Flavour Perception
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Specialty Batch
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22.05.21

Flavour Perception

The art of flavour perception is HIGHLY subjective.


The fact is, every coffee does exhibit a myriad of flavours and aromas but not all of the “descriptors” can or should be universally accepted as the hard truth of a coffee. 

We tend to see many coffee professionals oversell and over-confuse the Espresso tasting experience by using a very wide range of flavours that they perceive in the cup. These descriptors, while in some cases may be relatively accurate for them, can also confuse and undermine the average specialty coffee lover. 

As roasters and barista educators, we aim to mainly showcase Balance , especially when it come to espresso flavour experience.

What do we
mean by
Balance?

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥. 
𝘋𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 5 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘝𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘈𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘺 (𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤, 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵), 𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 & 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘴, 𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. (𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳..)

The espresso experience should ideally be a mission of finding optimal Balance – a compromise of the coffees’ heaviness/tactile/body characteristics (perceived strength) in a bid to achieve a balance of flavours derived in the form of acidity, sweetness and bitterness (flavour extraction) 

The art and science behind the roasting process either assists or restricts this mission. 


Do it right. Maximise your efficiency without compromising quality. And do it consistently 

Choose the right coffee.
Choose the right roast.
Choose the right roaster.
Choose the right educators.

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Specialty Batch Coffee is a Dubai-based, homegrown brand backed by a wealth of industry knowledge. With roots in Melbourne, Australia, we bring a solid 30+ years of combined specialty coffee experience & expertise to the table.

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