How to start your journey with specialty coffee?

The perception of specialty coffee engages all the senses except hearing. The aroma of coffee wafting through the air is a delight for many of us. We often hear, "Oh, it smells so good in here, like coffee." We feel its density (also known as body) on our tongue and the physical sensation of coffee in our mouth (smoothness, grittiness, astringency, roundness, velvety texture, etc.).

Taste is obvious. Then there’s flavor, the combination of taste and smell. Properly identifying this final layer of taste requires a short and enjoyable training that involves consciously tasting what we eat and drink daily, especially coffee, of course.

Contents:

Flavor Diversity
Bitter and Acidic Tastes
Common Habits
Beginnings
Step by Step
Don't Fear New Experiences!
Learn to Savor!
The Coffee Holy Grail

Flavor Diversity

Differences in describing sensory experiences, especially with specialty coffee, stem from our habits, preferences, diet, and even the geography we come from. For example, when sipping coffee with a close friend who lived in Colombia for over 12 years, I noticed that my flavor notes (pineapple, citrus, cane sugar, cocoa) were vastly different from his (guabanana, lulo, carob). However, these discrepancies were only apparent. On a sensory level, our descriptions were quite similar—we both perceived the combination of taste and aroma similarly, each of us describing the flavors based on what we regularly consume and know best.

Bitter and Acidic Tastes

Starting your journey with high-quality coffee begins with understanding that coffee is a fruit. Like most fruits, it has a complex taste (until it's over-roasted, as is often the case with low-quality commercial coffees, resulting in nothing distinctive except bitterness, considered a characteristic feature of the brew). I’ve noticed during training sessions that this realization often opens new perspectives. Most commercial coffee drinkers, accustomed to dark-roasted coffees, are averse to acidity in their coffee, yet they readily enjoy freshly squeezed fruit juices, apples, or squeeze lemon over fish or seafood, and complete the flavor of pad thai with lime juice. It’s easy to see that acidity is highly desirable. Historically, humans have avoided bitter tastes as they often indicate inedible or toxic fruits.

Common Coffee Habits

There are two notable characteristics in how people approach coffee taste. First, we accept bitterness because it’s how most commercial coffees taste, and we’ve grown accustomed to it over the years. On the other hand, we are wary of acidity (actually desirable and a sign that the coffee hasn’t been over-roasted) because it’s rarely found in store-bought coffees, which shaped our coffee habits. These habits can easily change by trying new, high-quality coffees and training your taste buds to recognize different sensory notes. It will be a delicious and fascinating journey.

Beginnings with Specialty Coffee

From my experience built over years of practice and working with Specialty coffee, the key to taking your first steps in this world is to pace yourself and keep an open mind. I believe that if there’s a chance for a layperson, who’s only ever drunk low-quality wines, to appreciate champagne, it’s slim. Similarly, despite the daily consumption difference, coffee is more complex than wine due to the many factors influencing the final taste in the cup. A person used to milk-soaked instant coffee will find it difficult to appreciate an 88-point* specialty coffee brewed manually, with its fruity, crisp, acidic, and floral notes.

*Specialty coffee is defined as coffee that scores over 80 points on a 100-point quality scale.

Step by Step

The most common path to gradually learning to drink coffee (though this varies for each individual, the example below is an average scenario) is:

Instant with milk/ground coffee with milk >>> coffee from a Moka pot with milk >>> latte/cappuccino from a café (single espresso + 150 ml - 300 ml of steamed milk) >>> flat white (double espresso + 160 ml of lightly steamed milk) >>> americano/filter coffee and/or espresso.

Don't Fear New Experiences!

Often, people stop at a certain stage of this path because they’re cautious or believe that better is the enemy of good. They may not want to venture further into the unknown—even towards better quality that doesn’t always align with what brings them comfort. There’s nothing wrong with that.

In the coffee world, it’s often said that the best coffee is the one you enjoy the most. However, when working with coffee, we focus on its quality, handling standards at every production stage, and properly matching it to the consumer’s needs. Our job is to show that there’s more to this black gold than just caffeine. There should be, at least. In the coffee world, and with any high-quality product, the most important thing is to approach it professionally, but not dogmatically, which could alienate a newcomer or, at worst, offend someone. You can’t make someone like something against their will, so I don’t understand a black-and-white approach to coffee. It’s better to stand back with specialty coffee bags and ask, “Hello, would you like a sweet Colombia in your cup?” than to throw experimental coffee beans at people and yell that they’re stupid if they don’t like it.

How to Appreciate Specialty Coffee Even More?

To best understand the world of specialty coffee, I encourage drinking black filter coffee—only in this form will you fully experience its flavors and layers. Visit different cafés. Try both batch brew (coffee from a drip machine) and manually brewed coffee (drip, aeropress, chemex, etc.), which can extract more from the beans than a typical drip machine. Most importantly, pay attention to your mindfulness when sipping coffee and eating your daily meals. You’ll quickly recognize pineapple notes in coffee if you focus on its flavor while eating it and think about how it tastes. Notice its acidity, sweetness. Hold a bite in your mouth for a moment, focus on its texture. Notice how your salivary glands work as you chew and how long the taste lingers after you’ve finished the fruit. This is how you learn sensory skills. This is how you cultivate curiosity about taste experiences. That’s how you’re on the path to your first conscious coffee sip, and the thought, “What’s this? I taste blackcurrants. Did you add something to this coffee?”

However, I must warn you: reaching for high-quality products is a one-way street that never ends because the world of flavors and aromas is not only incredibly rich, but it’s also not just about coffee.

The Sweet Spot in Espresso

The final stage of coffee mastery is the holy grail for baristas, known as the sweet spot in espresso—a coffee brewed optimally, at the perfect moment for the beans, with clear sweetness. It’s the top tier of coffee. Once you taste coffee brewed this way and notice the incredible, distinctive sweetness—you’re hooked. From then on, you’re on a path of constant searching and striving to first drink and then brew balanced, smooth, round coffee with a velvety finish. Good luck with your search!

Cheers.

This article was prepared for you by Michał Żmuda, Trainer at JAVA University.