Gourmet Fresh Roasted Coffee Online Cafe Vivo: Taste Coffee Like a Pro

Taste Coffee Like a Pro
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Karen Thomas on 27 March, 2008 08:04:00
 
Coffee-aficionados have done wonders for bi-lingual education. 
Double-mocha-con-panna por favore mean anything to you?   We can choose from an
unprecedented selection of coffee drinks, but do we really know how to drink
coffee?  It’s not all fancy names and beaker-worthy concoctions; the act of
drinking coffee is an art unto itself.  Let’s dive in!
The main character traits professional coffee tasters look for are: acidity,
aroma, body, and flavor.  Acidity in a cup of coffee reveals itself as a
dryness in the back and under the edges of your mouth (believe it or not you
want this sensation!)  Next aroma, aaahh!  Exactly!  Aroma takes the four
signature tastes – sweet, sour, bitter, and salty, and infuses them with
scent – to an elevating effect.   Body is the palpable quality of the coffee.
 It can be light, watery, rich, syrupy, etc.  And at last, flavor, that
synthesis of the first three characteristics, which might be full-bodied,
multi-flavored, or balanced.
To try tasting or “cupping” coffee like a professional, try these simple
steps at home (avoid wearing or being near any strong scents).
Gather:
· A few kinds of fresh, whole bean coffee (if you want to compare)
· Grinder(preferably a burr grinder)
· Tea kettle for near boiling water
· Tablespoon
· Porcelain cups (8 oz.) for each coffee
· Silver spoon
· A cup (for spitting the coffee out)
Now follow these steps to the letter:
1. Grind coffee to a medium-course ground (comparable to raw sugar). Avoid
over-grinding which will turn it bitter.
2. Fill cup with 2 heaping tablespoons of the ground coffee.
3. Add 6 oz. of nearly boiling water.
4. Steep for 2-3 minutes. The coffee should form a crust or “cap” on top of
the water. If it smells sour it could be old or rancid.
5. Gently break the crust with your spoon by pushing the grounds into the
water. You want to see a fine-celled foam. No foam means stale coffee.
6. Again smell the coffee.
7. Fill your spoon with the brewed coffee avoiding the floating grounds.
.8. Slurp the coffee into your mouth with some force. This will mix air with
the coffee and disperse it evenly throughout your mouth.
9. Swirl the coffee around your mouth, take in the flavor.
10. Spit the coffee out and rinse mouth with water before tasting another.
What did you think?  How was the acidity, aroma, body and or flavor?  Speaking
of flavor, some of the more desirable flavors include: bright/dry, caramely,
chocolaty, earthy, fragrant, fruity, mellow, nutty, spicy, sweet, wild and,
believe it or not, winy.  How did yours compare?
Having graduated to the ranks of quasi-professional coffee tasters, you’ll
want to take your skills out on the road.  To find coffee tastings and fun
folks to boot, check out: http://coffee.meetup.com/.   Tracy Watson is a
Freelance Writer, Blogger, Author and the Publisher of Our World Books. Her
articles and PR content appear in several outlets online and in print.