These 172 words go so far beyond “dark rich and smooth” that it’s incredible. You’ll enjoy coffee so much more by using and sharing these words from the SCAA to describe coffee’s flavor and aroma.
Most of us would describe our coffee as bold, rich and strong. Maybe we’d go as far as to say words like citrusy, fruity, even jammy depending on the coffee.
But did you know that there are at least 172 words to describe the flavors in coffee, seriously?
That’s according to the industry’s official Coffee Taster’s Wheel.
It’s released by the Specialty Coffee Association of America. Its purpose is to give us all a consistent language to describe coffee. This Taster’s Wheel is used by coffee growers, buyers, importers, roasters, baristas and customers.
And there’s something even more interesting about it.
Wine has a contrasting flavor wheel with only 100 flavors versus 172 in coffee. That means that coffee has almost 75% more varieties of flavors in it than wine.
If you print out and use this Flavor Wheel you really will begin to notice more flavors in your coffee. Flavors like honey, butter, lemon, apple and apricot.
Even award-winning roasters have copies of this Flavor Wheel next to their roasting equipment. We’ve seen it in cafes.
Share it, use it, enjoy it.
You can thank us by sharing this Flavor Wheel on Facebook or Twitter.
Official SCAA Coffee Taster’s Wheel
(Click to Enlarge)
