Then there are the others: those who constantly claim they’re incapable of expressing their “sensory opinion” or suitably describing their taste sensation and would therefore prefer not to engage in discussion. These are usually the real sensory experts!

The floor therefore belongs to those pompous windbags who crave attention and talk rubbish, leaving a sensory trail of destruction behind them, while all normal persons shake their heads at their findings and quietly admit that their taste experience was quite different and they would have expressed it quite differently. Or worse still – they feel justified in their supposed complete lack of sensory expertise.

Interesting isn’t it? Have you identified yourself yet and put yourself in one of the two groups?

Everyone can taste: innate sensory patterns

And yet it’s really quite simple. We’re all born with sensory skills! Evolution has already equipped us with the ability to limit our risks as omnivores by using our senses to avoid poisoning and food that’s gone off. Once again, the hubris amongst those individuals who believe that learned skills may in some way be superior to the taste patterns developed over millions of years – thus securing the very preservation of our species – is staggering.

Let’s talk about taste

Nevertheless, the conveying and verbalizing of sensory experiences does have to be learned. In Italy, this is done throughout your life by constantly expressing opinions on the taste of food and beverage being consumed. Simply talking about taste is already one of the most important factors. It is the only way we can compare and calibrate.

In order to assess our sensory experience of coffee or food in a consistent manner, it is generally helpful therefore to have some form of basic training. This enables us to distinguish and clearly separate various sensory perceptions. After all, our overall sense of taste (flavor) consists of three different sensory perceptions: gustation (the sense of taste), olfaction (the sense of smell) and haptic perception (the sense of touch) – in this case our mouthfeel.

Taste, smell and mouthfeel

I’d like to demonstrate this with a few small examples:

Haptics is generally underestimated, yet so important. Take spaghetti with a preparation time of 5 minutes: if you actually cook it for exactly 5 minutes you’ll get wonderful “al dente” spaghetti. After 10 minutes of cooking (a closely guarded and secret recipe of every works canteen!), spaghetti becomes a mushy “al dentures” to be consumed via a straw. Although the nutritional value is the same, the potential enjoyment factor has fallen dramatically. The same applies to the fresh crust of bread, creamy cappuccino or the smooth crema of an espresso. All a matter of haptics.

Gustation refers to the perception of “sweet”, “salty”, “sour”, “bitter” and “umami”. In addition, there is “alkaline”/”metallic”. With regard to coffee, water plays a vital role here as its ionization and mineral content has a high potential for forming salts, acids and bitter substances.

Olfaction comprises all aromas that are divided into the 11 main groups. Fruity, flowery, herbal, green tones, spices, woods and roast aromas are just a few examples of groups that may in turn be divided into subgroups.

In workshops lasting one to three days, we present the entire field of sensory analysis – from basics on holding cup tastings to identifying and naming aromas. So far, we have actually succeeded in proving to each participant that they have sensory abilities which they can systematically access. We hope you discover them too!

Dr. Steffen Schwarz

www.coffee-consulate.com