Elusive coffee tastes - ready to give up!

Beginner and pro baristas share tips and tricks for making espresso.
con_fused
Posts: 1
Joined: 10 years ago

#1: Post by con_fused »

Hi all, to be honest, after spending thousands of dollars, and putting in countless hours, I'm just about ready to give up on this so-called specialty coffee pastime.
The problem - all these descriptions regarding different tastes to expect - has become a source of bewilderment and frustration. The promises of fruits, berries, chocolates, caramels, apples, etc is as elusive to me today as it was over 3 years ago when I started this expensive obsession.
I started with a thermoblock machine, cheap grinder, and after a "barista course" could identify under/over extracted shots, but after trying beans from a number of different suppliers that was about it as far as tastes went.
So, thought I, it must be the machine, so after reading recommendations from some very esteemed contributors, over a period of a couple of years, I purchased a Bezzera Strega, a Mazzer Mini, a Compak K10, a Pharos, VST refractometer, a Roaster, and threw myself head first into technical nirvana.
Reached the point where I thought that it must be that espresso is too hard for me to define flavours, so again, purchased a Baratza Vario with steel burrs, clever dripper, French presses, etc, but to no avail as far as tastes go.
As well as this, I attended cupping workshops where at the end of the day, felt like the class dummy at the back of the room after hearing "experts" descriptions of different S.O's, where I could not pick up any of the tastes they were describing.
Tried roasting different profiles, and about all I could find distinctive is some profiles give me an (abhorrent) aftertaste of tobacco.
Is it as simple as some people have a better ability with regards to tasting these flavours? I can pick up most of the taste descriptors in wine and other foods, but coffee, for me it's a mystery.
Has anyone else been through this?

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bean2friends
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Joined: 14 years ago

#2: Post by bean2friends »

Surely you must have enjoyed some coffee early on, or you likely wouldn't have set out on this quest. I have to admit that many of the descriptors others use escape me. But I really enjoy the hunt and I know a coffee that I enjoy. I have come to think of it as balanced acidity and sweetness. Frankly, I don't even try a coffee that's described as tasting of grapefruit or green pepper. Neither appeals to me in coffee. I look for chocolate, cinnamon, baked goods. Those tastes I can find. And then there's the blueberry in a dry processed Ethiopian. I find that hard to miss. Are you not able to taste even that?

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zammie
Posts: 85
Joined: 10 years ago

#3: Post by zammie »

Hi there,

I hope you don't give up on specialty coffee altogether! You must enjoy drinking it so just go back to what makes you enjoy coffee in the first place.

Sometimes it takes me a cup and sometimes nearly a bag before I can nail the flavours in a bean. And some flavours come out at different roast levels too.

Maybe stick to hand brewing for a while and use roasted beans from good roasters. Kind of narrow the variables. Enjoy the coffee! I remember a revelation when I was getting into home hi-fi... I was nit-picking and then I realized I had stopped listening to the music and was listening to the hi-fi! That woke me up.

FWIW I distrust brands that list like 5,6,7 different flavour notes in a bean.
dizzy

LMWDP #455

ronburleson
Posts: 7
Joined: 12 years ago

#4: Post by ronburleson »

Like you! I have jumped in the deep end of the coffee pool. I roast my own beans, have too many grinders, and can make a cup of coffee any one of a half dozen ways without leaving my coffee station. Everyone who comes to the house raves about the coffee and can't believe how much different it tastes than anything they have tried in the past. I listen them and think, "I remember when I used to think the same thing". I like what I roast and like the flavor of my coffee. I can't taste all the subtle notes others do. In fact, I don't think I'll ever know what a small slice of heaven served on an angel' swing actually tastes like (I sometimes think I am reading a J. Peterman catalog when I see cupping notes). More than once I have been looking at cupping notes while sipping a cup of coffee and had to look at the label to make sure it was the same bean. When I try to compare I usually end up like a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn't there. It used to really bother me until I realized sometimes it's me and sometimes it just isn't there. I quit worrying and started appreciating what was in the cup, whatever it was that day.

I think we are in the same boat, we are spoiled. I have been enjoying this awesome coffee long enough that I have forgotten how bad the swill I used to drink really is. I do know that I love coffee. I like the way I make and am glad when others do as well. If not, that is okay because I make it for me. My advice is to enjoy your coffee and have fun with it. Don't get hung up on the flavors you can't find that others say should be there.

