Coffee Terms - Glossary
Acidity: (Cupping) This is one of the principal categories judged by professional tasters in the evaluation of the coffee bean. Acidity is a positive highly desirable quality that refers to the pleasant high notes sharpness, brightness, snap, life and vibrancy contained of the coffee beverage.
Aftertaste: (Cupping) It is the aromatic impression that the coffee vapors leave in the mouth after swallowing and is sometimes called finish.
Americano- shots of espresso with hot water added to make a full cup of coffee
Arabica: (Botany) Coffea arabica L.- A coffee tree species that contributes about 70% of today’s coffee bean market and is considered dramatically superior in cup quality to other species, including Coffea Canephora (Robusta).
Aroma- A word referring to how coffee is tasted. The aroma (smell) of a coffee is directly linked to how it is perceived on the tongue.
Balance: (Cupping) A well-balanced coffee that contains all the basic characteristics but at the right level of intensity.
Barista: An Italian term for a skilful, experienced and professional espresso coffee maker.
Basic Tastes: (Cupping) The four basic tastes are identified as 1.Sweet (e.g. sucrose), 2. Sour (e.g. tartaric acid), 3.Salt (e.g. sodium chloride), and 4.Bitter (e.g. quinine).
Belly-buttons: A one-way-valve moulded into the plastic flexible air tight roasted coffee bean bags, that allows the remaining carbon dioxide (degassing) to escape whilst preventing oxygen from the ambient air from entering the bag.
Bird Friendly: (Farming) A marketing seal awarded by the Smithsonian Institution in the US and controlled by the National Audubon Society. Is a term used, when marketing coffee, which identifies coffee that is grown under a shady canopy
Blade Grinder: Describes a domestic coffee grinder that uses propeller-like blades to pulverize the roasted coffee beans into ground coffee.
Blend: (Marketing) A mixture of two or more individual varieties of single-origin coffees either before or after roasting.
Body: (Cupping) This strong but pleasant mouth-feel descriptor does not refer to the density of the liquid but more the tactile impression of the weight, texture and consistency (viscosity, heaviness, thickness, or richness) the coffee has on the back of the tongue.
Bourbon: (Botany) Coffea arabica L. 'Bourbon'. A botanical variety or cultivar of Coffea Arabica which was first cultivated on the French controlled island of Bourbon.
Brew Temperature: It is generally believed that the temperature of between 190 and 205F (at sea level) is needed to extract the most desirable coffee oil from the ground coffee beans.
Brew Time: This is the time it takes to extract a shot of espresso from the ground coffee from the moment of engagement to shut down and is generally between 20 to 25 seconds.
Brewing: Any method of making a coffee beverage using fresh water and ground roasted coffee beans. There are many different ways of brewing coffee that originate from all over the world. The most common way of brewing in America is using an auto drip coffee maker.
Burr Grinder: An adjustable commercial coffee grinder with two identical, tempered steel, toothed discs with sharp ridges or burrs that are positioned facing each other.
Cafe Au Lait - Sometimes called a "misto" - a way to serve coffee from France, coffee with steamed milk and a small amount of foam added.
Caffe Latte or “Latte”: A ‘premium milk coffee experience’. Traditionally served in glass.
Caffe Mocha: A combination of chocolate syrup and a shot of espresso, topped with steamed milk and a layer of micro-foam. Finished with a sprinkled of chocolate.
Caffeine: Is an odorless, bitter white alkaloid naturally occurring in coffee beans. Produces the kick!
Cappuccino: or “Cap”: A ‘traditional morning heart starter’. Cuppuccino is a shot of espresso together with steamed milk and topped with a velvet foam crested during the milk heating/aerating process. Often finished with a sprinkle of fine sweet chocolate powder.
Chicory: It is a bitter-acid/sweetish tasting additive derived from roasting the root of the blue flowering chicory plant.
Coffee Oil: This is the essence of coffee. It is formed in the bean during the roasting process.
Coffee Sommeliers: (Cupping) A term taken from the wine tasting and refers to professionals of the highest level in coffee tasting whose task it is to identify coffee’s characteristics and determine its quality.
Conical Grinding Blades: These are two blades of different shape. The first is a truncated cone-shaped blade which is fitted to the motor shaft. The second is cylindrical on the outside, but on the inside it is the reversed shape of the flat blade.
Crema: (Coffee Making) Is the creamy caramel, reddish-brown coloured micro-foam layering the top of a recently extracted shot of espresso.
Cupping. (Cupping) A term used by coffee professionals to describe their activity of sensory evaluation by sipping brewed coffees in order to grade their qualities. Coffees are graded on the quality of Aroma, Acidity, Body, and Flavor.
Decaffeinated Coffee: (Decaffeination) Coffee beans that have had its naturally occurring caffeine removed. USA and EU laws only allow this description to be applied to coffee beans that meet the 97% removal benchmark.
Defects: (Grading) A term used in the green bean grading process to identify unacceptable beans caused by natural and human failures in the picking, processing, drying, sorting, storage, or transportation stages of green coffee bean production.
Degassing: (Roasting) A natural occurring process in which recently roasted coffee releases carbon dioxide gas. This occurs intensively in the first 48 hours and then slowly over the next 7 to 10 days.
Demitasse: (Coffee Making) A small or three-ounce cup primarily used for serving a traditional shot of espresso. The term is taken from a French word "demi de tasse" meaning, a 'half cup'. The demitasse can be made of glass, stainless steel, ceramic or porcelain.
Dosage/Dose: The amount of ground coffee dispensed from the grinder in order to make espresso coffee.
Dry Processed Coffee: (Green Bean Processing) It is a process where the red coffee cherries are laid out to dry on patios in the sun after harvesting.
Drying: (Green Bean Processing) The process of bringing the moisture content of the coffee bean down from about 50% to 12%.
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Coffee Terms