How to taste coffee – a guide to tasting notes, aroma, and cupping

Coffee can taste like far more than just “coffee”.

When you start tasting more consciously, you can notice differences in sweetness, acidity, bitterness, aroma, body, and aftertaste. Some coffees may resemble citrus fruits or berries, while others may evoke associations with chocolate, caramel, nuts, or spices.

This does not necessarily mean that lemon, chocolate, or other ingredients have been added to the coffee beans.

Tasting notes are descriptions of the aromas and sensory impressions that the coffee reminds us of.

In this guide, you will learn how to taste coffee more systematically, what the most common tasting terms mean, and how you can perform a simple cupping at home to compare different coffee beans under the same conditions.

Quick overview: What should you look for?

When tasting coffee, you can pay attention to, among other things:

You don't need to be able to put exact words to everything.

The most important thing is first to discover that two coffees taste different.

The vocabulary will come with practice.

What are tasting notes in coffee?

Tasting notes are descriptions of what the coffee's aroma and flavor remind us of.

A coffee can, for example, be described with notes of:

• milk chocolate
• caramel
• hazelnut
• lemon
• orange
• blackcurrant
• raspberry
• apricot
• plum
• flowers
• spices.

This does not usually mean that these ingredients have been added.

The descriptions are used to communicate the coffee's natural sensory character.

On our freshly roasted coffee beans, you may therefore encounter different tasting notes depending on origin, coffee variety, processing, and roast.

Where do coffee’s tasting notes come from?

The taste of coffee is developed through a long chain of factors.

Even before the coffee bean is roasted, factors such as the following have an impact:

• coffee variety
• growing location
• climate
• altitude
• soil
• ripeness of the coffee cherry
• post-harvest processing
• fermentation
• drying
• storage.

Then comes the roasting.

During roasting, a series of chemical reactions occur, which significantly change the aroma and flavor of the coffee bean.

Finally, your own brewing affects the result.

Grind size, water, temperature, dosage, and brewing time can all cause the same coffee bean to be experienced differently.

Therefore, tasting notes do not describe one isolated ingredient. They describe the result of the coffee's entire journey from plant to cup.

Taste and aroma are not the same

When we say that coffee “tastes” of, for example, orange or chocolate, a large part of the experience is actually aroma.

The tongue primarily registers basic tastes such as:

• sweet
• sour
• bitter
• salty
• umami.

However, our overall taste experience is far more complex because the sense of smell works in tandem with the sense of taste.

When you drink coffee, aromatic compounds also travel from your mouth toward your nose.

This is called retronasal aroma.

This is why coffee can evoke associations with things like jasmine, berries, or cocoa, even though the tongue does not have a specific “jasmine taste receptor”.

What is aroma in coffee?

Aroma refers to the scent impressions we experience from the coffee.

You can experience aroma at several stages in the process.

Whole coffee beans

The scent from the bag provides a first impression.

Freshly ground coffee

When coffee beans are ground, a large amount of aromatic compounds are released.

It can therefore be very educational to smell the coffee immediately after grinding.

When water is added

Hot water releases further aroma.

During cupping, a layer of coffee grounds forms on the surface, and when this is broken, a concentrated scent is released.

When you drink

Aroma is also experienced retronasally while the coffee is in your mouth and after it has been swallowed.

Therefore, smell the coffee both before and during tasting.

What is acidity in coffee?

Acidity is a natural and often desired part of coffee.

This is especially true for many lighter roasted coffees.

Good acidity can be experienced as:

• fresh
• lively
• juicy
• citrusy
• berry-like
• vinous.

Acidity is therefore not automatically the same as the coffee being unpleasantly sour.

A coffee can have distinct acidity and still be both sweet and balanced.

If, however, the acidity seems very sharp or underdeveloped, the brewing process may be a factor.

Too coarse a grind or insufficient extraction can, for example, result in a coffee that is perceived as sharp.

