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We created our coffee flavour wheel to enhance our experience of tasting the amazing coffee roasted in the UK.
So we thought we’d help you guys at home too.
Just cover the postage and packaging for us.
Order Your Free Print Now
Otherwise. Learn more about flavour wheels below.
Did you know that coffee contains nearly twice as many flavour notes as wine?
The renowned coffee flavour wheel was created to help anyone identify and classify the delightful flavor notes in their cup of specialty coffee.
The SCA coffee taster’s flavour wheel can be seen adorning walls of coffee roasters and sensory labs all over the world.
It was invented in 1995 and has become the industry standard coffee tasting resource.
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Besides the fact that it makes a great piece of coffee artwork it has become the cornerstone of assistance for anyone that wants to talk about the many flavours in specialty coffee.
I taste new coffee pretty much everyday to review and potentially showcase in our subscription box. Our coffee flavour wheel is used to help us better define the complex and subtle notes of certain coffees.
How Do I Use a Coffee Flavour Wheel?
There are a number of different coffee flavour wheels today, some slightly less wheel-like than others.
All of which aim to help you better understand the coffee you are tasting and arrive at a description of the flavours.
When tasting coffee it’s important to standardise the procedure to eliminate any brewing variables (we’ll go into coffee cupping a little later).
When taking the first few sips of coffee try to determine the main flavours of the brew, these are typically the descriptive words on the inside of the wheel (fruity, sweet, nutty, roasty,… etc).
These main flavours may change as the coffee cools or for that matter as the coffee progresses over your palate; many coffees start with a fruit forward profile and then evolve through to darker notes into the aftertaste.
When you have decided on the main attributes of the coffee try to then move through the wheel and describe the flavours you are tasting more precisely.
If for example the coffee reminds you of the taste of nuts try to determine which nuts in particular spring to mind.
Make sure you write all the flavours down when you are tasting the coffee as some notes may be fleeting. You should then have a description of the coffee to better define the unique nature of the brew.
Who is a Coffee Flavour Wheel For?
Coffee wheels are for anybody that is interested in the wonderful flavour notes of speciality coffee.
If you are just starting out on your coffee tasting journey they make the perfect acquaintance when you’re in need of a little help to define the coffee.
They are also used as an industry standard aid, so coffee roasters and green coffee buyers that taste and cup coffee everyday will regularly refer to a coffee tasters wheel to help better understand each coffee.
What is Coffee Cupping?
Coffee cupping is the phrase used to describe coffee tasting particularly in the specialty coffee industry.
Coffee cupping is carried out either at origin, where producers taste different lots or varietals of their coffee to be able to describe their green coffee to potential buyers, through to coffee roasters in consuming countries that use coffee cupping to decide on a particular type of coffee they may purchase or to compare roast profiles of a certain coffee.
You may have seen a coffee cupping table before, there are often public cuppings held by coffee roasters to introduce people to specialty coffee and meet local coffee-loving folk.
The method is standardised so each coffee is tasted with the same variables. Each coffee is ground to a coarse setting (something slightly coarser than a cafetiere grind) into a set of cupping bowls.
The coffee would then usually be passed around to smell and to take in the ground coffee’s fragrance.
The timer is then set and hot water is poured over the grounds at a ratio of 1:16 coffee:water.
4 minutes and a few more smells later the crust of the coffee is broken using a spoon and more smelling and identifying flavour notes commence.
A foam will appear on top of the coffee which is then skimmed off and tasting the coffee can start.
Using a spoon, take a small amount of coffee and slurp away. The idea is to spray the coffee all over your palate into each corner of your mouth. This helps the subtle notes to express themselves.
Keep tasting the coffee as it cools as the flavours of some coffees evolve throughout.
By using the coffee flavour wheel and the visual prompts you will be able to identify the notes a little easier. This is still no easy task though and like with anything, the more coffee you taste and cup the easier it will become to describe the flavours present.
What Are The Different Tastes in Coffee?
There are many different flavour notes in speciality coffee and each one is also down to how the taster perceives that individual note.
Our tongue can differentiate between the five basic tastes: Bitter, Sour, Salty, Sweet and Unami.
This can be done without our nose and the tongue will be able to recognise each of these primary tastes, for example if we ate a lemon our tongue would be able to tell that it is sour but not be able to differentiate between the many sour flavours like lime or grapefruit.
Our coffee flavour wheel has 82 different flavour notes, from lemon to maple syrup and red peppers to peanuts.
There are many more flavours that you may attribute to certain coffees and that is the real beauty of speciality coffee for us at Batch, there is no right answer.
If you happen to taste your Grandmother’s apple pie or a coffee that reminds you of a particular time then that is the real sweet spot of coffee tasting.
We just note a few ideas down so you’re aware of the type of coffee you’re about to taste, but don’t be shy when you taste something different.
Why do Some Coffee’s Taste Different?
Coffees taste different for a number of reasons.
The first one is the type of coffee plant known in the industry as the varietal.
There are many different varietal’s of specialty coffee some of the more well known ones are Bourbon, Typica, Caturra and more recently Geisha.
Each Coffee plant grows slightly differently and produces different coffee cherries each resulting in slightly different tastes in the end cup.
The processing method at origin also makes a big difference in taste. There are two main types of processing methods, Washed and Natural (there are other names and various methods that fall in between the two as well).
Washed coffee is stripped from the red or yellow fleshy fruit and washed before left out to dry.
Natural coffee however is harvested and left to dry with the fruit still intact.
Washed coffees do make up the majority of coffee on the market as it is a more consistent method and most flavour notes can be found.
Naturals typically possess a rich fruity and boozy flavour profile and occasionally offer something truly unique.
Roasting style and roast profile also make a huge difference in the end flavour profile of the coffee.
If for instance the same coffee was roasted to a light profile and a dark profile the flavours could be polar opposite.
Lastly a huge difference in the taste of coffee comes down to the brew method and how you choose to make your coffee.
If you’re a pour over sort of cat, coffee will be ground coarser and filtered through paper resulting in a clean and light cup of coffee.
If espresso is your jam then the coffee is ground fine and water is pressed through the grinds brewing a more full bodied and richer coffee.
What is Taste, Aroma and Flavour?
Taste is the sensation experienced by the tongue and describes the 5 basic tastes above: Salt, Sour, Bitter, Sweet and Unami.
Aroma is defined as an odour and sensed only through the nose and through the back of the nasal passages where the nose and mouth meet.
Flavour is the combination of both aroma and taste.
Where to Buy a Coffee Flavour Wheel?
If you are looking to buy come coffee art then a coffee flavour wheel could be a great idea. There are a few places that sell the SCA coffee flavour wheel poster in the UK but the best bet is to head to the SCA Website here.
Batch coffee offer a free coffee flavour wheel print all you have to do is pay for P&P. Check out the link to our Free Coffee Flavour Wheel Print.
What Does Good Coffee Taste Like?
Good coffee is extremely subjective and differs from person to person. However, good coffee through the Batch coffee team’s eye’s has complex flavour notes whether they are fruity, chocolatey or acidic.
