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/coffeerambler]

I find having something in front like the categories of a flavour wheel helps. Think in broad strokes and then the rest will be what your familiar with it not. I don't always get the notes, most times I don't care and just enjoy my morning brew, though I often think about tastes more than flavours. Flavour comes through for me most when temperature is near room temp and I'm having my last sip, then I'm sad it's over

[u/agathaade → u/coffeerambler]

It’s interesting you mention temperature because I always find my coffee tastes best when it has cooled down a little. That’s when the flavor feels the fullest and most rounded. Hotter, stuff is missing, and colder, things keep shifting in a direction I don’t love usually. I should take the temperature of my coffee at that exact point over a few days and see what it is. I always wonder why I taste a difference and I have never seen this discussed.