Taste and texture.

Aroma is what you smell. Flavour is what you taste, with smell and taste working together in the mouth.

Tasting descriptors such as cacao or orange zest refer to sensory impressions, not ingredients.

Mouthfeel is the weight and texture of coffee in your mouth, including sensations such as drying. Body, the perceived weight, is one part of it. Neither is strength, which is how concentrated the drink is.

The finish, or aftertaste, is the flavour that stays after a sip.

Acidity is one part of a coffee’s sensory character. Its intensity describes how pronounced it is. Intensity alone does not tell you how much you will enjoy it.

In the descriptive assessment of the Coffee Value Assessment, cuppers select the sensory descriptors they perceive. They record the overall intensity of fragrance/aroma, flavour/aftertaste and mouthfeel, as well as sweetness and acidity. Quality is rated separately in the affective assessment.

Smell the coffee, take a sip once it is comfortable to drink, and notice what stays afterwards. Taste it again as it cools.

Start with ordinary words, then look for more precise ones. A first impression may be fruity, floral, nutty or roasted, and then remind you of a particular fruit or food.

Then pay attention to the weight and texture of the drink: light or rounded, coating or drying.

La Esperanza Colombia, for example, combines tamarind, cacao and blackberries with a velvety texture and a round body.

Note what you perceive, then what you enjoy. Use those observations when you choose another coffee.

• Specialty Coffee Association, How to Use the Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel in Eight Steps
• Specialty Coffee Association, CVA in Action (affective assessment) · Coffee Decoded: What’s the Difference Between Coffee Body and Mouthfeel?
• Specialty Coffee Association, CVA in Action — Descriptive Assessment · Coffee Value Assessment
• CEBE Coffee Roasters, product pages for our six coffees