[Many people would disagree with the intention of this post, which is to in some way quantify the flavours of different roasted coffees. My brain works best with numbers and figures, so I indulge it. I don't have any delusions that one can completely describe a coffee using a table. Nevertheless, I'd be interested in feedback, as long as it isn't outright abuse!]
Bit of an intro. Even though describing flavours is very subjective, we find that we can usually agree on the broad characteristics of a coffee's flavour. For example, I recently described an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe as having an aroma of "peach", while someone else used the descriptor "apricot" for the same elusive aroma. Obviously, it's coffee, not peach or apricot juice... but these descriptors are similes - they describe the actual aroma according to what it is like. This is what coffee cupping is all about.
So, without further apologetics or disclaimer, here is a technique we use to help us express what we're tasting when cupping.
Graphing a Coffee's Flavour Profile:
This method came from one of my mates who instinctively interpreted the flavour profiles of coffees as "shapes". No, we're not talking synesthesia - it's just that coffee flavours seem to fit into broad categories of "low", "middle" and "high".
Fruity
Berryish
Citrussy
Winey
Floral
Acidy
Tart
Lemony
NB. these are all terms I have actually used while cupping - albeit after consulting a cupping vocabulary sheet once or twice.
This makes it possible to draw the flavour profile of a coffee. Here's a few examples:
Brazil Daterra Peaberry
My cupping notes read - "grainy/toasty spiciness, woody. Full, rounded and sweet. Low acid". "Spicy" and "woody" describe low-end flavours, most of the others describe "middle" flavours; "low acid" means it doesn't have much high end. Hence:
Papua New Guinea Wahgi AA
My cupping notes read - "sweet, choc/caramel, earthy and rounded, mellow acid/berry, buttery. Light, clean balancing acids". In comparison to the Brazil Peaberry, the PNG Wahgi has significantly more balancing acidity (high end), but an over all lower intensity of flavour (lower over all profile). Hence:
Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
My cupping notes read - "floral, fruity (peach), jasmine blossom? Vanilla, marshmallow, citrus sweetness. Sweetly acid, with some lower balance. Forceful acidity". This is a very different coffee to the other two. Its lack of low and middle flavours means the flavours can get lost in milk-based coffees (though in a blend for milk it is wonderful), but in any black coffee it is interesting and intense. Its shape is very different:
A Note on Blending:
Though I haven't decided for certain yet, I suspect that when you are blending, you want to use beans that have a mixture of low, middle and high flavours (for an "everyday" blend, in any case). My personal taste seems to be a blend using a middle-heavy beans as a base, with something like the Yirgacheffe to give it a high-end "lift".
Limitations of this Method:
Coffee is about more than flavour - what about body and mouthfeel, for example?
It is primarily a measure of the way you roasted the bean rather than a measure of the bean's inherent characteristics - a light-roasted bean will generally be acidic whereas a dark-roasted bean might be "smokey" etc.
Cupping descriptors are subjective in the first place - this method takes them one step further away from objectivity.
Some of the terms might belong in another category.
But I'm not too worried about all that. Give us a hoy if you have any comments.
In coffee, "cupping" is a simple method of determining and comparing coffees' flavour profiles. It has nothing to do with traditional Chinese medicine. Nor does it simply mean "tasting" coffee - as I initially thought.
As far as I can determine, the cupping method was developed in order to eliminate as many of the variables of preparation as possible. It involves grinding coffee into cups and filling them with recently-boiled water (water temp is probably the main uncontrolled variable here, IMO), then sniffing and slurping them, while writing down the aromas and flavours you recognise. Doing this with a range of coffees side by side means you can get really interesting insight into the range of flavours out there.
As in wine and beer tasting, newcomers are often daunted by the vocabulary used by coffee cuppers; to hear someone describe a coffee as having "a hint of blueberry" can be confusing. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to have a special palate to be able to join in on these kinds of tasting pursuits. Everyone has tastebuds, and everyone has (some) words to describe what they taste/smell. My opinion is that experienced coffee cuppers (and wine judges) have merely developed a better vocabulary of words to express their senses.