You can use our guide to grind size if you want to investigate your brewing.

Acidity is not the same as sour coffee

The words are often used as synonyms, but sensorially it is useful to distinguish between them.

When coffee professionals talk positively about acidity, it often refers to a fresh and pleasant character.

“Sour” is more often used about an acidity that is perceived as unbalanced or unpleasant.

But the experience is subjective.

A very light and fruity coffee can be exciting for one person and too acidic for another.

Therefore, it is more important to describe what you experience than to try to find one objective answer to what you should like.

What is sweetness in coffee?

Coffee can be perceived as sweet, even if you don't add sugar.

The sensory sweetness can evoke associations with:

• caramel
• honey
• brown sugar
• ripe fruit
• chocolate.

Sweetness often plays an important role in a balanced cup of coffee.

When training your sense of taste, it can be useful not just to ask:

“What does it taste like?”

but also:

“How sweet does the coffee taste?”

Two coffees with different tasting notes can both have high sweetness.

What is bitterness in coffee?

Bitterness is also a natural part of coffee.

It is not necessarily negative.

A moderate bitterness can contribute to balance and provide associations with, for example:

• dark chocolate
• cocoa
• roasted nuts.

Darker roasts will typically have a more distinct roast character and may be perceived as more bitter than lighter roasts.

However, very intense or unpleasant bitterness can also be related to the brewing.

It is therefore important to distinguish between:

the coffee's natural character

and

taste that comes from the way the coffee is brewed.

What does body mean in coffee?

Body describes the coffee's mouthfeel.

It is about how the coffee physically feels in the mouth rather than a specific flavor.

A coffee can, for example, be perceived as:

• light
• tea-like
• soft
• round
• creamy
• syrupy
• heavy.

The brewing method also affects the mouthfeel.

A coffee brewed through a paper filter can, for example, feel different than the same coffee brewed in a French press, because the paper filter retains more oils and particles.

When comparing coffee beans, cupping provides an opportunity to use the same brewing method for all samples, making the differences easier to assess.

What is aftertaste?

Aftertaste is the sensory impressions that remain after the coffee has been swallowed.

Pay attention to:

• how long the taste lasts
• which aromas remain
• whether the aftertaste changes
• whether it is perceived as pleasant.

A coffee can, for example, have a short and clean aftertaste or a long aftertaste with notes of chocolate or fruit.

It is not necessarily the case that longer is always better.

What is interesting is both the character and the experience of the aftertaste.

What does balance mean?

Balance is about how the coffee's different attributes work together.

A coffee can have:

very distinct acidity, high sweetness, full body, and a long aftertaste.

But if one attribute dominates in a way that seems inharmonious, the coffee may be perceived as less balanced.

Balance does not mean that everything has to be neutral.

A characterful coffee can easily be balanced.

It is about the interplay between the coffee's different attributes.

What is cupping?

Cupping is a method for tasting and comparing coffee under conditions that are as similar as possible.

Instead of brewing one coffee on a V60, another on a filter machine, and a third in a French press, the samples are prepared using the same method.

This makes it easier to compare the coffees themselves.

Cupping is used professionally by, among others:

• coffee roasters
• producers
• exporters
• importers
• coffee buyers
• sensory evaluators.

But the method also works very well at home.

You don't need to give the coffee a professional score.

You can simply use cupping to discover differences.

If you are missing bowls or spoons, you can check out our cupping equipment.

Professional cupping and coffee tasting at home

Professional cupping follows standardized procedures so that results can be compared more systematically.

For casual coffee tasting at home, the purpose is a bit different.

Here, the most important thing is to keep the conditions the same between the coffees.

Use:

• the same type of bowl or cup
• the same amount of coffee
• the same amount of water
• the same grind size
• the same temperature
• the same steeping time.

Then you can concentrate on the differences between the coffee beans.

What do you need for cupping at home?