Ron

ds
Posts: 669
Joined: 11 years ago

#5: Post by ds »

ronburleson wrote:(I sometimes think I am reading a J. Peterman catalog when I see cupping notes)
Ron, I wholeheartedly agree :D
J Peterman wrote:Then, in the distance, I heard the bulls. I began running as fast as I could. Fortunately, I was wearing my Italian cap toe oxfords. Sophisticated yet different; nothing to make a huge fuss about. Rich dark brown calfskin leather. Matching leather vent. Men's whole and half sizes 7 through 13. Price: $135.00.

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Marshall
Posts: 3444
Joined: 19 years ago

#6: Post by Marshall »

con_fused wrote:Hi all, to be honest, after spending thousands of dollars, and putting in countless hours, I'm just about ready to give up on this so-called specialty coffee pastime.
The problem - all these descriptions regarding different tastes to expect - has become a source of bewilderment and frustration. The promises of fruits, berries, chocolates, caramels, apples, etc is as elusive to me today as it was over 3 years ago when I started this expensive obsession.
The overly-specific tasting note is the bane of coffee and wine appreciation. Eric Asimov, the N.Y. Times wine critic, has been especially vocal in his condemnation, going so far as to call on critics to stop writing them altogether. Please read this excerpt from a chapter of his last book, How to Love Wine. The chapter is titled "The Tyranny of the Tasting Note." I promise it will make you feel better about coffee and about yourself.

http://www.culinate.com/books/book_exce ... _love_wine
Marshall
Los Angeles

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canuckcoffeeguy
Posts: 1286
Joined: 10 years ago

#7: Post by canuckcoffeeguy »

con_fused wrote:Is it as simple as some people have a better ability with regards to tasting these flavours? I can pick up most of the taste descriptors in wine and other foods, but coffee, for me it's a mystery.
Has anyone else been through this?
Hi there,
I wouldn't stress too much over the descriptors. If you can taste them, great. If not, what matters most is: did you enjoy your coffee? Taste is a very personal, subjective experience. And it's the result of a complex intermingling of your physiology, psychology, life experience, age, mood and more.

In fact, we all have a different number of taste buds, and some people are so-called Supertasters. See this article: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... upertaster\

Don't worry about chasing the descriptors rainbow, if you can't taste it. Find a coffee preparation/bean combo that you like and stick with it. At the end of the day, coffee is something you should enjoy, and shouldn't be a source of endless frustration.

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weebit_nutty
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Joined: 11 years ago

#8: Post by weebit_nutty »

canuckcoffeeguy wrote:In fact, we all have a different number of taste buds, and some people are so-called Supertasters.
Great point. You beat me to it :)

To the OP: be thankful you aren't a "supertaster". Trust me, while the word sounds like a gift.. Early on I was hung up on this too but I realize now being a super taster isn't a gift, it's a curse. It's merely a condition some people have that cause them to be very picky eaters. They can taste things most people can't and its rarely in a good way. This increased sensitivity does allow for easier identification of tasting notes but remember these are just notes. Anyone who claims the coffee tastes exactly like strawberries or whatever is full of it.

If you want blueberries go eat a blue berry. The real thing is always better lol.

The use of such descriptors in tasting notes out of the lack of better words and frankly out of control in the specialty coffee world. The truth is the flavor of espresso is still overwhelmingly that of the coffee berry and roasted bean. These to me are just as distinct as, say, banana or toasted marshmallows, if not a little more accurate ;)
You're not always right, but when you're right, you're right, right?

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cygnusx1
Posts: 182
Joined: 11 years ago

#9: Post by cygnusx1 »

weebit_nutty wrote:If you want blueberries go eat a blue berry. The real thing is always better lol.
I had a slice of blueberry pie my wife made last night and I can assure you all it did not taste like coffee.

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achipman
Posts: 190
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#10: Post by achipman »

weebit_nutty wrote:Great point. You beat me to it :)

...

If you want blueberries go eat a blue berry. The real thing is always better lol.
And you beat me to that point. I am a newbie, so I didn't expect to be able to taste all the notes, but nonetheless was frustrated by the experience I was having with coffee... Then I became enlightened.. (probably too many attempts at tasting in one morning :wink: ) .. and realized if I wanted a specific taste.. I could create it. I wanted buttery smooth and mildly sweet. Guess what I did! One tablespoon of butter and a dash of sugar coming right up!

I remember reading some other HB'er's post. The person was imploring other "experts" to stop treating sweetened, flavored coffee as such a sin. I now tend to agree with that sentiment more and more.
"Another coffee thing??? I can't keep up with you... next you'll be growing coffee in our back yard." - My wife

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