Coffee and Caffeine FAQ

These adjectives relate mostly to the origin of the coffee and the method of processing it (dry, wet, or both):

Acidity. Acidity in relation to taste has nothing to do with acidity in terms of the gnawing pain in your stomach. Acidity in coffee might be described by terms like bright, clear, snappy, dry, clean, winey, etc. Coffees without acidity tend to taste flat and dull, like flat soda. Acidity is to coffee what dryness is to wine. Different varietals will possess different kinds of acidity, for example high notes of some African coffees versus the crisp clear notes of high grown coffees from the Americas. Unpleasant acidy flavors may register as sourness. Dark roasts tend to flatten out acidity. This is a key term in coffee tasting.

Aroma. The aromatics of a coffee greatly influence its flavor profile, and comes from the perception of the gases released by brewed coffee. Aroma is greatest in the middle roasts and is quickly overtaken by carbony smells in darker roasts. Green beans can also have a distinct aroma that may hint at their cup qualities.

Balance. A coffee that has several attributes present but does not have one that overpowers others, might be called balanced or mellow. If it simply lacks strong attributes in any significant amount it might be called dull.

Body. Body is the perceived heaviness of a coffee, sensed on the back of the palate. Extremely light roasts and extremely dark roasts have reduced body, but body is also determined by the type of coffee. Perceived body can be affected by some brewing methods, for example presspot coffee, where a lot of fine matter floats in the cup after pressing, or Espresso, where a lot of coffee oils are present in a small quantity of liquid. Conversely, if you brew using too little coffee, or too course a grind, the result will be light on body. Paper filters can also reduce the body in the cup.

Clean. The opposite of wild coffees. Clean-tasting coffees are free of defects, shadow undertones, or varietal distractions.

Complexity. Complexity relates to the co-presence of attributes in a coffee. Acidity, body, earthiness, sweetness, etc., combine to make a coffee complex. Varietals are often blended to increase their complexity.

Flavor. Just a general term to describe the overall impression you get from a coffee.

Musty, Dirty, Rioy, Rough. A bunch of bad words. The first two terms relate to poor storage conditions, improper aging, or unpleasant earthiness. "Rioy" is an industry term for harshness, (pronounced ree-o-ee after Rio De Janiero), like poor quality low-grown Brazilian arabicas.

Spicy. Underlying "spicy" accent, either aromatic or flavorful. It might relate to the coffee being natural, the character of the acidity or the two combined. Examples are some Ethiopian and Guatemalan coffees.

Wild, Earthy, or Natural. Relates mostly to the processing method used, when the fruit of the coffee cherry is allowed to dry on the beans before removal. Earthiness can also be detected, I presume, based on the soils the coffee grows in (there are earthy Indonesian coffees that are wet processed). Earthiness can quickly become dirtiness. Dirty coffee is unpleasant. The winey flavors of some wild coffees is called sour when it becomes unpleasant.