Expert Coffee Tasters
How do we know that the coffee beans being used to brew our favorite drink taste just right? Expert coffee tasters of course! If there is one job in the world that I envy, it’s got to be a coffee taster or what the industry calls cuppers. For coffee lovers, who wouldn’t want to taste different kinds of coffee all day and get paid to do it? But just like professional wine tasters, there is a certain degree of skill to it. Your taste buds must be sensitive enough to pick up the slightest flavors that make a great coffee. Here are three of the basic properties most cuppers check to ensure coffee that is served at it’s finest.
Acidity - This refers to the sharp, lively features of coffee. Cuppers look for that pleasant sharpness and vibrant quality of the beverage. Too little acidity means less flavor, resulting in a flat-tasting coffee. Too much acidity, on the other hand, would result in an undesirable sour taste. I have had a couple of coffee that’s too acidic for my taste. I wouldn’t want to name the brand, but it’s a local 3 in 1 coffee which comes in sachet form.
Roastiness - Roasting is a critical part of coffee processing as it develops and brings out the full flavor and aroma of the bean. Proper roasting requires the right temperature and the right length of roasting time. Different varieties of beans also involve different levels of roasting. Poorly roasted coffee often taste burnt. I have tasted coffee that too roasted and the experience left a baste taste in my mouth.
Coffeeness - A good cup of coffee means clean, coffee aroma and the notable absence of any off flavor tastes in the coffee. Off flavor tastes like earthy, grassy, and stewed are caused by incorrect post harvest treatment methods of berries, picking coffee berries that are still unripe and incorrect processing of coffee beans. This basically checks for anything that doesn’t make a coffee taste like coffee.
