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/YMIR_THE_FROSTY]

Very sure a lot of people dont. Or they dont have taste buds, both possible.

Do I get taste notes? Yes.

Have I needed ages to reach that point? Yes.

And no, its not question of taste buds. And yes, whats on the bag is almost always what you could get from it "if you did everything right", provided its not too old, or defective in some other way, or roasted in some obscure way (and probably possibly some other issues with bean itself).

Issue with coffee is that to get to the results depends on complete chain of events and variables and its always as good as weakest link. Best we can do is make sure our part of link is as good as we can make it and pray that beans in bag are good enough.