Need Help Tasting Coffee

[ciderguy]

I take good coffee black. I also sip straight espresso.
With coffee you want to appreciate the warmth of the cup.
Then inhale deeply of the aroma.
Take a small sip and let it roll around your tongue and mouth.
Finally swallow and appreciate the finish.
I prefer pour overs and Chemex.

I simply sip espresso slowly and take a few sips (about a shot glass) of mineral water when I'm done.

I don't do flavored coffee. Good coffee has enough flavor on its own. I'll add a touch of cream or sugar to low-to-mid grade coffee when necessary. Cafe au lait is always nice with a good dark roast where the milk brings out nutty flavors.

 

[oakeshott]

Black coffee and espresso straight up. That's how I drank my coffee when I was a teenager (only because that's the way my daddy drank it and still drinks it) and it's how I like it today. Everyone else in my immediate family likes milk or milk and sweetener. I'll occasionally join them in a latte, but I dislike the taste of milk so much it's just always a bad experience for me.

 

[dgreene120]

I almost always drink my coffee black with no sugar. However, I just do not like the flavor of Dunkin' Donuts coffee and if I'm on the road and have to drink that, I will sometimes add some cream and sugar.

 

[TexLaw]

Black, no sugar for me. I've never had much of a sweet tooth, nor do I care for many of the "creamers" that are available for coffee. I've also never had a taste for raw cow's milk (too alkaline for me), so I've never added that to coffee. Real cream can be a treat from time to time, though.

I'm more than happy to enjoy a traditionally sweetened or spiced coffee, though, such as Turkish or Lebanese. That's some tasty stuff. When some of my beans get a bit old and lose flavor or complexity, I often toss a small sprig of rosemary or thyme in my French press to give it a little something extra.

I do a lot of beer and wine tasting, and I've learned some good tips on tasting beverages, including coffee. When taking the coffee or other beverage into your mouth, inhale deeply with your nose--smell that sucker. Suck in a little air with it, too. Hold it in your mouth and roll in around in there. That mixes it up and touches all around your mouth. Close your mouth and pump your jaw and tongue a bit to get some air up into your nose to really smell that beverage (it sometime helps to exhale very lightly out of your nose). Your sense of smell is more important that your sense of taste, actually.

Most importantly, stop and think about what you are detecting. Close your eyes. Take your time. Concentrate on the tastes and smells you detect and how they develop and change all the way through, including after you've swallowed. Maybe you recognize some, maybe you don't, but you can learn to get it all. In time, you'll derive a great deal more joy from a cup of coffee, glass of wine, glass of beer, bowl of soup, etc.

Check out some wine tasting tips. They pretty much apply to evaluating any beverage.

 

[takeshi]

My coworker told me I had to drink it black. Nothing but the coffee in the cup.

Drink it however you like it.

Is this how you guys do it?

I only drink lattes -- espresso with milk and I add some sugar. No flavorings.

 

[CzechCzar]

Pretty much if you don't drink your coffee black and your espresso without milk or sugar, you're a communist.

 

[rockero]

Thanks for the great tips. I'm learning a lot.

@Texlaw that's some awesome info. Never knew anything about this.

 

[SiBurning]

I take good coffee black. I also sip straight espresso.
With coffee you want to appreciate the warmth of the cup.
Then inhale deeply of the aroma.
Take a small sip and let it roll around your tongue and mouth.
Finally...
Spit it out!

ftfy

 

[TexLaw]

Happy to help! Joy is worth the effort!

 

[Alacrity59]

Pretty much if you don't drink your coffee black and your espresso without milk or sugar, you're a communist.

I see you have been employed by the sugar and dairy marketing boards

I like my coffee black and my espresso black. I enjoy cappuccino very much but no sugar for me. Who knows I may try some sugar again . . . we should all be a bit adventurous.

 

[Billski]

Coffee? Black or with sugar? I can hardly taste the stuff.

It's because I'm 69 years old, I reckon.

But I can taste that French vanilla stuff. It's at United Dairy Farmers, UDF.

I need a recommendation.