Coffee Terms
Acidity
An important category used by professional tasters in judging coffee; a fine coffee should have a pleasant tartness, but not be so acidic as to be bitter.
Arabica Coffee Beans
Arabica are the bean of choice in “gourmet” or “specialty coffees”. Reading Coffee Roasters only use Arabica coffee to produce the rich flavor and body found in a good cup of coffee. Arabica coffee is difficult to grow, and prone to disease, requiring more hand cultivation, and yields smaller harvests per acre. Arabica coffee is grown at altitudes over 2,000 (usually 4,000-6,000) feet above sea level and is typically harvested by hand when the cherries are perfectly ripe.
Aroma
An important category used by professional tasters in judging coffee; a fine coffee should have a pleasant fragrance when hot and freshly brewed.
Aromatic
Coffees that have a very noticeable scent, because the sense of taste and the sense of smell are so closely related, the presence of a powerful, evocative aroma can really enhance the experience of a great coffee.
Big
A term used to describe coffee with a full to heavy body.
Biting
A term used to describe a coffee that is high in acid content.
Bitter
Similar to sour, bitter-tasting coffees taste as they due usually because they have been cooked or brought to a high temperature after brew. Bitter coffees taste sour on the top front of the tongue.
Blend
Two or more types of coffee beans, often containing beans grown in different countries. A good blend will yield a balance of contrasting qualities for a complex, flavorful result.
Blue Mountain Coffee
Blue Mountain coffee beans come from the hills of the eastern end of the island of Jamaica. At 5,500 feet the land is thickly wooded and maintained as a Forest Reserve. Below this line, the terrain, the rainfall pattern, the Blue Mountain mist, and the overall conditions are blessed by God to be perfectly suited for the cultivation of the world's most distinguished and delicious coffee; Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee.
Body
An important category used by professional tasters in judging coffee; body describes the sense of richness, heaviness, or thickness that a brewed coffee imparts.
Burnt
Another term used in describing mostly dark roasts that have a charred, often bitter taste.
Chocolaty
Describes a coffee with deep undertones, usually creamy and not ever bitter.
Creamy
Note: this does not mean that the coffee has cream in it. This is a characteristic of coffees, usually pressure brewed, whose acidity is cut by its own natural sugars. A visible characteristic of some creamy coffees is the actual crema that appears on the surface.
Crema
Describes the pale brown foam that covers the surface of a brewed cup of espresso and helps retain the coffee's intensity.
Dark Roast
A general term describing any roast of coffee darker than American Roast.
Decaffeination
The process of removing most of the caffeine that naturally occurs in coffee.
Deep
Describes a flavorful coffee with a pleasant, rich aftertaste. SYN: complex.
Dry
As in wine, a dry coffee is one that is not sweet. Note, however, that this does not mean any coffee without sugar added to it. Sweetness is a property that some coffees have naturally, but the sweetness is relatively insipid and never overwhelming.
Espresso
Is a strong, flavorful coffee brewed by forcing hot water through finely ground coffee beans. In Italian, espresso means "pressed out" or "express". Espresso differs greatly from the common drip brewed coffee drink in its thick concentrated consistency, and robust flavor. Due to its potency, straight espresso (espresso served without sweetener or milk, analogous to black coffee) is considered by some to be an acquired taste, and is served in small amounts called shots. Many coffee aficionados order their single or double with a little glass of cold still water to clear the palate. Espresso is often used as the foundation for other drinks, such as lattes, cappuccino, mochas and many more. A key component in the flavor of espresso, a golden foam composed of oils, proteins, and sugars, called crema which floats on the surface.
Espresso Beans
Espresso is usually derived from a certain type of coffee bean. These beans offer a lower level of caffeine and acidity, and higher amounts of flavor and aroma. The roast of the beans varies from dark brown to almost black, depending on the desired taste. For making espresso, the beans are ground very finely, unlike coarser drip-style grounds.
