Whether you like a well-loaded coffee before work or a small cup to match dessert, there’s nothing more delicious than a good espresso. Tasting is not just savoring the acidity of the drink in your mouth or getting drunk with the aroma of the cup. Drinking a good coffee is an act that includes all the senses, and for an expert coffee sommelier, it’s almost like a ritual.
In a professional cupping session, coffee producers put on a table multiple cups with samples in a triangle shape:
Firstly, coffee sommeliers evaluate oiliness and aroma of the green beans. That way, they can test harvest’s quality. A brown version of these beans is also placed on a side, so tasters can assess the roasting process. Once the roasted beans are ground and espresso is made, the testers evaluate the balance directly in the beverage.
What’s in a good coffee?
The fragrance is that smell that comes out when the coffee is ground or when the machine adds hot water. That’s the first sign that you’re in front of a good cup!
The aroma anticipates the taste of the coffee. An expert coffee taster has a sensitive sense of smell in order to distinguish the subtle references once the drink is served.
Tasting coffee consists of different elements like sweetness, acidness, and bitterness. These flavors appear as the coffee moves through the palate. It is often described in terms of richness, range, complexity, and balance.
Another characteristic aspect of coffee is its acidity, which could be described as the dryness that causes in the mouth. The acidity will depend on the height of the coffee crop. The higher its altitude, the greater its acidity. The darkest the toasting, the less acid the drink will be.
The body of the coffee refers to the consistency and permanence in relation to the sensation of fluidity, lightness or thickness. It is necessary to retain the coffee for a few seconds in the mouth to analyze this aspect.
When you finished your cup, the flavor that will last in the mouth is what we call the aftertaste. Many coffees vary their flavor slightly when they end up having spicy or cocoa notes.
Taste the perfect espresso
Coffee can be customized according to your tastes, but if you really want to know how to taste an espresso like an expert, consider the following variables:
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The aroma: should distill a mild bitterness and, depending on the bean and its roasting, have small reminiscences of other substances.
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An accentuated bitterness: it develops during extraction, in which is as important the temperature of the water as the compaction of the coffee in the holder. Determining the right level of bitterness is very subjective, so it depends on your taste buds.
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The espresso body is slightly more viscous than a conventional coffee cup. The cream should float smoothly, at least two to three millimeters thick, and be hazelnut colored with brown streaks.
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The color of the coffee drink should be golden or very dark brown, according to its density.
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Temperature: If the drink is very hot, it is impossible to taste it, but if it gets cold, it will taste really bad. Be sure to wait at least 3 minutes before putting in your mouth.
