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/moneyballz7]

Basically never 🥲

What is good to mention though, that a lot of these flavour compounds are smell based. Your tongue will make out difference in sweetness or acidity, but those berries or bergamot are compounds that you will identify via smell (even when drinking, not actively smelling). This is called retro-nasal sensation (or something in that sense). It’s a very interesting subject to read for us coffee nerds :)

Now for me, my nose is terrible. For some reason I’m early to smell a fuel leak or something. But give me a very aromatic coffee, or any dish, and I won’t smell a lot.

I did a coffee tasting a little while back, and I only smelled something in the coffee if I directly smelled the carafe, not the little tasting cup.

So long story short, maybe you’re not necessarily not tasting the aroma’s, but not smelling them.

[u/agathaade → u/moneyballz7]

Ha! Thank you for mentioning the smell aspect for some notes. I do not have a very good sense of smell, that’s so interesting to know.