You don't need a professional laboratory.

You can get far with:

• 2–4 different coffees
• coffee grinder
• digital scale
• kettle
• identical cups or bowls
• spoons
• timer
• clean drinking water
• notebook or phone for notes.

A real cupping spoon and cupping bowl is practical, but not necessary to get started.

The most important thing is uniform conditions.

Simple cupping recipe for home

This approach is designed as a simple and repeatable coffee tasting at home.

Use approximately:

11 grams of coffee to 200 grams of water

This corresponds roughly to the coffee/water ratio used in professional cupping.

1. Choose the coffees

Start with 2–4 different coffee beans.

This could, for example, be:

• the same origin with different roasts
• different countries of origin
• washed and natural coffee
• light roast and medium roast coffee.

The more distinct the differences are, the easier the exercise will be in the beginning.

Our tasting pack for filter coffee, AeroPress, and French press is, for example, suitable if you want to compare several different coffee beans.

2. Use identical cups

Use cups or bowls of roughly the same size and shape.

This ensures the samples cool down at roughly the same rate.

Place them next to each other and, if you like, write the name of the coffee in front of each sample.

3. Weigh the coffee beans

Use the same amount for all samples.

A simple starting point is:

11 grams of coffee per 200 grams of water.

Precision matters more than the exact choice between, for example, 10.8 or 11 grams when the purpose is a home test.

All samples just need to be treated equally.

4. Grind the coffee

Use a relatively coarse grind.

It should be around a standard filter grind or slightly coarser – not as fine as espresso.

Grind each coffee separately and ensure that as little of the previous coffee as possible remains in the grinder.

If you are in doubt about grinding, you can read our guide to grind size.

5. Smell the dry coffee

Before you pour water on it, smell each sample.

Note your first associations.

For example, ask:

• Is the aroma sweet?
• Fruity?
• Floral?
• Nutty?
• Chocolatey?
• Spicy?

You don’t need to find a very precise word.

“Fruity” is a perfectly fine place to start.

6. Pour hot water on it

Use water around 90–96 °C.

A practical target is approximately 93 °C.

Pour 200 grams of water directly over the coffee so that all the coffee grounds get wet.

Start the timer.

Use the same water for all samples.

The composition of the water affects the coffee, so using the same water is crucial for a fair comparison.

You can read more in our guide to water for coffee.

7. Let the coffee steep

Leave the coffee undisturbed.

A layer of coffee grounds will usually form on the surface.

This is called the crust.

Wait approximately 4 minutes.

8. Break the crust

After about 4 minutes, pass the spoon through the crust.

Gently move the spoon through the surface a few times while smelling the aroma being released.

This is often one of the moments during cupping where the aroma is very clear.

Use a clean spoon for each sample or rinse the spoon thoroughly between coffees.

9. Remove coffee grounds from the surface

After the crust is broken, there will typically be foam and coffee grounds on the surface.

Gently remove most of it with spoons.

The coffee should then be allowed to cool down a little.

10. Taste the coffee

When the temperature is comfortable, take a little coffee with your spoon.

You can slurp the coffee into your mouth.

It might seem a bit strange the first time, but it helps spread the coffee in your mouth and release aromatic compounds.

You don’t need to be as noisy as possible.

The purpose is just to distribute the coffee and experience the aroma, taste, and mouthfeel.

Why do you slurp coffee during cupping?

Slurping spreads the coffee quickly through the mouth and mixes liquid and air.

This makes it easier to experience taste, aroma, and mouthfeel.

But you can still learn a lot from a coffee tasting without mastering a professional cupping slurp.

Taste calmly.

Compare the samples.

That is more important than the technique.

Taste the coffee several times while it cools

This is one of the most important parts of cupping.

Don't taste just once.

Coffee changes significantly as the temperature drops.

When the coffee is very hot, it can be harder to detect certain nuances.

