Tasting Guide

A good cup of coffee is simple to define: it’s one you like drinking! But what if you don’t really know what you like?

We can help. Read on!

WHAT TASTE REALLY MEANS

With coffee, four things really matter: aroma, flavor, mouthfeel and finish.

AROMA

Half of coffee’s flavor comes from how it smells.

Whole beans, ground coffee, and brewed coffee all have different aromas. Give it a good sniff. What do you notice?

FLAVOR

Good coffee is complex, with subtle flavor notes.

Start with a sip. Follow with a slurp. Close your eyes. What flavors show up?

MOUTHFEEL

Mouthfeel, or body, is the texture of the coffee.

Look for textures that feel creamy, rich, or smooth. Never weak, watery, or sludgy.

FINISH

Finish describes what you taste after you swallow the coffee.

Coffee's flavor may shift from first sip to
last. What flavors & feelings linger?

ACID: THE MISUNDERSTOOD MAGIC OF THE MORNING CUP

Acid is often what makes or breaks a brew. Lower acidity (often found in dark roasts) and higher acidity (often found in light roasts) can both be wonderful, as long as acid is in balance with the other elements.

WHAT’S IN A ROAST?

We buy amazing beans, organically grown by people we've known and trusted for decades. Our job is to help each bean sing its best notes without getting in the way. Roasting times and temps bring out different aromatics and flavors.

Lighter & zingier

Nuanced flavors

Delicate body

SHOP LIGHT ROASTS

Well balanced

Medium body

Best of both worlds

SHOP MEDIUM ROASTS

Bold flavors

Fullest body

More roast, less bean

SHOP DARK ROASTS

EXTRA CREDIT

BLENDS AND SINGLE ORIGINS

Coffee blends

combine beans from different regions to create a taste or consistency that just one type of bean may not be Twin Cities Blend includes beans from able to achieve. For example, our Peru, Sumatra, & Honduras

SHOP BLENDS

Single origin coffees

come from a specific coffee growers’ co-op in a specific place, like Peru. A region’s climate, soil, and weather all impact the taste of its coffee. The fancy word for this is “terroir.” Pardon our French.

SHOP SINGLE ORIGINS

Grab your favorite
cup. Don’t just drink
it. Taste it.

Really taste it.

Sip once. Sip twice.
Notice the first hit,
the middle and the end.

And then tune into:

IS IT...ROUND?

Hold it in your mouth. Different flavors show up, and no one flavor predominates. Feel it surround your taste-brain.

NOT:

Flat = One note. Not much to notice.
Weak = Flavorless.
Sharp = Hits hard, then goes nowhere.

IS IT...BALANCED?

Balance doesn’t mean all things are
equal. It just means there’s a great
ratio between acidity, sweetness, and
bitterness.

NOT:

Too bitter=Harsh or burnt.
Too acidic=Sour.
Too sweet=Cloying.

IS IT...BRIGHT?

Bright means the coffee is pleasantly
acidic. It can be described as zingy,
light, floral, or fruity. Light roasts
have the most brightness.

NOT:

Sour, acrid, harsh, or chemically.
Too much of a good thing is a
bad thing.

IS IT...RICH?

Roasty. Toasty. Nutty. Smoky. A little bitterness creates depth. The organic Arabica beans we use are naturally less bitter than other coffee varieties.

NOT:

Burnt. Other coffee companies
overroast in order to hide lower
quality beans or to create consis-
tency among beans that were
picked at the wrong time.