I started cupping as soon as I started roasting. I did so because it sounded fun and like a different way to experience coffee. Both are true! We now cup almost everything we roast, just to learn more about how the different roasting profiles effect the flavour, and about how the different beans (and bean-growing regions) express themselves in the cup.
We also use cupping to determine how to blend our beans. For example, our first blend was created after we had cupped the 4 different beans we'd roasted that week. We looked at our notes and thought about how the flavours would fit together - then we each came up with a secret blend, which we cupped blindly to determine our favourite. In the end, we made further changes to these initial blends and came up with this:
50% Brazil Daterra peaberry / 25% Panama Boquete SHB / 25% Ethiopians (some Harrar and some Limu)
This blend used the Brazil as a backbone (big, rounded chocolately flavours), with the Panama to add some acidity and complexity, and the two Ethiopians to add some fruity and spicy notes. It was a great blend! We should try it again...
For the uninitiated, the following is an explanation of the roasting process. As I said before, roasting is NOT difficult or technical. As such, I'll give the explanation by using a couple of "layers" - let's call it the Onion Method (with thanks to Shrek) - first the basics, then the guts, then the details. If the details don't interest you, skip them!
How to Roast (layer 1): > Heat the green beans, while stirring, until they are dark brown. [Seriously, you could follow these instructions and probably end up with drinkable coffee!]
How to Roast (layer 2): > Heat the green beans quickly, while stirring to ensure that they roast evenly, so that they are dark brown after 15-20 minutes. > During the roast, the beans will change from green to yellow to orange to light brown and then to dark brown (and, eventually, to black... and then back to orange as they catch fire... but don't go there). The beans will also swell up considerably during the roast. > When the beans are about almond-coloured, they will emit a cracking noise - the "first crack" (FC). This will stop, and soon a second round of cracking noises will begin - the "seconds crack" (SC). This is approximately when you stop roasting. > Cool them down to room temperature as quickly as possible.
How to Roast (layer 3): > Roasting too slow will make the coffee taste flat; roasting too fast will make it too acidic and not sweet enough. > By increasing/decreasing the heat, you should aim for FC to occur at around 10-12 minutes, and for SC to occur 5-6 minutes later. > Much of the flavour development happens between FC and SC, so you will need to lower the heat after FC in order to extend the time between the cracks. > On the other hand, you don't NEED to wait for SC. Once first crack (FC) has finished, the beans can be pulled at any time. Lighter roasts tend to give the coffee more acidity as well as emphasising the bean variety's inherent characteristics. Darker roasts enhance the body, sweetness, and a range of darker, deeper flavours.
How to Roast (layer 4): > FC will occur as the measured temperature gets to 200-205ºC (internal bean temperature will be lower). SC will occur as the temp reaches around 230ºC. > Both FC and SC create some heat of their own, so it is important to back off the heat when the cracks occur. Aim for the temp to rise by 4-5ºC per minute between FC and SC. > Applying too much heat at any time can cause "tipping", where the narrower ends of the beans can get slightly burnt. > The beans lose around 18% of their weight (in water vapour) during the roast. > Roasting faster or slower can be done intentionally in order to achieve a different taste. For example, some acidic beans' inherent fruity characteristics can be enhanced by a slightly faster "ramp" to FC.
How to Roast (layer 5): > CLASSIFIED. ie. I'm not this knowledgeable about roasting, but I'm sure some people could give further advice!
We're planning on making a short video tutorial to roasting sometime soon. We'll keep you posted.
Since myself and two friends started roasting our own coffee beans, we've met lots of people who are surprised that coffee roasting wasn't too laborious, dangerous or technical. I'm afraid it's true; roasting your own coffee is easy, safe and simple.
We got into roasting accidentally; I was researching a prospective new coffee grinder and came across Coffee Snobs, a website the purpose of which should be obvious from the title. While there, I stumbled across someone's description of how they roast coffee. This turned out to be a dangerous discovery!
A couple of months later, we had built our "Corretto" roaster - using an old bread maker as a bean receptacle and stirring device, and a heat gun (ie. for paint stripping) as a heat source. This design is quite common for home roasters in Oz, and is named after its Australian inventor's online user name.
Here's a YouTube video that one of the guys made showing our roaster in action!