Even
Describes a smooth coffee that has no one flavor attribute that outdoes the others.
French Press
The French press is the best way to control the brewing time and temperature. The French press offers unparalleled flavor due to perfect extraction time and delivery of the volatile oils that are often trapped in filters. A French press is also the least expensive brewer available. To brew in a French press: boil the correct amount of water, freshly grind the beans using a course setting, remove the plunger, place the grounds at bottom of the glass, add the hot water, stir by shaking, and after 4-5 minutes press the plunger down to separate the grounds from the extracted coffee.
French Roast
Also known as Heavy or Spanish Roast. This roasting style is darker than American Roast and approaches that of espresso. The roast may vary in color from dark brown to nearly black and the flavor can vary from rich and bittersweet to thin-bodied and burned.
Fruity
Not to be confused with "sweet", this term describes coffee beans that have snappy, berry-like notes. The varietals that are most often rightly described this way are African.
Full
Describes a coffee whose body is almost heavy, but not overwhelmingly, full-bodied coffees are satisfying and pleasant.
Green Coffee
Coffee beans that have not been roasted, they look and taste green.
Heavy
Describes a coffee whose body is dense or weighty in the mouth. Compare to a coffee whose body is "thin".
Italian Roast
This coffee roast is considerably darker than American Roast. It includes a range of beans that are dark brown in color with a rich, bittersweet flavor to almost black.
Jamaica Blue Mountain
One of the most respected coffees in the world from the Blue Mountain District of Jamaica. Grown on estates at over 3,000 feet, this premium coffee is full-bodied, rich in flavor, and has a sophisticated, smooth acidity.
Kona
Grown on the Kona coast of Hawaii is a smooth coffee with medium-body and acidity.
Medium
Describes the flavor of a coffee that is neither mild nor rich.
Mild
Describes a coffee with the least strong of flavors.
Mouth feel
Describes how heavy or dense the coffee is on the tongue; a measure of body.
Robusta
The only significant competitor among cultivated coffee species to Coffea Arabica. Robusta coffee beans lack the flavor and body of Arabica. Robusta is lower growing and higher producing; the result is an inferior cup with higher caffeine content than the classic Coffee Arabica.
Snappy
A difficult characteristic to describe; these coffees have a distinct but not unpleasant "zing" that hits the back top or middle of the tongue. Tanzanian Peaberry is an example of such a coffee.
Smooth
Describes a coffee that is neither bitter nor sour. Yet its positive characteristics are not overwhelming either. Smooth coffees are generally not terribly complex.
Spicy
A term used to describe coffees that appear to have the presence of spices.
Smoky
Not to be confused with "burnt", smoky is often a positive attribute of coffees that have a woody flavor.
Sour
Same as bitter. A sour coffee sits unpleasantly on the top front portion of the tongue.
Sweet
Not literal, this characteristic describes unadulterated coffees that have a naturally sweet characteristic. However, given that fresh brewed coffees generally have zero calories, this term is rarely used correctly, and should be preceded by the word "almost".
Storing Coffee Beans
Coffee beans tend to lose their flavor rather quickly and even faster after being ground. It's best to keep your coffee whole bean until used. Always keep your coffee in a sealed container at room temperature.
Tart
Describes a sharply bitter, stale-tasting coffee.
Thin
Describes a coffee whose body is lackluster and watery, but not necessarily whose flavor is weak.
Varietals
Pure, unblended, single-origin coffees from a particular country or geographical region. The name of a varietal often includes the estate name. As with wine appellations, the varietal system suggests what kind of soil, climate and cultivation methods were used.
Watery
Describes a coffee that has a very weak body and little flavor. A watery coffee is often the way it is on account not of the coffee but of their being too much water in the brewing process.
Weak
Describes a coffee that has a very faint flavor and often little body.
Whole Bean
Coffee that has been roasted but not yet ground.
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