’s essential that tasting notes stay correct – or roasters might threat shedding the loyalty and belief of their prospects.
To study extra, I spoke to Dakota Graff, Director of Espresso and inexperienced purchaser at Onyx Espresso Lab, and Manny Carrera, proprietor of Argyle Espresso Roasters.
You may additionally like our article on whether or not tasting notes for specialty espresso are going too far.
Tasting notes serve an vital objective
As an trade, we frequently assess and rating espresso based mostly on the steadiness of 5 key attributes. These are:
- Acidity
- Sweetness
- Bitterness
- Mouthfeel (or physique)
- Aftertaste
- We typically speak about umami (a Japanese phrase that’s usually used to explain savoury flavours in meals, in addition to full-bodied textures) traits in espresso, too
Moreover, although, we additionally use particular flavour notes to explain what we expertise when ingesting espresso. In 2017, World Espresso Analysis printed the second version of its Sensory Lexicon, which formally identifies 110 flavour, aroma, and texture attributes in espresso – starting from chocolate and brown sugar to pineapple and fermented.
Tasting notes are normally chosen by roasters and inexperienced consumers throughout cuppings, and are printed on nearly all of specialty espresso packaging.
The thought behind that is to create reference factors to explain espresso flavour and aroma. That is in order that roasters can talk to shoppers how a selected espresso tastes.
In flip, flavour notes can serve two vital functions: reassuring the patron that they are going to know what to anticipate and to assist introduce new individuals to specialty espresso. In each circumstances, the patron can take pleasure in their ingesting expertise much more.
The subjectivity of tasting notes
Though they’re actually helpful, flavour notes are additionally subjective and largely based mostly on the opinions of a small variety of espresso professionals. For instance, whereas one individual could style strawberry jam of their cup, one other could style recent strawberries – and so they might each be “proper”. In the end, what you style relies in your palate and the meals and cuisines you may have been uncovered to.
Furthermore, the sources we use to determine tasting notes, just like the Specialty Espresso Affiliation Espresso Taster’s Taste Wheel, are extra related for individuals in consuming international locations similar to Europe and North America). And even with the event of localised Taste Wheels in locations like Taiwan and Indonesia, for instance, criticisms nonetheless stay in regards to the lack of inclusivity with flavour notes in specialty espresso.
Manny Carrera is the founder, proprietor, and head roaster at Argyle Espresso Roasters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US.
“We by no means actually wished to place flavour descriptors on our baggage as a result of we felt it could alienate some prospects,” he says. “Individuals simply felt horrible after they weren’t capable of choose up baker’s chocolate or pineapple acidity, so we selected to not print them on our packaging.”
As an alternative, Manny explains that Argyle prints “what we style” on their baggage to acknowledge the subjectivity of espresso flavour notes. He believes this language supplies shoppers with extra room to determine their very own tasting notes with much less affect from roasters.
The rise of unconventional flavour notes
It’s been onerous to disregard the increasingly more uncommon and unorthodox flavours showing on specialty espresso packaging. Tasting notes similar to melted chocolate ice cream, banana pudding, crème brûlée, and orange creamsicle have been referenced by sure roasters, in addition to World Espresso Championship opponents. Whereas these descriptors can actually be thrilling and assist to attract individuals in, additionally they have the potential to alienate sure shoppers.
“Tasting notes must be about welcoming individuals additional into specialty espresso,” Manny tells me. “I believe it’s potential for roasters to take flavour notes too far in an try to face out.”
Much like the “what we style” idea, Manny explains that he usually refers to coffees utilizing flavour descriptors like “conventional”, “fashionable”, or “unique” to raised clarify sensory traits to much less skilled shoppers.
Acknowledging the significance of subjectivity
Greater than 800 unstable fragrant compounds have been present in espresso, which creates a considerably limitless variety of prospects relating to figuring out flavour. Growing your palate and having extra publicity to a variety of various meals and cuisines actually helps with this.
Dakota Graff works at pioneering roaster Onyx Espresso Lab in northwest Arkansas, US.
“We don’t style with out referring to different benchmarks or references, and so sadly, our espresso flavour lexicon is advanced, but in addition restricted to non-public expertise,” he says. “[There are always] additional opinions relating to flavour.”
Enhancing accuracy whereas sustaining curiosity
A method that Dakota believes roasters might higher talk tasting notes – whereas additionally acknowledging private preferences – is to observe within the footsteps of different craft beverage industries similar to wine and beer.Â
For instance, a shopper shopping for beer first decides on the kind of beer they wish to drink, and a number of other elements could affect their determination. They might wish to purchase bitter beer or IPAs within the hotter months, and go for stout and ale within the colder seasons, as an illustration.
It’s additionally probably that the patron will have already got expectations about what every kind of beer will style like, largely based mostly on area or technique of manufacturing.
According to this, Dakota emphasises that educating shoppers (particularly those that are new to specialty espresso) about how origin, processing strategies, and roast profiles can influence espresso flavour might assist to enhance accuracy of descriptors – and thereby improve the client expertise.
In the end, when figuring out and deciding on tasting notes, a greater strategy for roasters might be to develop a extra thorough understanding of the preferences of their shoppers together with the flavours they’re tasting.
Flavour notes on espresso baggage are vital for each roasters and shoppers, and even producers. And whereas tasting notes actually want to attract shoppers in, roasters even have to make sure descriptors are correct and balanced.
If not, roasters threat shedding shopper belief and loyalty – one thing which many can not afford to do.
Loved this? Then learn our article on how producers and roasters can develop particular flavour profiles for espresso.
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