Coffee Dictionary

Aged Coffee:  Coffees that are properly stored "in the green" or un-roasted for several years in order to create pricey, full bodied, heavy-flavoured coffees.

Arabica: An aromatic and flavourful coffee bean variety used to produce high-quality and gourmet coffees.

Barista: A coffee-making professional.

Blend: Two or more varietals of coffee blended together.

Cappuccino: A shot of espresso blended with equal portions steamed milk and foam topping.

Cafe Americano: A few shots of espresso poured with hot water to fill a typical drip-style coffee cup or sometimes espresso brewed drip-style.

Cafe Au Lait: Drip-style coffee blended with equal portions of steamed milk.

Cafe con Panna: Espresso dabbed with whipping cream.

Cafe Latte: A shot of espresso served in a tall glass poured with 3 - 4 times that amount steamed milk and a dab of foam.

Cafe Macchiato: A shot of espresso marked with a dab of foam.

Cafe Mocha: A shot of espresso served in a tall glass poured with 3 - 4 times that amount steamed chocolate milk (made from powder or syrup) and a dab of foam or whipped cream and a shake of shaved or powdered chocolate.

Caffeine: A stimulant contained in coffee, which can boost the heart rate and alertness and, in elevated quantities, can lead to restlessness or insomnia.

Cupping: Coffee tasting with a professional coffee "cupper."

Dark-roast Coffee: Coffee roasted past the point of full flavour so as to bring out highly desirable burnt notes.

Decaffeinated Coffee: Coffee that has been processed through a chemical process to remove the majority of caffeine.

Espresso: An Italian-born beverage made by rapidly brewing coffee by forcing steam through the grounds. Prepares one smooth, thick, dark-roast "shot" at a time.

Fair Trade Coffees: A coffee that is certified by an international agency as having been grown on a farm that is part of a Fair Trade working cooperative. Fair Trade certification works to allow farmers to warrant a fair price for their goods and at the same time upholds specific standards for the wages and living and working conditions of its workers. Fair Trade coffees are labeled as such.

Flavoured Coffees: Coffee beans that have been "spiced up" with chocolate, cinnamon, hazelnut, or other spices and flavours.

French Roast: A degree of dark roast.

Italian Roast: A degree of dark roast that is roasted darker than a French roast.

Medium Roast: A medium degree of roast that is mostly used in American coffee.

Organic Coffees: A coffee that is certified by an international agency as having been grown free of chemical pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides, and labeled as such.

Robusta: A somewhat bitter, less aromatic, low quality coffee bean variety used to produce instant and freeze-dried coffees. Contains twice the caffeine as Arabica coffee.

Vienna Roast: A degree of dark roast.

Coffee Tasting Terms

Acerbic: An acrid and sour sensation on the tongue, due to excessive heat during the holding process after brewing.

Acidity: A sharp radiance and pleasing quality that enhances coffee's flavour.

Acrid: An intensely tart impression on the back of the tongue.

Aftertaste: The taste that remains in the mouth after swallowing a sip of coffee, which may leave impressions such as caramel, chocolate, fruitness, spiciness, smokiness, or roastiness, to name a few.

Alkaline: A dry feeling left at the back of the tongue.

Aroma: The fragrance or smell of fresh-brewed coffee, ranging from fruity to herby to smoky and more.

Astringent: When acidity is at an undesirable level, we may say "astringent" referring to its intense briny sensation at the tip of the tongue.

Baggy: An off-taste often resulting from weakly roasted coffees that have been stored for a long time in unsuitable conditions.

Baked: A taste and odor that gives coffee brew a flat bouquet and insipid taste.  This results when roasting occurs too slowly over too long a period of time.

Basic Tastes: Sweet, sour, salty and bitter. 

Bitter: A twinge or strong taste noticeable at the back of the tongue. Dark roasts are prominently bitter, adding to the fullness of the coffee. High levels of bitterness can be unpleasant, especially if due to over-extraction or brewing too little coffee at too fine a grind.

Black Beans: Dead coffee beans that have dropped from trees before harvesting.

Bland: Lacking coffee flavour and characteristics.

Body: The weight of a coffee as perceived in the mouth. A coffee may have light, medium, full or very full body.

Bouquet: The total aromatic profile created by the sensations present in the fragrance, aroma, nose and aftertaste of the coffee.

