Acidy
Sharp tasting. The more "acidy"
the coffee is the more of a bite it
has. This is with no relation to the
actual PH balance.
Aftertaste
The taste left in the mouth after
coffee is swallowed.
Aged
Beans stored for a year or more before
being roasted. The time reduces acid
while developing body.
Aroma
The delicious scent that comes from
hot, freshly brewed coffee.
Baked
A prematurely developed flavor that
is caused by limited roasting at low
temperatures.
Bitter
An unfavorable taste, noticed on the
back of the tongue, that results from
overroasting.
Bland
A flat, neutral taste.
Body
The way a coffee is experienced by
the mouth.
Bouquet
A medley of aroma, fragrance, and
aftertaste of a coffee.
Bright
A term used for coffee with enjoyable
acidity.
Burnt
A term sometimes used for very dark-roasted
coffees with bitter taste.
Buttery
A full flavored coffee with a oily
feeling in the mouth that may bring
to mind the richness of butter.
Caramelly
A taste that is like cooked sugar
syrup, this happens during roasting
when a change occurs in the coffee
beans' carbohydrate content.
Carbony
A burnt taste, this occurs in some
dark-roasted coffees.
Chocolatey
The taste of delicious, rich chocolate.
Cinnamony
A spicy, sweet flavor that suggests
cinnamon.
Clean
Coffee with unpolluted and clear flavors.
Cocoay
Sometimes associated with stale coffee,
light flavor of cocoa.
Dead
A term used for lifeless coffee, lacking
good flavor and aroma.
Delicate
Tasted on the tip of the tongue, this
is a very fine taste.
Dirty
A taste that suggests contamination.
Earthy
A taste of the earth, similar to dirty.
Flat
A plain taste, without distinct taste
or smell.
Flavor
The taste of coffee once it has covered
the tongue and been swallowed.
Fragrance
The smell of brewed coffee, described
with terms such as nutty, spicy, and
fruity.
Fruity
A coffee with a taste and aroma that
brings to mind fruit.
Grassy
A coffee that tastes and smells of
fresh cut grass.
Green
A sharp tasting coffee, this occurs
from early harvesting and not roasting
the beans long enough.
Groundy
A stale, earthy tasting coffee.
Hard
A term sometimes used when a coffee
smells of iodine.
Harsh
A coffee that is hard in flavor.
Hidy
Due to beans' being stored close to
animal hides, causing a coffee tasting
of leather.
Lifeless
A term describing coffee that does
not have acidity, caused by not brewing
long enough.
Light
An adjective used to enhance descriptions
of smell and taste.
Mellow
A smooth flavor, without acidity.
Mild
Not having a distinct flavor.
Muddy
A bland flavor resulting from unsettled
grounds.
Musty
A coffee that tastes and smells of
mildew, caused by being poorly dried
or not stored well.
Neutral
A flat flavored coffee. A positive
trait in coffees used as a base for
different flavored blends.
Nutty
Tasting and smelling of roasted nuts.
Papery
A term used for light-roasted brews,
that do not have the robust flavors
of darker brews.
Past-Croppish
Coffee that has flavors of straw and
wood, this is from green bean being
stored to long.
Quaker
One bean that can spoil a whole batch
of coffee.
Rancid
A coffee that has a strong sour flavor.
Rich
Coffee with luxurious aroma and intense
flavors.
Rioy
A nasty flavor that brings medicine
to mind. Rioy flavor is sometimes
associated with coffees from Brazil's
Rio growing district.
Rough
A salty or sharp flavor, that causes
one to be thirsty.
Rubbery
A burnt rubber taste, sometimes resulting
from coffee berries that have dried
before they are picked.
Soft
A coffee that does not have acidity.
Sour
A coffee that has a strong sour taste.
Spicy
A lively flavor that makes one think
of sweet and savory spices.
Stale
The flavor of coffee from roasted
beans that have been stored for too
long.
Stinker
One destructive bean that affects
the flavor of a batch of roasted coffee.
Strawy
A coffee that tastes of straw.
Sweet
A smooth flavor that has no kind of
contaminates.
Taint
A unwanted flavor from chemical changes
in the coffee, that happens during
growing, processing, or roasting.
Thin
Not having flavor, body, or acidity,
sometimes due to underbrewing.
Toasty
A coffee with an appealing taste and
scent that may bring to mind toast.
Turpeny
A taste like turpentine.
Vinegary
A tart, biting flavor, like that of
vinegar.
Watery
A coffee that has been brewed with
too much water.
Wild
A coffee that has brash or spoiled
flavors and odors.
Winey
A term that suggests acidic flavors,
a coffee that is full-bodied and eloquent.
Woody
A coffee that has flavors and scents
of wood, caused by storage in a wooden
structure.