When describing the flavor of coffee, Front Street found that many people like to use the word "roasted sweet potato", "This xx smells like roasted sweet potato", "xx coffee brewed like this has the aroma of sweet potato", "This cup of coffee is very sweet in the mouth, like carrots"... Why does a food that cannot be found on the flavor wheel appear frequently in coffee descriptions? How did this tasting experience come about?
Is coffee flavor a metaphysics?
Many friends always joke that coffee is a kind of metaphysics. Even though it is a mediocre drink, someone will always make a long talk about it. Among them, the one that has caused the most controversy is probably the "metaphysics of flavor". For those who have just come into contact with coffee, it is nothing more than the difference between sour and bitter, strong and light. But when the barista comes, it is honey-sweet, white floral, and even specific to a certain variety of fruit. The scene suddenly becomes mysterious. Does coffee really have so many things?
Front Street can responsibly say that there are no nuts, flowers, chocolate, or citrus in coffee, but there are indeed various unique aromas and flavors that can contrast with our sensory memory, allowing the brain to conclude that "xx coffee has xx flavor."
In fact, in addition to the expression of subjective feelings, coffee flavor also has a scientific basis. As early as more than ten years ago, scientists have discovered that the fruity flavor in coffee comes from lipid compounds, and the sweet caramel flavor comes from furan compounds. Therefore, the flavor that people can drink from coffee is not "fooling", but comes from certain specific compounds in coffee.
Why does coffee taste like roasted sweet potatoes?
If you break down the experience of eating roasted sweet potatoes, there are two main aspects: aroma and taste. The same is true for coffee. When a cup of coffee is described as roasted sweet potato, it mainly smells "sweet," has a "burnt aroma," and has a "warm" feel.
Studies have pointed out that the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes in coffee is composed of 29 volatile compounds. Among them, the ones that have the greatest impact on the flavor of roasted sweet potatoes are almond-flavored 2-acetylfuran and popcorn-flavored 2-acetylpyrrole. When smelling the sweet aroma of roasted sweet potatoes, honey, maple syrup, etc., sensitive people will automatically make up the taste of these foods. Therefore, many people think that coffee smells as sweet as sweet potatoes. It does not mean that sugar is really added. After all, the nose cannot distinguish the taste. It is more of an association mechanism.
If the sweetness of coffee comes from the beans themselves, then the burnt aroma mainly comes from the right roasting. Because coffee beans undergo complex caramelization reactions and Maillard reactions during the roasting process, the conversion of amino acids and reducing sugars will bring about a browning reaction. At the same time, the coffee will have a sweet caramel aroma and provide a rich roasting aroma, so it smells like the burnt aroma of roasted sweet potato skin.
Of course, as the coffee beans are heated for longer and the degree of roasting gradually deepens, in addition to the floral and fruity flavors dissipating, the substances responsible for providing sweetness will also be lost little by little, and instead will be converted into more smoky or charcoal flavors to cover them up. This is why the roasted sweet potato flavor rarely appears in dark roasted coffee beans.
Regarding temperature, I don’t know if you remember what Front Street often said, “To appreciate the flavor of coffee, it is best to drink it hot.” High temperature is not only conducive to the volatilization of coffee aroma, allowing us to enhance our olfactory experience in a short period of time, but as the temperature drops, the taste and texture will have a dynamic experience. Especially when it is close to human body temperature, the taste buds have the strongest perception and are easiest to taste sweet aroma. So many times, when we drink the roasted sweet potato flavor from a cup of hot coffee, it is firstly due to the high temperature that makes us feel the burnt aroma, and secondly the sweetness that the temperature brings to the taste buds.
Which coffee beans are most likely to taste like roasted sweet potatoes?
Front Street believes that when looking for coffee beans with roasted sweet potato flavor, you should not just look at one aspect, but should consider multiple dimensions such as origin, variety, and roasting degree.
1. Front Street Panama Poquette Gesha
Compared with African production areas, coffee from Central and South America tends to have more caramel aroma and higher mellowness, which just provides Panamanian Geisha with a rounded sweetness and a long-lasting aftertaste. For example, Front Street Poquette Gesha is famous for its bright floral and fruity aroma. In order to allow the coffee to retain the fresh tangerine honey flavor while highlighting the sweetness of caramel and sugar cane,Front Street uses medium-light roasting, and becauseThere is less interference from the bitter taste, so whether it smells or tastes like a roasted sweet potato.
2. Front Street Kenyan Cherry Tomatoes
Many people know that light-roasted Kenyan coffee is "very sour". With the blessing of terroir, variety, and double-washing process, it usually exhibits vivid fruit flavors such as black tea, grapefruit, ebony, plum, cherry tomato, etc. But in fact, if the roasting time of Kenyan coffee is slightly longer, in addition to improving the mellowness of the coffee, the sweetness of roasted sweet potatoes will also be amplified, and its iconic juice will become more three-dimensional. For example, Front Street cherry tomatoes are roasted medium to light, adding hawthorn and caramel flavors to the complex berry aroma, making the coffee taste more like roasted sweet potatoes.
3. Front Street 2013 Yunnan Tiepica
Front Street has cupped many types of Yunnan coffee.I found that compared to those "older" production areas, it has a more balanced taste, with a bit of nutty flavor and a little plum acid, as well as a brown sugar-like sweetness. It is overall milder and more suitable for medium roasting. The Yunnan Tiepica grown in Front Street also adopts this baking idea. It has the aroma of black tea and caramel at the entrance. Combined with the aftertaste of sugar cane and the medium-to-high mellowness, it is easy to think of sweet roasted sweet potatoes.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
