Tasting · 2 min read
Tasting as the cup cools
Leave room for more than the first sip when you decide what you enjoy.
Take an unhurried first sip
Let a freshly brewed cup cool to a comfortable drinking temperature. Notice its aroma and how it feels in your mouth. Avoid searching for an impressive list of tasting notes. Familiar words such as round, dry, light or lingering can describe your own experience more clearly than borrowed vocabulary.
Return a little later
Taste the same cup again after a few minutes. Your impressions may change as it cools. Write what becomes easier to notice and what seems less prominent. Keep the comparisons descriptive. You are learning how this coffee behaves in your cup rather than trying to match someone elses tasting sheet.
Use the note for a decision
Ask what you would like more or less of next time. If you want to compare recipes, use the same coffee and change one factor. Keep the note short enough to read before brewing. A useful tasting record points to a concrete experiment or tells you that you already like the cup.
Written for the Copper Kettle Notes editorial collection. Read at your own pace.
