Have you ever looked at the tasting notes on a bag of coffee and wondered why you could not taste those subtle fruity or nutty notes?
Rest assured, there is nothing wrong with you! Like the vast majority of people drinking coffee, you have simply not trained and tuned your palate to the same level as the coffee professionals who made the label.
With some time and effort, along with a training regimen, you can start tasting coffee like a pro. Here are a few exercises you can do to improve your palate.
Expand Your Coffee Choices
If you want to train your palate, you will need to start by expanding the range of coffees that you drink.
We are creatures of habit and tend to stick to one or two tried and true coffees. If you are making coffee at home, start buying a more comprehensive range of high-quality coffees directly from roasters such as Belvico.
For those who do most of their coffee drinking at cafes, start frequenting establishments with a wider variety of beans on offer.
Add New Tastes to Your Diet
It will be a challenge to identify the deep flavours in your coffee if you have never experienced them before. Coffee tasting charts feature a wide range of flavours, many of which are not supermarket staples.
An excellent place to start is tropical fruits. If cost or availability is a big problem, some expert tasters recommend fruit flavoured candies instead.
Know What You Are Looking For
You will need some awareness of the tasting notes you are looking for during your tasting sessions, so you should use something like the World Coffee Research Sensory Lexicon.
This is most commonly represented with the colourful flavor wheel displayed in most third-wave coffee shops. You can easily find this WCR flavor wheel for free online.
Drink More Coffee!
To fast track your progress towards being a coffee tasting expert, you will have to start drinking more coffee. One cup a day just won't cut it! When sampling great coffee, though, it is not hard to try an extra cup or two.
Start Your Coffee Tasting Journey with Belvico
There is no better place to start your coffee tasting journey than Belvico. Our premium Arabica and Robusta beans from Vietnam's Central Highlands have a unique flavour profile that will put your palate to the test.
