In-depth analysis | Four basic coffee flavors

What is taste?

Taste is the sense of flavor. The receptors are located in the mucus-covered membrane of the tongue. Its stimuli consist of soluble compounds.

Taste Classification

There are four basic coffee flavors that people can detect: sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

1

sweet

It has the characteristics of sugar, alcohol and some acidic solutions. Sweetness is mainly felt by the fungus-like papillae at the tip of the tongue.

2

Salt

It has the characteristics of chloride, bromide, iodide, nitrate and sulfate solutions. It is mainly felt by the fungiform lobed papillae on the front edge of the tongue.

3

Sour

It has the characteristics of a solution of tartar, citric acid and malic acid. It is mainly felt by the fungiform lobed papillae on the back edge of the tongue.

4

Bitter

It has the characteristics of quinine, caffeine and other alkaloid solutions. It is mainly felt by the fortress-like papillae on the back of the tongue.

The taste of coffee includes the above four basic flavors. Among them, sweet, salty and sour flavors determine the overall taste of coffee, mainly because the compounds that produce these three flavors account for the largest proportion in coffee.

Although consumers often use the term "bitter" to describe bad coffee flavors, as if bitterness is a unique characteristic of coffee, just like tannins are to red wine or hops are to beer, the view that bitterness is a uniquely negative characteristic of coffee is technically incorrect. Bitterness should be considered a factor in the taste of coffee, just like the bitterness in tea, red wine, and beer.

Keywords: six primary coffee flavors

Through a process called flavor blending, several basic flavors interact with each other to form new flavors, depending on their relative strength. In the coffee palate, six new flavors can be generated by combining different flavors.

(1) Acid increases the sweetness of sugar—acidity

It is mainly felt on the tip of the tongue. The acid in the coffee combines with the sugar to increase the overall sweetness of the coffee.

(2) Saltiness increases the sweetness of sugar – mellow

It is mainly felt on the tip of the tongue. The saltiness in the coffee blends with the sugar, increasing the overall sweetness of the coffee.

(3) Sugar reduces the sourness of acid—the winey taste

It is mainly felt on the back edge of the tongue. The sugar in the coffee blends with the acid, reducing the overall sourness of the coffee.

(4) Sugar reduces the saltiness of salt – bland

It is mainly felt on the front edge of the tongue. The sugar in the coffee blends with the salt, reducing the overall saltiness of the coffee.

(5) Acid increases the saltiness of salt – sharp

It is mainly felt on the front edge of the tongue. The acid in the coffee blends with the saltiness, increasing the overall saltiness of the coffee.

(6) Salt reduces the sourness of acid – sourness

It is mainly felt on the back edge of the tongue. The saltiness in the coffee blends with the acidity, reducing the overall acidity of the coffee.

Taste and temperature

The difference in flavor depends more or less on the temperature of the coffee. Therefore, when cupping coffee, tasting it at different temperatures will give you the most accurate record of the overall flavor of the coffee. The three basic flavors of coffee change with different temperatures in the following ways:

1

First

As the temperature rises, the sweetness of the coffee decreases. At the same time, at higher temperatures, the effect of the sugar in the coffee is greatly reduced, causing a significant change in the acidity or sweetness of the coffee.

2

second

As the temperature rises, the saltiness of the coffee decreases. When the effect of the saltiness decreases, the taste and irritation level show certain changes.

3

third

Temperature changes do not affect the relative acidity of coffee. Therefore, the winey and sour tastes will change only slightly when the temperature changes, because the acid components that make the coffee sour are not affected by temperature.

After identifying the primary taste sensations of coffee, the next step is to determine to what extent a specific flavor of coffee matches these taste sensations. This is done by choosing appropriate secondary taste terms to describe the direction of the taste sensation.

For example, the alcoholic flavor that is close to sweetness is called pungent in the secondary coffee terminology, while the alcoholic flavor that is close to sourness is called tart. When looking for the most appropriate secondary term, people often find that the difficulty lies in their lack of sufficient vocabulary rather than in being unable to distinguish the various flavors of coffee.

Dark roasted coffee

The mixing process of various basic taste sensations in deep roasted coffee is different from other coffees. Due to the strong high temperature thermal decomposition of coffee beans, most of the sugars in coffee are broken down. The sweetness is lost in the taste. Due to the increase of carbolic acid compounds, the sweetness is replaced by bitterness.

Bitterness is often misunderstood. Bitterness in food is often considered a bad thing. However, in some foods, such as dark chocolate, some beers, red wines and tonic waters, bitterness is a hallmark. A welcome characteristic. In all of these cases, bitterness contributes greatly to the overall taste, and this is also true of coffee. The acceptability of foods and beverages that have bitterness as one of their basic characteristics often causes the most heated debate. Although dark roasted coffee has an important position in the coffee market, its bitterness often affects its widespread acceptance.

In coffee, bitterness comes from three sources:

First, bitterness is a taste characteristic of certain non-volatile acids, especially chlorogenic acid and quinic acid.

Secondly, bitterness is the basic taste of caffeine, N-methylnicotinic acid salt, white crystal alkaloids naturally present in coffee beans, tea leaves, cocoa beans and cola nuts.

Finally, bitterness is associated with carbolic acid and heterocyclic compounds, which are formed during the continuous high-temperature thermal decomposition of coffee beans during the transition from standard roasted coffee to dark roasted coffee.

There are four combinations you’ll often encounter when tasting dark roast coffee. Two of these are similar to the combinations you’ll encounter with standard roast coffee:

Acid adds to the saltiness of salt - sharp

Salt reduces the sourness of acid - sourness

The other two are unique to dark roasted coffee:

Bitter ingredients add a sour taste to acids - bitterness

Sourness reduces the bitterness of bitter ingredients - pungent

The main taste of dark roasted coffee

To describe the flavor of dark roasted coffee, the first step is to identify its main taste sensations.

Sharp: Sensed primarily on the front edge of the tongue. The acid in coffee combines with the salt to increase the overall saltiness of the drink.

Sour: Sensed primarily on the back edge of the tongue. The salt in coffee combines with the acid to reduce the overall sourness of the drink.

Bitterness: Primarily felt on the back of the tongue, the bitter components of coffee combine with the acid to increase the overall sourness of the drink.

Stimulation: Mainly felt at the back of the tongue. The acid in coffee combines with the bitter elements to reduce the bitterness of the drink.

The second step is to determine to what extent a specific flavor of the coffee matches these taste sensations. There are at least two main taste sensations in dark roasted coffee: irritation and sharpness. These two taste sensations can be further divided into four secondary flavors.

Sharp changes to salty - rough

Sharp change to acid - dry (astringent)

Irritant to acid change - creosoty

Stimulates a change towards bitterness – salty taste (alkaline)

When distinguishing these four flavors, we encounter situations that are unique to dark roasted coffee.

First, since temperature has little effect on the bitterness and sourness of coffee, changes in temperature will not change the taste of dark roasted coffee.

Second, many of the fruit acid compounds in coffee beans are burned along with the sugar compounds during roasting, so in deeply roasted coffee, acidity rarely becomes the main flavor.

Third, the perception of bitterness actually decreases as the concentration of the bitter component increases. This is why, in terms of taste, espresso tastes less bitter than the same coffee brewed using the traditional method.

Article from: Qila Coffee