The Cooking Inn : Coffee Terminology V PageSelect a name from the list to go to it's site
An odor taint in the coffee brew marked by a loss of organic
material that would normally be in a gaseous state in both the aroma and
nose of the brew. Occurs during the staling process after the roasting
or the holding process after brewing.
Varietal Distinction or Character:
If the coffee has characteristics that both set it off from other
coffees, yet identify it as what it is, it has varietal distinction. In
one sense, all of your three samples are distinctive, because they
probably embody the best and most characteristic traits of the growing
region from which they came. In another sense the Yemen Mocha and
Sumatran could be seen as much more distinctive than the Mexican, simply
because the Mexican embodies what for North Americans is a version of
the normative coffee taste, whereas the other two coffees have
characteristics that set them off from that norm. The rich, winey
acidity of the Yemen Mocha immediately suggests that it is either a
Yemen coffee or a good Ethiopian, for example; the heavy body and rich
finish of the Sumatran identifies it as a good Indonesian coffee. It
would be difficult to distinguish the Mexican coffee from a Peruvian,
for example, or from any one of several other Latin American coffees.
A qualitative description of the gases and vapors present in the
fragrance, aroma, nose and aftertaste of coffee's bouquet, which create
a complex pattern of sensations of the olfactory membranes.