ACIDITY: Usual characteristic of Arabica coffee, particularly of those cultivated at high altitudes. Some origins are requested especially for this characteristic such as the coffee of Kenya.

The experts differentiate acidity in three classes:

1 - natural agreeable: acid
2 - natural disagreeable: acrid
3 - undesirable

Acidity, one of the main sensations of taste, originates from the combination of acids and sugars contained in the coffee, combination that increases its sweetness. The acidulous characteristic is mainly present in the washed Arabica coffees cultivated over 1200 - 1300 meters.

ACRID: Secondary taste of coffee characterized by a pungent acrid sensation in the lateral rear part of the tongue, caused by an irregular accumulation of acids and by a high content of salts that excessively increase the usual acidity. This taste is typical of Rio coffees.

ALKALINE: Taste completely characterized by a dry sensation at the bottom of the tongue, due to the presence of alkaloids.

ASTRINGENT: Secondary taste characterized by a salty and pungent sensation, localized in the front sides of the tongue. It is due to the strong increase of saltiness provoked by the acids and it is typical of certain Indonesian Robusta coffees.

BAG (of): Disagreeable taste that is observed in cups of coffee that is not enough roasted and preserved for a long time. Bag taste and odour absorbed by green coffee packed inside not seasoned jute bags.

BALANCED: A well-balanced coffee must have all the characteristics in the correct measure. Synonym: Round.

BITTER: This taste is initially perceived by the papillae bordering the bottom of the tongue. Generally the Robusta quality is bitterer than the Arabica one. On certain levels this is considered a positive characteristic especially when sugar is added to the drink, weakening part of the bitter taste and turning it into bitter-sweet.

BODY: Physical properties of the drink that appear as tactile sensations perceived by the mouth during and after digestion. This definition is used to indicate the structure of the drink and corresponds to a specific consistence.

BOUQUET: It means the global aromatic profile created by the sensations leaving gases and vapours on the olfactory membranes.

CARAMEL-LIKE: Aromatic sensation created by a group of radicals of sugar carbonate that are present in the coffee aroma, that reminds to the sweets or syrups. This aromatic sensation is also remarked in soluble coffees.

CARBONIC: Aromatic sensation originated by a combination of slightly volatile heterocyclic compounds, present in the aftertaste of coffee, that reminds to burnt substances.

CAUSTIC: Negative sensation of the coffee taste characterized by a sour sensation of burnt at the rear sides of the tongue, caused by alkaloids that increase the sourness of the acids in combination on a high percentage of salts.

CHERRY: Strong taste, pungent, fruity, originated from the peel and pulp of the cherry.

CHOCOLATE: Aromatic sensation, produced by a group of pirazina compounds that are present in the coffee aftertaste and that produce a sensation similar to the taste of plain chocolate or vanilla.

CREAMY: Moderately high level of suspended oils in the drink, as a result of a pronounced quantity of greases in the beans.

EARTHY: Odour of the coffee beans that produces a sensation of dirty taste. This happens when the greases of the green beans absorb some organic substances from the ground during the crop and the drying process.

FERMENTED: Defect of the coffee taste that produces an acrid sensation very disagreeable to the tongue. Typical odour and taste of the fermenting coffee cherries or of the red peels removed during the stripping phase in the wet process.

FLOWERY SWEET: Aromatic sensation produced by a range of aldheydes that are similar to the smell of jasmine.

FRESH: Sensation of secondary taste in coffee, characterized by a prevalently sweet tone and by a fresh and lively sensation on the tip of the tongue. This taste is due to a content of acids that is higher than the normal and that causes a touch of bitter.

FRUITY: Sweet sensation that reminds to citric fruit or dry that reminds to cherries.

GRASSY: A marked odour that gives the drink a grassy character similar to the one of alfalfa just cut, combined with the astringency of the green grass.

GREEN: Defect that gives a grassy character to the coffee taste, due to the incomplete development of the sugar compounds during the roasting process.

HARD: Secondary taste characterized by a sour and pungent sensation, perceived in the rear sides of the tongue. This word is used referring to particular Brazilian coffees. It is a coffee that attaches the palate with a combined sensation of bitterness and astringency not conjugated to a good body. A hard coffee is always a coffee that is badly balanced that sometimes can be acrid. This word must not be confused with the denomination of the Hard Washed of the Centre America (Strictly Hard Bean, Hard Bean) that mark the altitudes at which they are cultivated. For these last ones the word Hard refers to the hardness of the bean and not to the taste in the cup.

