Coffee is known for its rich and complex flavors, which can vary depending on a variety of factors, including the type and blend of coffee beans, geographical source ,the roasting process, and the brewing method.
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and World Coffee Research (WCR) have created a Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel(©2016). Based on that wheel, some companies and organizations has developed their own interpretation of a coffee wheel, to help describe and categorize the different flavour and aromas. The wheel is a useful tool for coffee professionals and enthusiasts, as it allows for a standardized language to describe the different taste and aroma (flavour) profiles of different coffees. By using the wheel, one can better understand and appreciate the coffee, and communicate these more effectively to others.
The coffee wheel that are shown below, is developed by Coffeemind. When Coffeemind talks about taste, they prefer to talk about the five basic tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami) as what they are: simply the five basic tastes as we perceive them on our tongue and oral cavity. Coffeemind don’t think it makes sense scientifically nor useful to include them in the wheel, as they, in their opinion, don’t belong to either a category or a subcategory.
Coffeemind would like their coffee wheel to be easily understandable and the descriptors easily accessible, therefore they have chosen to have only two circles. The wheel is not based on research as the SCA Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel, but it is based on scientific definitions of taste and aroma and the experience from years of teaching and training coffee professionals in coffee aroma detection.
If you want to use the wheel, make yourself a nice cup of coffee, take a sip while you look at the wheel and try to decide which category the coffee mainly belongs to. When you feel confident that you can use these overall descriptors consistently, you can go to the outer circle and try to put some of the more specific taste and aroma descriptors on the coffee you taste.
