Tasting coffee is like tasting wine. There are always some industry secrets. When we drink a cup of specialty coffee, there are naturally many different angles to analyze its quality. For example, the difference between hot and cold coffee is a relatively simple entry point.
Many baristas like to say when describing a certain bean, "When it is high temperature... it will be medium temperature... it will be low temperature..." This is because the human body can sense five taste substances: sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and fresh. Among them, coffee most commonly exhibits sour, sweet, and bitter. Each taste will show different effects according to different temperature stages.
Bitterness: Human beings are sensitive to taste, and bitterness always ranks first. High temperature will temporarily reduce the taste buds' perception of bitterness, because the hot feeling of liquid contacting the mouth will cover it up, but it will continue to become more obvious as the temperature drops. Therefore, the bitterness of freshly brewed dark roast coffee is always the lowest. When it cools down completely, it becomes difficult to drink.
Sweetness: When the sweetness is above 50℃ and below 35℃, our perception of sweetness is relatively slow.Only when the body temperature is close to normal body temperature, the sensitivity of taste buds to sweetness reaches its peak.，AlsoIt is easiest to catch Hui Gan at this time.
Acidity: We all know that the lighter the roasted coffee, the higher the acidity. The acidity will not show obvious differences with the change of the temperature of the coffee liquid. However, since the sweetness is no longer active below 35°C, some lightly roasted coffee will have an unusually prominent sourness after cooling.
Because our perceptions of sourness, sweetness, and bitterness are significantly different at different temperatures, when Front Street cups a coffee bean, in order to find out its "understanding", it will make a comprehensive judgment through three stages: high temperature, medium temperature, and low temperature.
High temperature (50~75℃)
Usually the temperature of brewed coffee will be between 65 and 75°C. If the temperature is too high, it will be difficult for us to drink it in large gulps, and it will easily burn one. Moreover, this temperature will inhibit the taste of the tongue. Apart from the smell brought by the roasting, there will be no other characteristics of the drink. In fact, some studies have shown that different coffees brewed at the same roast level can taste very similar when brewed at higher temperatures.
However, coffee at high temperatures has the richest and fullest aroma, because the large amount of heat it releases can enhance the escape rate of volatile substances, thereby enhancing our olfactory experience.
Therefore, it is best to smell the aroma of brewed hot coffee first, then wait until the temperature drops to about 60~65℃, sip or sip. As long as you drink a small amount of coffee and inhale the air, the liquid can be quickly cooled, so that you can feel the flavor of the coffee better and more comprehensively.
Medium temperature (35~50℃)
At temperatures below 55°C, you will feel significant changes in the flavor and aroma of coffee. First of all, the aroma on the sense of smell will weaken, mainly because part of it has evaporated during the high temperature stage, and at the same time, the coffee cools down to reduce the heat. In addition, the coffee has become more palatable, and it is also at a temperature where the sweetness and sourness are more sensitive, so that more complex and delicate characteristics can be felt.
Therefore, when tasting the medium-temperature zone, we can drink coffee in large gulps to feel its touch, acidity, sweetness, mellowness, aftertaste, etc., or hold it in the mouth for 1 to 2 seconds, use the tongue to feel its weight, and then wait for the aftertaste after swallowing.
Low temperature (<35℃)
When the coffee reaches about 35°C and reaches room temperature, some negative flavors will easily begin to appear at this time, such as grassy and woody flavors. Therefore, drinking in the low temperature zone during cupping is the most comprehensive tasting of a coffee bean. More importantly, compared with the temperature zone above 35°C, coffee after cooling has lost a large part of its aroma, and the taste buds have become more sensitive to bitterness and less sweet, which makes the entire cup of coffee either "bitter" or "sour".
So after understanding the changes that temperature brings to coffee flavor, we will start to enter the tasting process. For comparison, Front Street selected a light-roasted bean - Front Street Walking Manor Geisha and a dark-roasted bean - Front Street Queen Manor. They brewed them normally according to the corresponding parameters, and then recorded their flavor performance in three stages from hot to cold.
High temperature zone:
In terms of smell, Front Street Walking Manor Geisha exudes the sweet aroma of jasmine, lemongrass, and honey. When you sip it, you can taste the sourness like oranges, low bitterness, and smooth taste. The aroma of Front Street Queen Manor is obvious roasted peanuts and baked bread, and it has a good balance in the mouth.
Medium temperature zone:
The aroma of Front Street Stroll Manor changes to light floral and yellow lemon, and it is extremely sweet when you take a big sip. The flavors of brown sugar, sweet orange, and yellow peach are particularly prominent, with a matcha aftertaste. The aroma of Front Street Queen Manor is still dominated by fried nuts, with flavors of chocolate and maple syrup in the mouth. It has a mellow taste, moderate bitterness, and a long-lasting sweet aftertaste.
Low temperature zone:
In addition to the obvious weakening of the aroma of the two pots of coffee, the richness of the flavor is also greatly reduced. The flavor of the Front Street Strolling Gesha only maintains the sourness and sweetness of yellow lemon and brown sugar, with a slight tea taste; the Front Street Queen's Manor can taste a clear almond flavor, the bitterness becomes higher, and the aftertaste has a hint of smoke.
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