INTENSE-SUPERIOR-RICH: Adjectives referred to a complete coffee with marked full-body, flavour and a high aromatic level.

LEATHERY: Odour of spoilage that gives coffee a sensation that reminds to leather. This defect comes from the separation of the greases present in the beans, due to an excessive heat used in the drying phase of the crop, especially when this is carried out in the mechanic dryers.

LIGHT: If referred to the body of coffee, it means that the coffee is insufficiently consistent with a low content of suspended solid substances, in particular of fibres and insoluble proteins.

MALTED: Aromatic sensation producing sensations similar to the toasted wheat.

MATURE-MILD: Primary taste originated by the combination of the salts present in the coffee with sugars. This combination brings to a global increase of sweetness. This characteristic is mainly present in washed Arabica coffees, cultivated under 1300 meters. This definition can change from MILD to DELICATE. Harmonious sensation reflecting a perfectly balanced body, not very acid, not very bitter but dense and intense.

MEDICINAL: Negative effect to the taste, characterized by a deep sour and bitter sensation in the rear sides of the tongue.

MOULD: Coffee can acquire a mouldy taste if preserved in not correct conditions. This taste can also be acquired during the stripping and washing phases of the green coffee. Odour and taste can also be acquired during the transportation, especially if coffee is containerized with excessive humidity and if the container is not correctly ventilated.

NEUTRAL: Secondary sensation of taste, characterized by the absence of a predominant taste in any part of the tongue, that produces a dry sensation at its sides. It is caused by a concentration of salts that is sufficient to neutralize both acids and sugars, but not enough to provoke a salty sensation.

OLD: Taste completely lacking in freshness. Sometimes flat with a touch of straw taste. This is observed in coffees roasted a long time before. The aroma changes acquires a disagreeable taste similar to hay, to straw and to aged wood.

QUAKERS: Universally used word and applied to the coffee beans cropped still green, damaged or underdeveloped. These beans give coffee a characteristic that is similar to the taste of peanut.

RANCID: Defect of the taste that confers on the drink a very disagreeable taste. It is the result of oxidation of the greases in the roasted beans, cause by humidity and oxygen during the ageing period after roasting.

RIATO: Blander sensation than the taste of Rio. This taste can also be acquired during the drying process in the threshing floor, when in rainy days coffee is grouped and covered with oilskins. Under the oilskin coffee heats and starts a light fermentation that causes, according to the experts, this particular taste that is similar to carbolic acid.

RIO (Taste of): A defect of the taste that confers on the coffee beans a marked character of medicine. It results from the continuation of the enzymatic process, when the coffee beans stay in the drupe and this gets dry on the shrub branch. The taste of Rio is appreciated in some Mediterranean countries for the preparation of Turkish or Greek coffee.

ROASTED: Typical taste of instantaneous coffee treated at a too high temperature.

ROUND: A balanced coffee whose organoleptic characteristics are at a correct level.

RUBBER: A defect of the taste that gives a sensation of burnt rubber in the mouth. This taste is associated to the natural coffees produced in Africa and sometimes in Indonesia.

SHARP: Basic taste characterized by solutions of tartaric acid, citric acid or gallic acid that, in combination with the salts contained in the coffee, increase the saltiness turning the taste into acid sharp. This taste can be found in some African Robusta coffee such as the Ivory Coast.

SOUR: Simultaneous sensation of bitterness and astringency, rasping and disagreeable. This characteristic is more frequent in poor quality Robusta coffees.

SPICY SWEET: Aromatic sensation produced by a range of aldheydes that are similar to the spices (such as cloves, cinnamon or cardamom).

STRAW: Defect of the taste that confers on the coffee beans a marked taste of straw. The taste is the result of the loss of organic material from the green beans during the storage after the crop.

SWEET: Commercial word often used as contrary of the word sour. It is initially perceived by the papillae on the tip of the tongue.

WATERY: Not full-bodied drink due to the law level of suspended oils in the infusion caused by the poor quantity of greases in the coffee.

WEAK: Coffee with lacking body, but not flat.

WINY: Sensation before of the coffee taste, produced by the combination of sugars with acids, that reduces the bitterness of coffee. Special and agreeable taste that reminds to wine and that is not only present in Ethiopian coffees but also in some Centre America coffees, washed at the beginning of the crop when they are still fresh off process.

WOODY: A defect of the taste characterized by a disagreeable taste similar to wood. This defect is the result of a complete loss of organic material of the coffee beans, due to the ageing during the storage. Coffees preserved at the raw state for a long time loose their characteristics of aroma and taste and only preserve the characteristics of the woody part.