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Coffee Smarter: Tasting Coffee Interlude.
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Coffee Smarter: Tasting Coffee Interlude.

We dig into the Roast! West Coast archives to cup coffee.

Topic: Tasting Coffee
Guest:
Siri Simran Khalsa, Lofty Coffee Company
Title: Director of Coffee
Connect: @loftycoffeecowww.loftycoffee.com


Coffee Smarter is off this week, but I didn’t want to put a pause in your Coffee Smarter journey. This potentially new to you podcast episode excerpt comes from the R!WC archives and features Siri Simran Khalsa, one of my favorite Coffee Smarter podcast guests. She is also one of the thought leaders—a term I heard at a cafe pop-up last weekend—behind the San Diego Coffee Network.

The lists below were originally shared here on Roast! West Coast on March 10, 2022. Link below.


If you want to taste coffee like a pro, follow these steps:

  1. Smell the dry beans before grinding.

  2. Pour hot water over the grinds. A crust will form.

  3. Break the crust using a coffee cupping spoon* to push back the grinds in the coffee cupping bowl.*

  4. Smell the wet aroma. Really get your nose close and take in the scents wafting around you.

  5. Use the spoon to SLURP some coffee. Slurping will help you to spread coffee across your entire palate. The air flowing in will spread out the flavors across all of your taste buds

    PRO-TIP: Taste as the coffee cools to avoid burning the tongue and to better identify subtle, nuanced flavors and/or off-flavors that you may not be able to process when the coffee is to hot.

*These are some official cupping tools, but a soup spoon and small soup bowl could work too…Just saying.

While you are tasting, you are looking for the following qualities in addition to flavors and after-taste flavors:

  1. Acidity

  2. Body

  3. Sweetness

  4. Bitterness

There are a lot of tools to help you in this process. If you’re just starting out, the coffee flavor wheel is the big one. Start in the middle and identify more general flavor characteristics and work your way out. I really like this one from Counter Culture Coffee.

A new-to-me tool is an aroma chart. Siri was talking about the Le Nez du Café Revelation kit, which has charts, descriptions, and the aromas themselves distilled in alcohol to refer to. The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) also has its version of an aroma kit. Both are pretty expensive. I’ll be starting with this chart I found online.

It isn’t as advanced as the other aroma wheels but I’m just getting started at including scents into my tasting intentions.


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Check out the original episode’s newsletter post and the full episode recording with 15 additional minutes of podcasting gold here:

Roast! West Coast
Coffee Smarter: Tasting Coffee
Listen now (42 min) | S4:EP11: COFFEE SMARTER Topic: Tasting Coffee Guest: Siri Simran Khalsa, Lofty Coffee Company Title: Director of Coffee Instagram: @loftycoffeeco, @SDCoffeeNetwork Website: www.loftycoffee.com…
Listen now

R!WC INDUSTRY PARTNERS

R!WC podcasts are supported by Mostra Coffee Company. There is a rumor floating around (via Sandiegoville) that Mostra will be opening a new cafe this spring. I’ve reached out for confirmation. In the meantime, check out this Crème Brûlée Latte on the Mostra spring menu.

Close up from above of a creme brulee latte topped with powdered sugar in a white coffee mug on a white saucer on a light wood tabletop.
©Mostra Coffee via www.facebook.com/MostraCoffee

Thanks to all our Roast! Industry Partners:

Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Steady State Roasting • CAFÉ LaTERRE • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle •  Camp Coffee CompanyIgnite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Roasters • San Franciscan Roaster Company

Listen to the Coffee Smarter podcast on these platforms:
APPLE PODCASTS • SPOTIFY • ANCHOR.FM • GOOGLE PODCASTS • AMAZON MUSIC •  I HEART RADIO • CASTBOX • POCKETCASTS • RADIO PUBLIC • YOUTUBE • STITCHERPANDORAPODVINE

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Roast! West Coast
Coffee Smarter
Coffee Smarter is a podcast and newsletter geared towards enabling you to brew a better cup of coffee at home. We ask coffee experts questions ranging from beginner to advanced covering topics involving brewing, drinking, and producing coffee. Learn more about the history, economics, and social impact of coffee. Plus additional advice on products, tips on home roasting, and a hands-on examination of your favorite coffee gear.
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