As it cools, things like:

• sweetness
• acidity
• fruitiness
• flaws
• aftertaste

become clearer.

Therefore, taste each coffee multiple times.

A coffee that seems less exciting when very hot might become your favorite once it has cooled down.

How to write tasting notes

Start broad.

Instead of immediately trying to decide:

“It tastes exactly like red grapefruit”

you can start with:

Fruity

Then:

Citrus

And only then:

Grapefruit

The same method can be used in other areas:

Sweet → brown sugar → caramel

or

Nutty → hazelnut

or

Fruity → berries → blackcurrant

This makes it easier to describe what you are actually experiencing rather than trying to guess the “right” tasting note.

There isn't always one correct flavor word

Taste experiences are personal.

Two people can taste the same coffee and use different words.

One might say:

peach

while the other says:

apricot.

That doesn't necessarily mean one of them is wrong.

The words describe sensory associations.

The most important thing is whether the descriptions help to communicate the character of the coffee.

When you taste together with others, the discussion can actually make you better at discovering new things.

What is the Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel?

The Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel is a tool developed to help describe aromas and flavor impressions in coffee.

The principle is simple:

Start broad in the center.

If the coffee seems fruity, move toward a more precise category.

Is it:

• berry
• citrus
• dried fruit
• other fruit?

If it is, for example, citrus, you can then consider:

• lemon
• lime
• orange
• grapefruit.

You don't need to use a flavor wheel to taste coffee.

But it can be a great tool for expanding your vocabulary.

What is the difference between describing and rating coffee?

It is an important distinction.

You can describe a coffee as:

• very fruity
• light in body
• clearly acidic
• floral
• with a long aftertaste.

That is a description.

Then you can say:

“I really like it.”

That is a preference or assessment.

The two things are not the same.

A professional sensory assessment therefore attempts to keep the description of the coffee's qualities separate from the question of how much the individual taster likes the coffee.

That is also a good exercise at home.

Describe the coffee first.

Choose your favorite afterward.

What does a cupping score mean?

In the coffee trade, cupping has historically been associated with, among other things, point systems where professional tasters assess the quality of the coffee.

However, professional standards are constantly evolving, and modern sensory assessment is not just about reducing the value of a coffee to a single number.

If you are cupping coffee at home, you don’t need to give points at all.

Instead, write down:

• what you smell
• what you taste
• how clear the acidity is
• how sweet the coffee seems
• how the mouthfeel is
• what you experience in the aftertaste
• which coffee you prefer.

That is far more educational in the beginning.

How to compare coffees effectively

You often learn more from comparing than from tasting one coffee alone.

Try, for example:

Same coffee – different roast

Compare the same coffee bean in a light and a darker roast.

This makes the significance of roasting very clear.

Washed vs. natural

Compare two coffees with different processing methods.

You might want to read our guide to washed, natural, and honey coffee first.

Brazil vs. Ethiopia

Choose two very different origins.

This can make it easier to experience differences in, for example, fruitiness, floral notes, nuttiness, and body.

Same coffee at different temperatures

Taste the same coffee hot, lukewarm, and almost cooled down.

It is a simple exercise that quickly shows how much temperature affects the flavor experience.

Blind tasting makes the exercise even better

If you taste several coffees, you can have someone else number the samples.

Then you don’t know which coffee you are tasting.

It reduces the influence of:

• price
• country of origin
• brand
• packaging
• expected tasting notes.

Once you have written your own notes, you can reveal the samples.

It can be surprising.

And it is a really good way to get to know your own preferences.

Should you read the tasting notes before or after tasting?

If you want to train your own sensory awareness, you can try waiting.

Taste the coffee first without reading the tasting notes on the bag.

Write down your own observations.

Then read the description.

In this way, you avoid words like “blueberry” or “chocolate” making you actively look for exactly those flavors.

However, there is nothing wrong with using the producer's tasting notes as an aid.

It depends on whether your goal is enjoyment or training.

