I can't tell you how many times I've walked into a coffee shop and asked about the details of a coffee, only to be told how "bold" or "smooth" it is. Then I order Tea because I don't trust baristas who can't tell me more about a coffee than that. It shouldn't be this way. How refreshing would it be if, when you ask about a coffee, a barista told you about the subtleties, flavor notes, mouthfeel, even perhaps information about the region where it was grown? Its not that all of these are needed to sell a coffee, but its the baristas who will take this country to another level of coffee enjoyment, and if we settle, we've just reverted to where coffee was in the '70's. The coffee description terms "light, medium, dark roasts" are describers that should never finish a baristas presentation of a coffee--they are a matter of roast, not of taste. "smooth, strong" is just a baristas way of saying, "I don't have a clue about the specifics of this coffee, so I'm going to sell you a porsche by telling you it has 4 nice wheels." Some call this a 'cop out'...I would agree. We are doing the coffee, ourselves, and its drinkers a disservice by sticking with this obvious, lazy terminology. You wouldn't purchase a bottle of specialty wine if a salesmen said, "its a dark red color", you would however, buy a bottle that was described with a velvety mouthfeel, a dense cherry bouquet, a buttery ethereal dance of vanilla, and a light semi-sweet coriander-like finish.
The responsibility for better terminology first lies in coffee shop owners, who cannot remain satisfied by simply selling a product, and second in baristas, who need to hunger for a better descriptions from owners/roasters/farmers, and third, in coffee drinkers, who must look just a bit deeper into their coffee.
Solutions: the chain of knowledge starts from farmers, who can partner with roasters to give more detailed information about a coffee, and pass that on to a coffee shop's baristas. Also, coffee drinkers should be more educated about what they are drinking. This will mean more work for coffee shop workers in the form of public cuppings/tastings, or even in putting together more accurate depictions of coffees. Or, how about this: coffee shops can start by helping people know how to better enjoy coffees by giving them free information (a simple 8 x 10 of coffee tasting terms will do more good than you know). There are many capable people in the chain of coffee handlers that can present a more colored description of a coffee. Pursue these descriptions! A well-trained barista should never be able to get away with describing a coffee as "medium". Here are some terms that every coffee shop owner/barista/taster should become well familiar with:
Aroma: the scent/boquet of a coffee. Hint: never drink coffee with the lid on, you'll lose 30-60% of the flavor capabilities!
Body: the mouthfeel/weight of how a coffee feels in your mouth (eg: whole milk is heavy in body, but lemonade is light in body.)
Acidity: describes the bright, lively, or dry, unlively quality. (eg: "lively" or "moderate" or "flat). Acidity produces crisp, pleasant, possibly fruity notes.
flavor describers: anything from blueberry, melon, to graham cracker, chocolate, almond... (it will immensely help to look at a coffee flavor wheel while you taste)
aftertaste/finish: Does the taste of the coffee stay on your tongue for a few seconds, or does it immediately leave, aka, produce a clean finish.
There is an objective part to tasting coffee, and there is a subjective part too, as no two pallets are alike. Enjoy tasting coffees, because that is the goal! And, always drink with friends when possible! In no time, we can together start actually thoroughly enjoying coffee for all it offers. Will we, as coffee professionals, and as developing coffee tasters be satisfied with ancient, elementary coffee moniker that has long since expired and evolved into something more beautiful and more intricate? NO, we will not revert to those ways, we will ask more of our coffee in the coming days.
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