A parallel can easily be drawn between the worlds of wine and coffee. The cheaper versions of each are widely available and economical, and can easily be separated due to their lack of quality. At some point, people tend to evolve from “it all tastes the same” to “I’m craving that same flavor experience”, and finally “I can’t ever go back, and now I’m ruined”. It’s hopeless when you reach this last point, and each day without what you crave is like a day without sunshine. But it’s not all subjective and trivial—there are discernible differences and tangible reasons for the variances in taste and quality.
The flavors of properly roasted coffees do not hide behind a smoky mask. All roasts can taste like burnt ash when pushed too far, aka over-roasted. But the beans can also show off their true flavors when prepared properly. As specialty coffee becomes more mainstream, everyday drinkers are being overwhelmed with fruit bomb full natural Ethiopians, sparkling jasmine Latin Americans, and pencil lead and leathery Sumatrans. Once one has a taste of the other side, it is depressing to settle for a lesser experience. Wine from the bargain bin will have a physiological effect, just like cheap coffee—but you’re missing out on a huge component of the experience!
There are around 10,000 varieties of wine grapes grown around the world. Each yields a certain flavor and behaves a particular way during processing and fermentation. In the same way, coffee plant varieties number at around 100 different species. Add in the crucial step of processing, the possible flavor profiles are nearly endless. Processing is essentially how you choose to remove coffee seeds from the fruit, an optional fermentation step, and drying. These parameters can be manipulated to deliver unbelievably diverse results. There are similar steps in the winemaking process.
An Ethiopian coffee given the chance to ferment for weeks inside the fruit yields a heavy-bodied “fruit bomb”, often reminiscent of a Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon. This process also mirrors some aspects of sweeter wine production, and the all-important noble rot, or Botrytis. But that same Ethiopian coffee given the faster, washed method of processing will provide a light-bodied, almost tea-like brew with less pronounced fruit notes and flavors of honey. When communicating these flavors, both in wine and coffee, certain rules need to apply.
Tasting notes should be simple, communicable, and specific. Three nouns are plenty, and they should be able to be discussed openly and without judgment. If I say I taste “wild blackberry grown from acre number four at my grandmother’s farm in October”, it doesn’t do anyone much good. Don’t be overly complex when simplicity will do. Instead, try “blackberry jam, dried leaves, floral”.
Finally, when tasting for the first time, incorporate oxygen in your mouth. This goes for wine and coffee. Slurp, swirl, and savor! Think about what you are consuming, and try to describe it. Paint a picture in your mind and translate that as best you can to compare with what others taste. This contemplation is what elevates the experience beyond the mundane, and we should savor these opportunities every chance we get.
Andrew Robertson, district manager with Press Coffee is a coffee expert and teaches Press Coffee’s 101 coffee classes. Press has been Arizona’s own local coffee roaster since 2008. Quality driven and community-focused, Press shares its passion for specialty coffee by providing the highest quality coffee products, service and knowledge with customers and community every day. Press Coffee has eight Valley locations in Scottsdale, Tempe, Phoenix and Chandler. Visit Press Coffee online at presscoffee.com and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @presscoffee.
