RapidCoffee wrote:I can't think of anything that tastes exactly like it smells. Taste and smell are two distinct senses, with different receptors and neurological pathways. [

Not only that, but they also point to different parts of the brain. Smell can affect the subconscious, while flavor doesn't (something like that).

This could also take us to the conclusion that guiding your coffee roast by smell may not be a good indicator after all (since it is different than flavor).

And hot wet grounds (more oily maybe) may not smell the same as dry grounds either.

Cheers

It's funny this is happening to me while this thread is active. Last week I roasted a tiny, tiny, tiny, peaberry Yemen I got from a no name seller with no description other than "Yemen". For two days now, shots extracted from that Yemen do taste/smell like the coffee grinds; even after I add some milk. I'm not great with coffee descriptions but the closest description I can come up with for this coffee (dry&pulled) is sweet dark dried fruits (think figs, prunes, black raisins) with a hint of sweet scotch.

Needless to say, I just bought tons more of that cheap, no name, tiny peaberry Yemen!

This recent experience reaffirms it's possible to have the taste match the darn amazing aroma. Is it a lucky streak? I don't think so, I think it's this particular coffee. Maybe this Yemen is forgiving of "something". Who are you Mr. Something?

Anyone can speculate what this "something" is or offer other theories?

coffee.me wrote:Here's a low hanging fruit I hope people would point at only if they KNOW is the issue: I have a suspicion temperature stability during a shot plays a role. But then, how many machines out there have a razor-straight temp profile under the shower screen? My HX machine's, under shower screen, temp profile is "√" shaped: starts high, goes down over 5-7 seconds, then starts going back up from that point till end of the shot. The starting and ending temps are usually close and the delta from the highest temp to the lowest is something like 5+F. Again, please don't pick on this low hanging fruit unless you KNOW it is the issue.

Temperature profile can vary with the flush style, flush & wait or flush & go, AND the shot flow rate. A tight ristretto MAY have a different profile than a normale or lungo.

It can be challenging to get the best from a 'difficult' coffee. By way of example, Amaro Gayo. It took many, many shots over several days to find the sweet spot. In the end, 10g singles days 8-10, 192°F group idle temp for a shot that started at ~198°F tailing off to ~196.5°F pulled to 67%. Only then did the dustiness disappear and the blueberry citrus predominate.

If it is true that brewed coffee has more "notes," then espresso (with fewer notes) is more intense (fewer notes, more flavor on the fewer notes). I prefer espresso (and so does my spouse, and so too now, do my offspring). We live in Europe part of the year - and espresso is strongly preferred by our friends and acquaintances there. I have no idea why, except of course that it tastes so good! At work, most people want energy drinks or brewed coffee.

We've been making home espresso for several years and as with everything else, we try to get it so we like it. Does it taste like it smells before it's added to water? Well, there's a relationship between how it smells as beans and how it tastes, definitely. But we like intense, highly roasted flavor and very dark, oily beans - not everyone does. We are, perhaps, not as much interested in "notes" as in dark intensity. This sets off the other things we eat with our espresso (a chunk of bread or bit of strong or mild cheese).

Our approach to red wine is entirely different (notes!) I think these things are partly learned, but also mysterious. Anyway, we like our home espresso better than what we get at cafés, and that makes us very happy.

Bingo!

Another bean plays well in my smell/taste game. Similar to my tiny PB Yemen above, this ( Heads up: Ethiopia Shakiso Natural from Has Bean ) tells me once again that amazing beans, although not as loved as machines, make all the difference. I grabbed enough for a year or two and now I have a stash (freezer!) full of amazing, one taste & smell, SO espresso, Yemen & Ethiopia.

Me happy, very happy

IMO, it's limiting to try and parse the overall espresso experience. The smell of fresh grinds, the smell of the new shot, the mouth taste, that essence that seems located somewhere near where I imagine my sinuses to be--between mouth and nose, and the lingering aftertaste. BTW, I'd also add a recollection of the smell of the greens before roasting (I sometimes refer to this when pulling a shot.) Of all of the above, I find the newly ground beans pleasant, but not so relevant. Dark roasts (that may be less complex in the cup) often smell more coffee-ish than light roasts.