The perception of specialty coffee engages all the senses—except hearing. The aroma of coffee floating in the air is a pleasure for many of us. We often hear someone say, “Oh, it smells so good in here.” Through our sense of touch, we perceive its density (a.k.a. body) on the tongue, as well as the physical sensation of coffee in the mouth (smoothness, powderiness, astringency, roundness, velvety texture, etc.).
Flavor—well, that’s obvious. But there’s also flavor itself: tasting notes, which are a combination of taste and aroma. Properly identifying this final layer of flavor requires a short and very enjoyable kind of training—nothing more than consciously tasting what we eat and drink every day, with coffee leading the way, of course.
Table of contents:
- Flavor diversity
- Bitter and acidic taste
- Common habits
- Getting started
- Step by step
- New flavors? Go for it!
- Learn how to taste!
- The coffee Holy Grail
Flavor diversity
Differences in how we describe sensory experiences—also in the context of specialty coffee—stem from our habits, preferences, diet, and even the part of the world we come from. For example, while slurping coffee with a close friend who lived in Colombia for over 12 years, we realized that my description of flavor notes (pineapple, citrus, cane sugar, cocoa) was completely different from his (guanabana, lulo, carob). These differences, however, were only apparent. On a sensory level, the experiences were almost identical—we perceived the combination of taste and aroma in a very similar way, simply describing it using references rooted in what we eat most often and know best.
Bitter and acidic taste
Your journey into high-quality coffee should begin with one simple realization: coffee is a fruit. And like most fruits, it has a complex flavor—until it’s over-roasted, as often happens with low-quality commercial coffee, where bitterness masks natural flavors and aromas and becomes the drink’s defining characteristic.
During trainings, I’ve noticed that this realization often unlocks new ways of thinking. Most people accustomed to dark-roasted commercial coffee are biased against acidity in coffee. And yet, they happily drink freshly squeezed fruit juices, eat apples, drizzle lemon over fish or seafood, and finish pad thai with lime juice. It’s easy to see that acidity is not only acceptable—it’s desirable. Historically, humans tended to avoid bitterness, as it often signaled inedible or poisonous foods.
Coffee habits
Two characteristic patterns emerge in how we approach coffee flavor. First, we accept bitterness because most commercial coffees taste that way, and we’ve grown used to it over the years. Second, we are biased against acidity — which is actually desirable and often indicates that coffee hasn’t been over-roasted — because it’s largely absent from supermarket coffee that shaped our habits.
Both habits are easy to change by tasting more high-quality coffee and training your palate to recognize new sensory notes. It’s an incredibly delicious and fascinating journey.
Getting started with specialty coffee
From my experience — built over years of practice and working with specialty coffee — the most important things when taking your first steps are gradual exposure and openness. I believe that expecting someone used to low-quality discount wine to suddenly appreciate champagne is unrealistic.
The same applies to coffee. Despite being consumed daily, coffee is often more sensorily complex than wine due to the number of variables affecting the final cup. Someone accustomed to coffee drowned in milk will likely struggle to describe an 88-point* specialty coffee—bright, fruity, acidic, floral—brewed manually.
*Specialty coffee is defined as coffee that scores over 80 points on a 100-point sensory scale.
Step by step
The most common path of gradually learning how to drink coffee (though it may differ individually; the example below is simplified) looks like this:
- instant coffee with milk / ground coffee with milk →
- moka pot coffee with milk →
- latte or cappuccino from a café (single espresso + 150–300 ml steamed milk) →
- flat white (double espresso + ~160 ml lightly textured milk) →
- americano, filter coffee, and/or espresso.
New flavors? Go for it!
Many people stop at one stage that feels comfortable, often believing that “better is the enemy of good.” They consciously avoid moving further into the unknown—toward higher quality, which doesn’t always align with immediate pleasure. And that’s perfectly fine.
Among coffee professionals, the clichéd question “What’s the best coffee?” has only one correct answer: “The one you like most.” Still, when working with coffee, we focus on quality, production standards, and matching coffee to the consumer’s needs. Our role is to show that there’s more to this black gold than just caffeine. A professional but non-dogmatic approach works far better than rigid orthodoxy.
Standing with a bag of specialty coffee and asking, “Would you like a sweet Colombian in your cup?” achieves more than throwing experimental-processed beans at people and shouting that they’re wrong if they don’t like them.
How to experience specialty coffee even more deeply?
To truly understand specialty coffee, it’s worth:
- Drinking black filter coffee – only then can you experience all its layers and qualities.
- Visiting different cafés and trying coffee brewed in various ways.
- Exploring batch brew as well as manual methods—drip, AeroPress, Chemex—which often extract more than classic batch coffee.
- Practicing mindfulness while drinking coffee, especially when slurping, but also while eating daily meals.
- Pausing with flavor—notice acidity, sweetness, balance.
- Transferring this awareness to food—hold a piece of fruit in your mouth, notice texture, salivation, and how long the aftertaste lasts.
- Building sensory curiosity—this is how we learn to recognize flavor notes and aromas.
This is exactly the path that leads to the first conscious slurp and the moment: “Wait—blackcurrants? Did you add something to this coffee?”
One warning: once you start choosing high-quality products, it’s a one-way road with no end. The world of flavors and aromas is vast—and it extends far beyond coffee.
The espresso sweet spot
The final stage of coffee initiation is the barista’s Holy Grail: the espresso sweet spot—a perfectly brewed coffee, extracted at the ideal moment, with clear sweetness. Once you taste it, you’re hooked. From then on, you’re on a continuous quest for balance, smoothness, roundness, and velvety finish. Good luck on your journey!
Cheers ☕
This article was written for you by me — Michał Żmuda, trainer at JAVA University. If you’d like to deepen your coffee knowledge, don’t know where to start, or simply have a question—feel free to reach out.
📞 mob: +48 530 030 605
✉️ email: m.zmuda@javacoffee.pl
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