Are all the mentioned notes clearly detectable?

No.

Tasting notes are not an ingredient list.

If it says:

milk chocolate, plum, and orange

on a coffee, it does not necessarily mean that all three notes jump out clearly in every cup.

Brewing method, water, grind size, age of the coffee, and your own sense of taste all play a part.

You might experience:

• clear chocolate
• a general fruitiness
• but no specific orange.

That is perfectly normal.

How do you become better at tasting coffee?

Taste consciously and compare often.

You can train by:

• tasting several coffees side by side
• smelling fruit, nuts, spices, and chocolate in everyday life
• writing notes
• tasting blind
• tasting at different temperatures
• comparing your descriptions with others.

Your sensory memory will gradually grow.

If you know the smell and taste of blackcurrant very well, it becomes easier to recognize a similar association in coffee.

Do you have to be an expert to be able to cup coffee?

No.

Professional sensory assessment requires training, calibration, and standardized procedures.

But cupping as a comparative tool is simple.

You can learn a lot by simply:

1. keeping the brewing parameters identical
2. tasting several coffees next to each other
3. writing down what you experience.

You don't need to guess all the tasting notes or give the coffee a professional score.

The goal can simply be to understand your own taste better.

Cupping at a coffee roastery

For a coffee roastery, tasting is an important tool.

It makes it possible to compare coffees and assess how raw coffee, processing, and roasting manifest in the cup.

When we work with coffee at Brændeholm Risteri, the final result in the cup is what matters most.

Talk of origin, altitude, processing, and roast profile is useful information, but it can never replace the tasting itself.

That is also why we recommend trying different coffees rather than just choosing based on a name or a country.

You can explore our freshly roasted coffee beans or use a tasting pack with different coffee beans for your own tasting session.

Frequently asked questions about coffee tasting and cupping

What is coffee cupping?

Cupping is a standardized way of preparing and tasting coffee so that different coffee beans can be compared under conditions that are as identical as possible.

What are flavor notes in coffee?

Flavor notes describe the aromas and sensory impressions that the coffee reminds you of. They do not usually mean that ingredients like chocolate, citrus, or berries have been added to the coffee.

What does body mean in coffee?

Body is the mouthfeel of the coffee. For example, a coffee can feel light, creamy, round, or heavy.

What does acidity mean in coffee?

Acidity describes the fresh and tart character of the coffee. It can resemble things like citrus or berries and is not necessarily the same as unpleasantly sour coffee.

What is aroma in coffee?

Aroma refers to the scent impressions that contribute to the overall taste experience of the coffee. Aroma can be experienced both through the nose and retronasally while the coffee is in your mouth.

Why do you slurp during cupping?

Slurping helps to disperse the coffee and release aromatic compounds, making it easier to experience taste, aroma, and mouthfeel.

How finely should coffee be ground for cupping?

Use a relatively coarse grind, similar to standard filter grind or slightly coarser. The most important thing for comparison at home is that all samples are ground the same way.

How much coffee is used for cupping?

For a simple home cupping, you can use about 11 grams of coffee per 200 grams of water. This provides a practical and repeatable starting point.

How hot should the water be for cupping?

Around 93 °C is a good starting point. Use the same temperature for all coffees you are comparing.

How long should the coffee steep during cupping?

A practical starting point is about 4 minutes before breaking the crust. Then, remove the grounds from the surface, and taste the coffee once it has cooled to a comfortable temperature.

Do you need a special cupping spoon?

No, not for a simple coffee tasting at home. A cupping spoon is practical, but a regular deep spoon can be used to get started.

Can you cup dark-roasted coffee?

Yes. Cupping can be used to compare different roast levels. It can actually be a great way to experience how roasting affects the coffee's aroma, acidity, bitterness, and body.

Can you learn to taste coffee better?

Yes. Sensory training is largely about experience, comparison, and building a memory for scents and flavors.