Brackish: When the coffee has a salty and alkaline taste resulting from excessive heat after brewing.

Bready: Appears in coffees that have not been roasted long enough or at a high enough temperature to bring out the flavour oils.

Bright: Sharp acidity.

Briny: Applies to coffee that has been over-roasted.

Buttery: A rich and oily heaviness in the mouth that's found in fuller-bodied coffees.

Caramelly: A sweet aroma suggestive of candy or syrup.

Carbony: A roasty aroma suggestive of a burnt substance that is present in many very dark-roast coffees.

Chicory: A complex bitter-acid and sweetish taste characteristic of the root of the chicory plant.

Chocolaty: A roasty, sweet aroma suggestive of unsweetened chocolate, cocoa, or even vanilla.

Cinnamon: A spicy aroma suggestive of cinnamon.

Clean: A coffee that finishes clear, graceful, and smooth in the mouth, not dry.

Cocoa: A bittersweet aroma suggestive of unsweetened chocolate.

Complex: Flavours that have multiple layers of sensation.

Cooked: A typical taste of an instant coffee treated at too high a temperature.

Course: A coffee that is rough on the tongue.

Delicate: A secondary coffee taste sensation characterized by fragile sweet-subtle sensation just past the tip of the tongue.

Depth: The resonance or sensual power behind the sensations that drive the taste of the coffee.

Dirty: A taste that is not earthy or musty but actually grimy in flavour.

Dry: A coffee that finishes parched or dehydrated in the mouth, not clean. Also the opposite of sweet.

Dull: Gives an impression of roundness but at the same time lacks character.

Earthy: The aroma or flavour of moist soil or earth.

Fermented: When coffee has a highly displeasing sour sensation on the tongue, which occurs in the drying process during harvesting.

Fine: A quality coffee in terms of acidity, body, and overall positive characteristics.

Finish: Refers to the aftertaste that lingers on the palate after the coffee is gone.  This term is the same of that used in wine tasting.

Flat: A dull, lackluster coffee, deficient in acidity.

Flavour: The fusion of a coffee's aroma, body, and acidity.

Floral: An aroma suggestive of flowers.

Foreign: Generally covers a number of imperfect flavours coming from contamination, for example rubbery or moldy.

Foul:  A rank, strong, fermented flavour or any other strong, unpleasant, defective flavour, such as hidey or oniony.

Fragrance: The sensation of the gases released from ground coffee as they are inhaled through the nose.  Ranges from sweetly floral to sweetly spicy.

Fresh: A positive trait used to describe freshly roasted coffee with vibrant flavour and aroma.

Fruity: A sweet or tangy aroma or flavour suggestive of berries or citrus.

Full: Indicating strong character, in terms of acidity, body, and flavour.

Grady: A background flavour of dirtiness but not qualifying as dirty.

Grassy: An herbaceous aroma or flavour suggestive of alfalfa or grass.

Green: When the brew has an herbal characteristic due to incomplete development in the roasting process.

Hard: A secondary coffee taste sensation characterized by a predominately stinging, sour sensation on the posterior sides of the tongue.

Harsh: A negative characteristic describing a bitter, unpleasant, or offensive taste or sensation.

Herbal: An herbaceous aroma or flavour suggestive of grass, dried herbs, or dry beans.

Hidey:  An odor that gives the coffee beans a tallowy and leather-like taste

Insipid: When the coffee brew has a lifeless characteristic, due to a loss of organic material in the coffee bean.

Intensity:  A qualitative measurement of the number and relative strengths of the gases and vapours present in the bouquet of the coffee.

Light: Indicating a delicate character, in terms of acidity, body, and aroma.

Lively: Pleasingly vibrant in acidity.

Malty:  An aromatic sensation created by a moderately volatile set of aldehydes and ketones that produces sensations reminiscent of toasted grains.

Mellow: A coffee that finishes mildly and delicately.

Mild: A moderately bodied coffee that finishes with balanced acidity and sweetness and lacks bitterness or dryness.

Moldy:  Coffee may acquire a moldy taste if kept in poor conditions.  Moldiness also depends on conditions during the pulping and cleaning of green beans.

Muddy: Characterizes a large quantity of particles in suspension in the beverage.

