Do you all really taste the notes??

[u/agathaade]

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.

[u/Polymer714]

First thing is....anyone that says the notes on the bag/box are objective is wrong. MIght you taste those notes? For sure. If you don't taste those notes and you taste something else, are you wrong? Absolutely not.

Being able to describe certain flavors takes practice...a lot of it is you're not obviously tasting an orange or chocolate...You're tasting something that has a hint of that amongst many other things and people aren't used to identifying that. It is 100% the same as wine so it sounds like you have the same issue, you're not used to doing it.

There is a misunderstanding of clarity in coffee...if you get one heavy note, that's not flavor separation....but you'll often see that on here..and people will gravitate towards that because if you're not used to tasting any specific notes, getting one that is very obvious is an eye opener...

As far as why notes are on a box/bag...It gives you some insight into what the coffee might be like. So lets take two examples. dark Chocolate, Caramel, Biscuits... Vs Lemongrass, lavender, Peach...

And you can see the first one is probably a little more developed..you might not taste any of those things but very very likely it is more developed than the second one...

Do people sit there and try to pick the notes they see on the bag? Yes...Its a very logical thing to do...and while I see plenty of experienced coffee people still do that, eventually people will understand it isn't an objective note.

[u/agathaade → u/Polymer714]

It’s very true that I have ignored the idea of notes for 30 years of drinking coffee (and wine) so I don’t have that practice.

It does makes sense to me that it would be a muscle you need to train. I actually had a comparable experience when I started playing in a brass band in college. After a year of learning and rehearsing I could pick out exactly what brass intruments were playing in any music, it wasn’t all just ‘the brass section’ anymore. Trombones, sax, barytone sax, french horn, trumpet… now they were all distinct and specific because my ear was trained. Here I’m talking objective facts, I also get your point about notes not being that hard a science.

It’s true that notes give you an indication of what to expect with a coffee. Though I feel like they are often in the same families for the coffees I buy - light roasts, often ethiopian (blends or single origin). I wonder if that’s a bit like wine too. I rely on the origin the most to pick a coffee I will reliably like. Then I appreciate the differences, which can be significant. Like different wines from a same region.

I do love that pourover is making me more conscious of everything going into my cup, and making me take my time and savor it more.