The taste of coffee - What factors influence the aroma of coffee
Everything you need to know about why your coffee tastes so deliciously of dark chocolate or marzipan and why you can enjoy our Go Nuts without worrying if you have a nut allergy.
Table of contents
- Over 800 natural flavors in coffee
- How to test coffee correctly
- No artificial flavors
- Where do the flavors in coffee come from?
- Growing condition and preparation of coffee
- Washed, Natural or Monsooning?
- Comparison of coffee preparation methods in terms of taste
- How does the method of preparation affect the taste of my coffee?
- How many flavors has coffee
- Difference flavors and flavored coffee
Over 800 natural flavors in coffee
Coffee has far more naturally occurring aromas than wine. With good wines, we are used to classifying the taste into certain nuances such as floral, earthy, spicy or citrusy. Coffee has twice as many naturally occurring aromas compared to wine. This fact makes it more than the good-morning cappuccino. Through a wide variety of preparation methods, you can tease out the most diverse flavors from it. Distinguishing between different flavors takes a little practice until you can distinguish the individual notes. However, you will be able to perceive the main characteristics after just a few tries.
How to test coffee properly - a tip from your roaster
Next time you enjoy your coffee, close your eyes for a moment, smell your freshly brewed cup of coffee and sip it in small sips. While sipping, the person sitting next to you will give you some strange looks, but this is the only way you can perceive the coffee in the entire mouth, throat and nasal cavity and taste all the nuances.
No artificial additives - flavors in coffee are pure nature
Taste: nutty; aromas of almond and fresh marzipan.
Taste: acidic-fruity, aromas of wild berries.
When you read this or similar descriptions on your coffee packaging, it doesn't automatically mean that the flavor has been added artificially. In the specialty coffee sector, it describes the direction in which your coffee's natural flavors go. At unbound, for example, we name our specialty coffees after the main flavor direction our coffee takes. Our Merry Blueberry, for example, tastes deliciously fruity and fresh like blueberries, while our Nutty Butty is delicately nutty with aromas of hazelnut and almond.
Where do the flavors in coffee come from?
The natural flavors in your coffee are made up of several factors.
The type of coffee - Arabica or Robusta
In the first place, the type of coffee plays an important role. Coffee can basically be divided into two types. Canephora, or often called Robusta in common parlance, usually tastes earthy-chocolatey. Arabica beans, on the other hand, are characterized by a variety of flavor nuances. These range from floral to citrusy to exotic fruits, berries, but also almond and marzipan.
Growing condition and preparation of coffee
Coffee is a natural product, so its taste is not exactly the same every year. Temperature, precipitation and the number of hours of sunshine influence the taste of coffee, which is why, like wine, it tastes a little different every year.
The subsequent preparation of the beans can also influence the subsequent taste. A distinction is made here as to when and how the pulp is separated from the bean:
Washed
In wet processing, also called washed, the pulp is separated from the bean before drying. The beans are then fermented in a water tank to gently remove resistant components of the coffee bean, and then dried. They are characterized by a clear flavor profile, a slight sweetness and explosive fruitiness and acidity.
Natural
Natural refers to the dry processing of coffee beans. The pulp remains on the bean during the entire drying process and is only separated before further processing. The important thing for good quality is high-quality drying under constant weather conditions. If these are given, your Natural coffee tastes uniquely sweet, flowery-fruity and full-bodied.
Monsooning
Yes, it is indeed exactly what it sounds like: the coffee is deliberately exposed to wind and moisture over a long period of time. This type of preparation is used primarily in India and is intended to simulate the long transport of the coffee by ship. The coffee was exposed to wind and weather and thus developed its characteristic taste. This "rain coffee" tastes uniquely spicy and is very low in acidity.