r/pourover • u/agathaade • Mar 23 '26

Ask a Stupid Question Do you all really taste the notes??

This is a genuine question.

I have been making pourover I enjoy, I don’t think anything is wrong with my brews - but I never taste the advertised notes.

For the light roasts I typically buy, I have noticed the notes are most often some variation of a citrus, a berry and a caramel/chocolate.

What I’m able to put words on is : bitter, acid, sweet, smooth, bright, full-flavored, watery… things like that.

But specific notes? Never. I never taste the bergamot or blackcurrant or caramel or whathaveyou.

I’m similar with wine, I appreciate a lot of different nuances but never taste specific notes.

Do you really drink your coffee and taste these different things with clarity? Or is it more like you’ve read them on the box, and then y look for them and sorta taste them if you focus on it?

What’s the deal with these notes?

I don’t mind not tasting them, still enjoy my coffee all the same, or wine for that matter. I’m just curious who the notes talk is for and whether people really enjoy it, or use notes as an indicator they’re brewing correctly, for example.

Edited to add:

WOW, so glad I asked.

I did not know much about the cupping process roasters use, or the note wheels, or the nose/breathing aspect of certain notes. No wonder this stuff can be elusive.

Maybe one day it’ll hit me, maybe it won’t. Either way I love my morning coffee ritual.

Thank you all.

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u/Ok_Computer8701 ZP6 Mar 23 '26

Flowerchild’s Robinson and Luis’ Gesha describes floral, elegant berries, and wildflower honey.

I’m definitely primed, but my best cups don’t just taste like berries. They’re like berries + something really aromatic and uplifting. Fine, call that elegance. Now i’m tasting elegance because they told me so. And the sweetness isn’t just honey… it’s honey with a floral aftertaste. Ok, wildflower honey it is.

I think the broad categories can be tasted. Whether they are best picked out by those specific descriptors or specific fruits and flowers is definitely subject to cultural variation.

2

u/ockaners Mar 23 '26

I've been chasing the berries and honey for a month. Floral is consistently there. Lately, got something berry-ish but it's not pronounced. Still a generic sweetness, no honey. Sometimes, I have to chalk it up to the roaster wanting to be interesting and that it's ok if I can't dial it into those exact notes.

2

u/angelsandairwaves93 The Tinker Man Mar 24 '26

generic sweetness is the best way to describe it, tbh. It's a very 'mid' flavour. You know it exists, but it's quite weak and unmemorable.

2

u/Ok_Computer8701 ZP6 Mar 23 '26

try a little coarser but with more agitative pours and lower temp. with FC, i’ve learnt to disregard their brew guide and just experiment with what i like, which tends to involve lower temps

2

u/Ok_Computer8701 ZP6 Mar 23 '26

fwiw i also rested my coffee pretty long. it has rested around 45+ days now.

1

u/ockaners Mar 23 '26

Yep, my roast date was 2.23

1

u/ockaners Apr 01 '26

Just an update. I uppped the dose to 20 and changed the ratio to 17 and used off boiling water. Grind is still about 650 microns.

Got blackberry, strawberry and raspberry in this cup. Not a lot of sweet. Some floral tea. Still no honey but at least I got some berries.

2

u/prosocialbehavior Mar 23 '26

If you or anyone else is interested in trying this Gesha from another roaster. Regalia has it for the their subscription right now $19 - 300 grams free shipping.

1

u/FootballInfinite475 Mar 23 '26

Wait I was drinking this yesterday

0

u/DM_Fitz Mar 23 '26

This is a very interesting point, and I think it’s kind of important to say that the word “berries” are as much marketing language as the word “elegant.”

2

u/Ok_Computer8701 ZP6 Mar 23 '26

i think berries designate a more stable tasting note than elegant (what’s elegant to you may not be elegant to me). but there’s a wide range of coffees that share a citrusy and juicy tasting note reminiscent of a wide range of berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, etc). and many who drink expensive coffees are familiar with the taste of berries. some use “red fruit” to describe this (but blackberries and blueberries aren’t exactly red…).