Ah- the aroma of a specialty coffee in the morning! We've talked before about that fancy gourmet coffee or specialty coffee label and what it does or doesn't mean. Whether I'm observing as our master roaster prepares a single origin Columbian or our Organic Putney blend, I am able to make sure that the coffee beans we buy, roast and sell here in Vermont offer more than just a nice sounding name.
You are probably familiar with coffee characteristics like aroma, body, acidity and flavor. If you need a refresher, just click on this older blog for a definition of basic coffee characteristics. Did you know that there are many more coffee attributes that are used by specialty coffee graders for the purpose of defining specialty coffees? These include terms like clean cup, fragrance, aftertaste, balance and sweetness.
Clean cup- defines a cup of coffee that has only positive impressions from first sip to final lingering aftertaste
Fragrance- this differs from aroma in that fragrance refers to the scent of dry, ground coffee as opposed to the smell that results once water is added to the grounds
Aftertaste- after the liquid is swallowed this is the length the aroma and taste linger
Balance- refers to the interaction of attributes like body, acidity, aftertaste and flavor and how all compliment each other.
Sweetness- this means the fullness of flavor
By combining these elements with the first four listed above, coffee raters hold cuppings and assign numbers to each attribute. A coffee must score above an 80 to be characterized as a specialty coffee. These folks are called Q raters and have what has to be one of the best jobs on the planet!
For the rest of us, knowing these terms is useful in describing a cup of coffee, and in defining what you are looking for when you browse for beans. To get more familiar with these terms, consider holding your own coffee cupping!
Until our next cup,
Sandy Riggen
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