learn to speak coffee
Aroma: Aroma is the fragrance of brewed coffee. The smell of coffee grounds before being brewed is referred to as the Bouquet. Think of the aroma of coffee as "the best part of waking up," however, it may not refer only to the brand that that phrase is associated with. Whenever you enjoy a whiff of brewing coffee, you are enjoying its "aroma."
Bitter: Bitterness is the taste perceived at the back of the tongue. Dark Roasts are intentionally bitter. Over-extraction, or too little coffee at too fine a grind, can be a cause of bad bitterness. Whether or not you like dark roasts, bitterness is a part of coffee cupping. Studying the flavors of coffee includes bitterness, as well as many other qualities.
Body: The tactile impression of the weight of the coffee in the mouth is called its "body." You can see body listed on many different coffee blends or coffee bags. The body of a coffee may range from thin to medium to full to buttery to syrupy. Try many differently bodied coffees to discover which one is your favorite.
Earthy: The description, "earthy," refers to the spicy "of the earth taste" of Indonesian coffees. Earthiness is a very nice quality in coffees, which is smooth, fresh, and even reminiscent of soil or damp earth. While this may seem to be a bad description of flavor, once you recognize it you can appreciate how enjoyable an "earthy" taste really is.
Stale: Stale coffee has been exposed to oxygen for too long. It becomes flat and has a cardboard taste. Leaving your can or bag of coffee open or cracked to expose air can cause coffee to go stale. To avoid this, use an airtight container to store your coffee, and even keep it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh.
Tone: The appearance or color of coffee is described as its tone. A description of the tone of coffee may look like; "this light toned coffee resembles the brown robes of the Franciscan Order." Pouring your coffee into a clear glass mug will help you to determine its tone, and is a technique for coffee cupping.
In the Ethiopian highlands, where the legend of Kaldi, the goatherd, originated, coffee trees grow today as they have for centuries. Though we will never know with certainty, there probably is some truth to the Kaldi legend.
It is said that he discovered coffee after noticing that his goats, upon eating berries from a certain tree, became so spirited that they did not want to sleep at night.
Kaldi dutifully reported his findings to the abbot of the local monastery who made a drink with the berries and discovered that it kept him alert for the long hours of evening prayer. Soon the abbot had shared his discovery with the other monks at the monastery, and ever so slowly knowledge of the energizing effects of the berries began to spread. As word moved east and coffee reached the Arabian peninsula, it began a journey which would spread its reputation across the globe.
Today coffee is grown in a multitude of countries around the world. Whether it is Asia or Africa, Central or South America, the islands of the Caribbean or Pacific, all can trace their heritage to the trees in the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau. read more
history
of coffee
coffee facts
New Yorkers
drink 7x
MORE
coffee
than other cities
in the U.S.
In the ancient Arab culture there was only one way a woman could legally divorce:
If her husband
didn’t provide
enough coffee.
