Coffee notes

A few notes for reading a cup of specialty coffee: how to put flavour into words, how processing at the farm shapes what you taste, and how to brew filter coffee at home. Take them along when you visit the cafés on the route.

Reading flavour

Most of what we call flavour is aroma. Smell the dry grounds, then the wet coffee, and taste again as the cup cools; many coffees show their best side at around 50–60°C. Beyond naming notes, pay attention to four things: acidity (bright, like citrus or apple), sweetness, body (how heavy the coffee feels) and aftertaste (how long and clean the finish is).

A simplified wheel by Roaster Route. Start in the middle with the family you notice, then move outward to name it more precisely.

Lighter roasts keep more of the fruit, floral and tea-like notes that come from the origin. Darker roasts move toward caramel, cocoa and roasted notes. Roastery cafés usually roast lighter for filter and a little darker for espresso.

Processing: from cherry to green bean

Coffee beans are the seeds of a fruit. How the fruit is removed and how the seeds ferment and dry has a large effect on flavour.

Washed	The fruit is removed and the seeds are fermented in water, then washed and dried. Clean, clear and bright; the origin speaks most directly.
Natural	Whole cherries dry in the sun with the fruit on. Riper fruit flavours, more sweetness and body.
Honey	The skin is removed but some sticky fruit (mucilage) is left on while drying. Sits between washed and natural; yellow, red and black honey leave progressively more on.
Anaerobic	Cherries or beans ferment in sealed tanks with little oxygen before drying. Intense, often winey, tropical or boozy flavours. One of the biggest trends of the past decade.
Carbonic maceration	A version of anaerobic fermentation borrowed from winemaking, with tanks flushed with CO₂. Vivid, juicy fruit; it became famous after a World Barista Championship win in 2015.
Yeast & co-fermentation	Selected yeasts, or fruit and spices, are added during fermentation. Can give striking flavours; adding ingredients is debated, so good cafés tell you how a coffee was made.
Thermal shock	Cherries are soaked in hot, then cold water around fermentation to push aromatics into the bean. A newer technique from Colombian producers.

Brewing filter coffee

A simple starting recipe for one cup on a pour-over dripper:

Ratio	1:15 to 1:17, for example 15 g coffee to 240 g water.
Grind	Medium-fine, about like table salt.
Water	90–96°C. Lighter roasts like it hotter, darker roasts cooler.
Bloom	Pour about twice the coffee’s weight in water and wait 30–45 seconds so gas can escape.
Pour	Pour slowly in circles in two or three stages.
Time	Around 2:30 to 3:30 in total.

Adjusting: if the cup tastes sour or thin, grind finer or use hotter water. If it tastes bitter or dry, grind coarser or use cooler water. Change one thing at a time.

Choosing a dripper

V60	Cone with one large hole. Fast flow and a clear, bright cup; rewards a steady pour.
Kalita Wave	Flat bottom with three small holes. Even extraction and forgiving.
Origami	Ribbed cone that takes both cone and wave filters, so it can lean either way.
Chemex	Thick paper filter. Very clean, light-bodied cups, good for sharing.
Siphon	Vapour pressure pushes water up to the coffee, then it draws back down. Aromatic and theatrical.
AeroPress	Immersion plus pressure. Quick, versatile and travel-friendly.