You Bought It, But How To Taste It

So lets indulge in my deepest fantasies and assume that you, the consumer, have taken the plunge and purchased a decent burr grinder and a pour over or french press, and are making great coffee at home. So how do you really taste the coffee? I mean, really taste it; savor it, enjoy it, and relish it. This can be a barrier to entry for many as evolution has ill-equipped us to fully appreciate what makes coffee so great. We are evolved to have very basic reward structures as well as a limited capacity for taste and aroma. This is a problem when it comes to coffee because fats and sugars trigger the reward center in our brains, thus Western culture’s debilitating cream-and-sugar obsession. The saddest part about this is that what makes specialty-grade coffee so wonderful is the complex bouquet of flavors and aromas present for anyone who will learn to experience them.

Cupping is recognized by the specialty coffee industry as the best way to evaluate a coffee's cup characteristics (if you'd like to learn more about cupping, there is a brief picture overview here, and there’s a step-by-step description here). The basic premise is to smell and note the fragrances of the coffee both as dry and wet grounds. The part of cupping that can be most titillating to a student of coffee is the break. The break comes after the hot water has been poured and the grounds have been immersed for four minutes. After this time, the spoon is dropped through the crust, releasing unique aromas that are normally indistinguishable. If you’re a coffee n00b just start with the dry grounds for your first experience. After you grind your beans, agitate and smell the ground coffee. Really get your nose in there and sniff like a dog, rapid short sniffs. You should focus on identifying fragrances other than coffee; think and smell for chocolate. Almost all coffee has at least some underlying aroma of chocolate. If it’s a washed coffee and a light roast, try to detect the floral undertones. If you have a Natural, try to discern what fruit your coffee smells like.

Another fun thing to do is to try to find what others have already found in your coffee. If you know the origin and varietal of your coffee, you can read cupping notes on Sweet Maria’s website, or check out Cafe Imports Beanology. If you have any questions, talk to your local roaster or barista.

If you’re not interested in cupping at home, I don’t blame you; it’s quite a process. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still improve your palate. If you ever use a french press, then you have a way to simulate a basic cupping; just break the crust with a spoon and sniff before you press down the plunger. Next time you make a pour over, take a minute to smell the dry grounds and see how they compare to the finished flavor and aroma profile of the cup. With a little effort and attention, your ability to perceive the complexity and truly experience bouquet of a specialty coffee will be improved, just by taking time to focus on the taste and smell in your cup.

So to those of you who normally eschew black coffee, skip the cream and sugar for once and discover the masterpiece cached in your cup.