Coffee & Tea
Acid. Tartness, snap, twist, dryness. Darker roasts contain lessacid. The "backbone" of coffee.
Acidity. A measure of the acid content of the liquid; in fine coffees,results in a pleasant sharpness.
Aftertaste. The sensation of taste released after swallowing; canrange from bitter to sweet or chocolaty to spicy.
Aroma. The fragrance ot freshly brewed coffee; can range from mildto pungent.
Bouquet. The complete Aromatic profile; resulting frum a combinationof the aroma and aftertaste.
Blend. Any mixture of two or more coffees that complement each other.
Bitter. A coffee taste that is harsh and unpleasant. Bitterness canbe the result of over extraction (when water spends too much time in contactwith the coffee), over roasting or poor quality beans.
Body. A term describing a strong, full, pleasant characteristic (notnecessarily related to acidity).
Carbony. A common "burnt" scent in dark roasted coffees.
Cupping. The physical process of tasting coffee to evaluate it; involvesexaggerated spitting, slurping, and swallowing to experience each characteristic.
Caffeine. An odorless, bitter stimulant found in coffee beans, tealeaves, kola nuts and cocoa beans.
Cherries. The fruit of coffee arabica, so called because it grownsbright red. Each cherry has two beans.
Dark Roast. A term applied to coffee beans that are roasted longerto develop a strong, almost spicy taste. The resulting coffee beans arevery dark and oily.
Dirty. Unclean smell or taste such as sourness or mustiness, or amore generalized taint.
Delicate. Related to mellow; a fragile, subtle flavor perceived bythe tip of the tongue.
Decaffeination. A process using either methylene chloride, carbondioxide or water, which remove, 97% of the caffeine from the green beans.
Dry. Coffee, espresso without hot milk, coffee and foam only, oppositeof "Wet."
Flat. 1) A term which describes a nondescipt bouquet; not a particularlyflattering term. 2) Same as "Wet."
Flavor. The unique combination of acidity, body and aroma that characterizeseach coffee.
Flavored Coffee. Coffees given specific flavors by the addition ofoils and extracts.
Fruity. A term describing an aroma of citrus or berry fruit.
Light. Espresso with extra water, less strong, opposite of tight.
Mellow. A rounded smooth taste, characteristically lacking in acidity.
Musty. A taint often due to poor storage. Can also be due to lackof sufficient drying and aging or overheating.
Neutral. Lacking any strong main flavors; a characteristic desirablein good blends.
Nutty. An aromatic released as brew is swallowed, reminiscent ofroasted nuts.
Rich. Describes a bouquet with intense aroma and aftertaste.
Thin. Related to under brewing (when water spends too little timein contact with the coffee). The brew lacks body and acidity.
Tight. Espresso with a less water content, stronger, opposite oflight.
Wet. Coffee, espresso without foam, coffee and hot milk only, oppositeof "Dry" or "Flat".
Deamer 11/19/96