Coffee terms used in professional coffee tasting known as
'cupping'.
Astringent - A secondary taste sensation noted
by a salty sensation on the sides of the tongue. Caused by
acids increasing the saltiness.
Baggy - An unpleasant taste often found in weakly
roasted coffees that have been stored for a long time in
inappropriate conditions.
Baked – A flat aroma with insipid taste often
caused by roasting for too long at too low a
temperature.
Beany – The smell associated with insufficiently
roasted coffee that has not been able to allowed to develop
its full aroma.
Bitter – Sharp or biting sensation felt at the
back of the tongue often the result of over roasting the
coffee bean.
Bland – Lacking in any noticeable flavour
characteristics.
Bready – A bread-like taste that can occur in
coffees that have not been roasted long enough or at a high
enough temperature to bring out the flavour of the oils.
Bright – A dryness or sharpness (typical of
Central American coffees).
Buttery – Rich and oily.
Caramelly – Suggestive of toffee or caramel.
Carbony – A burnt of charcoal flavour.
Chocolatey - Suggestive of vanilla or
chocolate.
Creamy – High levels of coffee oils suspended in
the brew.
Delicate – A secondary taste sensation noted for
its weak sweet-subtle feeling just past the tip of the
tongue.
Dirty – Unclean smelling or mustiness.
Earthy –Characteristic smell of soil or dirt often
caused when the coffee beans are stored on the ground after
harvesting (typical of Sumatran coffees)
Exotic - Unusual aroma and flavour, such as berry
or floral.
Fermented – An unpleasant taste producing a sour
sensation. The result of enzyme activity in the green coffee
beans changing the sugars to acids in the drying process
during harvesting.
Flat – A loss of aroma.
Fragrant or floral - Subtle hints of fragrant
flowers such as jasmine.
Fruity – A sweet fruity aroma suggestive of
berries or citrus fruit.
Grassy – Suggestive of freshly cut grass.
Green - A faint herbal taste due to the incomplete
development of the sugar compounds in the roasting
process.
Hard - A hard coffee is poorly balanced. It is a
secondary taste sensation of sourness on the bottom sides of
the tongue. Caused by higher-than-normal percentage of sour
acids. Ranking of hardness ranges thus: strictly soft, soft,
softish, softish/hardish, hardish, hard, Rioy.
Harsh – A hard or caustic taste.
Heavy – Higher than average levels of suspended
material in the brew.
Herby -. Suggestive of onion or green
vegetable.
Hidey – A leather-like odour caused when too much
heat is applied during the drying process causing the coffee
beans fats to break down.
Insipid – A brew of lifeless character often the
result of oxygen and moisture penetrating the bean fiber after
roasting.
Lifeless – Thin and flat.
Light – Lower than average levels of suspended
material in the coffee brew.
Malty – Suggestive of toasted grains.
Mellow – An overall smooth, mild and delicate
flavour lacking in acidity.
Muddy – Thick and lifeless.
Musty – A stuffy or mouldy smell which can be a
positive trait for aged coffees such as Java.
Neutral - The absence of a predominant taste
sensation.
Nippy - A secondary taste of sweetness, associated
with a nipping sensation at the end of the tongue.
Nutty – Smell and taste suggestive of roasted
nuts.
Oily – The description given to a coffee that has
an oily taste.
Oniony – Suggestive of onions.
Peasy – An unpleasant taste associated with fresh
green peas.
Piquant - A sweet, prickling sensation at the tip
of the tongue, typified by a Kenya AA coffee.
Point - A coffee with good overall characteristics
of acidity, body and flavour.
Potatoy – Suggestive of raw potatoes.
Pulpy – A pungent fruit-like flavour derived from
coffee cherry skins.
Pungent – Description given to a full-bodied and
forceful coffee.
Quakery – Suggestive of peanuts, often the result
of using unripe, green coffee beans.
Rancid – A highly disagreeable taste caused by
oxidization of the coffee.
Rich – Strong presence of coffee aromas.
Rioy – An iodine-like flavour caused by continuing
enzyme activity that occurs when the fruit partially dies on
the coffee tree before harvesting.
Round - A well-balanced coffee whose
characteristics are at levels so that no one sensation
dominates, giving a feeling of roundness.
Rough - A secondary sensation noted by its
grating, salty sensation on the tongue.
Rubbery – reminiscent of burnt rubber.
Scorched - A smoky or burnt aroma and taste caused
when the beans are roasted too quickly at too high temperature
which char the surface of the beans.
Stale – An unpleasant taste caused by oxygen and
moisture penetrating the beans surface.
Sharp – An astringent taste derived from salty
tasting compounds within the coffee.
Smooth – Low levels of oily compounds suspended in
the beverage.
Soft - A secondary sensation noted by an absence
of any predominant taste on any part of the tongue, except
maybe for subtle dryness.
Sound - A coffee with no particular positive or
negative characteristics.
Sour – A piercing, sour over acidic taste commonly
caused by under-ripe beans.
Spicy – An aftertaste suggestive of cinnamon or
clove.
Strawy – Suggestive of hay or straw, often from
the result of the loss of organic material from the green
coffee beans while in storage.
Strong – A coffee, rich in flavour that gives a
strong powerful taste.
Sweaty - A coffee that may have been stored
inappropriately resulting in a distinct sweaty taste.
Sweetly Spicy – An aroma
suggestive of aromatic spices such as cardamom.
Sweet – free from harshness.
Tangy - A secondary sensation noted by a
predominantly sour sensation along the sides of the tongue
hinting of a fruity sensation.
Tart – A sour puckering sensation experienced on
the tongue.
Tipped – A cereal-like taste caused by the beans
being roasted too quickly that chars the tips of the
beans.
Thick - A high level of solid material suspended
in the beverage giving it a heavy feel.
Thin – A low level of solid material suspended in
the beverage giving it a watery feel.
Twisty – A coffee with different negative
qualities that vary from cup to cup.
Turpsy – Suggestive of turpentine.
Unclean – Coffee with a distinct off-flavor
suggesting they have been kept in an unclean environment. An
aroma and taste similar to fermenting.
Variety - A qualitative depiction of the gases
present in the aroma, nose and aftertaste of coffee's
bouquet.
Watery – Lacking in body.
Weak – A beverage that is not flat but definitely
lacks body.
Winey – A pleasant sharpness suggestive of
wine.
Wild – A distinctive wood-like taste caused by
storing the beans too long.
Woody - A coffee with an unpleasant smell and
taste similar to dry wood. This can be due to the loss of
organic material in the green beans during storage.