Musty: Coffee that has been aged properly may take on this cellard aroma.

Neutral: A secondary coffee taste characterized by the absence of a predominant taste sensation on any part of the tongue but causing a distinct parching sensation on the sides of the tongue.

Nippy: A secondary coffee taste characterized by predominantly sweet, nipping sensation at the tip of the tongue.

Nose: The sensation of the vapours released from brewed coffee as they are exhaled while swallowing.  Ranges from caramelly to nutty to malty.

Nutty: A roasty aroma or flavour suggestive of peanuts, almonds, hazelnut, etc.

Oily: A term sometimes used to denote a coffee that has a roasted oily taste due to a high degree of roasting or an oily coffee having a greasy but not rancid taste.

Old: A roasted coffee that has been left for too long changes aroma and acquires a specific and disagreeable flavour.  Similar to oldish but with stronger hay-like flavour.

Oldish: A complete lack of freshness.  Somewhat flat taste with a slight flavour of hay.

Oniony:  Has a flavour of onions.

Ordinary:  Below average quality for growth, grade and type. Bland.

Papery: The taste that coffee packed in paper bags or prepared in bad quality filter paper may acquire.

Peasy: A disagreeable taste of very fresh green peas.

Piquant:  A secondary coffee taste sensation characterized by a predominantly sweet, prickling sensation at the tip of the tongue.

Point: A coffee with good positive characteristics of flavour, body and acidity.

Poor: Qualifies a coffee of really common flavour.

Potato: Has an unpleasant taste of raw potato.

Pulpy: Strong, pungent, fruit-like flavour from coffee cherry skins.

Pungent: A strong and piercing sensation in the mouth, characteristic of full-bodied coffees.

Quakers: Term applied to unripe, blighted or underdeveloped coffee beans.

Quakery: A taste giving coffee brew a pronounced peanuty flavour.

Rancid: Coffee that has not been stored properly may take on this highly offensive sour flavour.

Rich: A full-bodied coffee that finishes with depth and complexity of flavour and an overall pleasing taste.

Roasty: Coffee that has been dark roasted properly may take on this smoky, high quality flavour.

Rough: A secondary coffee sensation characterized by a predominately rasping, salty sensation on the palette or tongue.  Caused by the additive property of salt taste sensations.

Round: A balanced coffee whose basic organoleptic characteristics are just at the right level, with none particularly apparent, giving the impression of roundness.

Rubbery: A taste fault giving the coffee beans a highly-pronounced burnt-rubber character.  Result of continued enzyme activity in the coffee bean when it remains in the fruit and the fruit is allowed to dry on the shrub. Usually associated with natural processed robusta coffees grown in Africa.

Salt: A basic taste characterized by solutions of chlorides, bromides, iodides, nitrates, and sulfates of potassium and lithium.

Scorched: Coffee that has not been roasted or brewed properly (usually due to excessive heat) may take on this highly bitter, acrid aroma.

Smoky: Coffee that has been dark roasted properly may take on this roasty, high-quality flavour.

Sour: When acidity is at an undesirable level, we may say "sour" referring to its intense briny sensation at the tip of the tongue.

Spicy: A fragrance or flavour reminiscent of spices like cinnamon or allspice.

Stale: Coffee that has not been stored properly may take on this flat, one-dimensional cardboard flavour.

Strawy: A negative herbaceous aroma or flavour suggestive of hay.

Strength: The ratio of water to ground coffee.

Strong: Characteristic of rich, full-bodied coffees.

Sweet: A mild, smooth, or fruity taste noticeable at the tip of the tongue.

Syrupy: A sweet, thick, and sticky heaviness in the mouth.

Tangy: An intensely piercing sweet and sour impression along the sides of the tongue.

Tart: An intensely sour sensation along the sides of the tongue.

Varietal: A coffee grown in a specific geographical area, usually with distinct tastes that derive from the area's soil, climate, and cultivation methods.

Weak: Characteristic of light-bodied coffees, not flat.

Wild: Coffee that has been contaminated or has endured chemical changes may take on odd, unpleasant, or tangy flavours that significantly vary from cup to cup.

Winey: Having the rich, fruity essence of a fine red wine.

Woody: Coffee that has been aged properly may take on this aroma or flavour, suggestive of tree bark or oak.