Why does the SCAA coffee flavor wheel keep changing?

The SCAA coffee flavor wheel has been the reference tool for describing coffee since 1995, when the first edition arrived with separate positive and negative wheels and listed around 90 analogous flavor substances. It gave the industry one shared vocabulary. A 2016 update rebuilt the wheel on sensory testing and released a more consumer-friendly layout, and localized versions later appeared in Taiwan, Indonesia, and elsewhere.

For the 2016 version, SCAA worked with World Coffee Research, Kansas State University, a German university of applied sciences, and industry representatives. The teams tested 105 samples from 13 producing countries to build the World Coffee Research Sensory Lexicon, then worked with the University of California, Davis on the method. That is why the words to describe coffee shifted toward everyday language.

The coffee flavor wheel is an important tool in learning about specialty coffee. From SCAA's first edition in 1995, to the updated version in 2016, to localized adaptations in Taiwan, Indonesia, and elsewhere, as well as simplified versions aimed at consumers, the flavor wheel has continuously evolved. This article reviews the characteristics and limitations of each version, explores how to use the flavor wheel to more accurately taste and describe coffee, and understands how cultural differences affect flavor perception.

In the process of learning about specialty coffee, many people are deeply impressed by a colorful circle. It is the SCAA 2016 Coffee Flavor Wheel that countless students both love and hate. In fact, this is already a simplified result; the original 1995 version of the flavor wheel was divided into two parts, one being the positive flavor wheel and the other the negative flavor wheel.

Why is the SCAA coffee flavor wheel regarded as an industry authority?

In 1995, SCAA launched the first edition of the coffee flavor wheel, providing the industry with a unified reference standard and ending the situation where everyone spoke a different language. This version of the flavor wheel basically covered the flavor expressions coffee beans might present and roughly listed the directional reasons why these flavors arise.

1995 edition SCAA Coffee Flavor Wheel

This version of the flavor wheel explicitly listed as many as 90 analogous flavor substances, mainly aimed at coffee-related professionals, making it convenient for everyone to communicate on the same "channel" and giving a clear definition of coffee flavor. The SCAA coffee flavor wheel gradually became a widely recognized industry authority.

In 2016, SCAA released an updated version of the coffee flavor wheel. The lineup participating in this update could be called luxurious. SCAA first joined forces with the World Coffee Research (WCR), Kansas State University, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Germany, and coffee industry representatives to conduct flavor analysis and testing on 105 different samples from 13 coffee-producing countries, compiling the World Coffee Research Sensory Lexicon as the foundation for the new flavor wheel.

Afterward, SCAA collaborated with a team from the University of California, Davis, adopting a novel adaptation of traditional sensory and statistical methods, in which 72 experts ranked the flavor attributes in the lexicon. The data was compiled and arranged into a wheel, and this was the new 2016 coffee flavor wheel.

2016 edition SCAA Ground Coffee Flavor Wheel

The new flavor wheel merged the old version's two wheels into one, condensed the negative flavors, and at the same time distinguished more positive flavors in greater detail, with a total of 85 analogous flavor substances on the wheel. Compared with the version 21 years earlier, the number was somewhat reduced, but the level of refinement was higher.

Of course, the 2016 coffee flavor wheel is also more visually refined. This beautiful flavor wheel we see came from the London creative agency One Darnley Road. Every color and shade was carefully selected to match the corresponding flavor more closely.

Limitations of the SCAA Coffee Flavor Wheel

To a large extent, the flavor wheel created by SCAA referred to common American flavor analogies, such as grapefruit, cherry, prune, maple syrup, and so on. These are things that can be seen and tasted in daily life in the United States, but they are not common domestically. Therefore, when we see a coffee described as having grapefruit, maple syrup, and other flavors, it is often difficult to imagine the specific taste. This is precisely the drawback brought by linguistic and cultural differences.

For this reason, some regions with developed specialty coffee culture have localized the coffee flavor wheel. Take Taiwan and Indonesia as examples:

Taiwan Coffee Laboratory released a flavor wheel suitable for Taiwan in 2018, with a total of 95 flavor substances. These include roasted-type flavors such as soy sauce and meaty notes, common East Asian plants such as ginseng and cedar, and in the fruit category they also added local specialty fruits such as longan, wax apple, durian, jujube, and smoked plum (a Southeast Asian delicacy).

The person in charge of Taiwan Coffee Laboratory also said: "Words such as jujube, roselle, dried longan, sweet fermented rice, and osmanthus are commonly used in Taiwanese cupping; but to a foreign cupper they seem very unfamiliar." The Indonesian local coffee flavor wheel includes 36 aroma references and 82 sensory descriptions. It breaks down many spice details into subcategories, whereas in the SCAA version there are only 6 spice categories.

Mr. Kristian, who participated in developing the Indonesian coffee flavor wheel, said that Indonesia is a major producer of spices, which helps Indonesian cuppers identify more different flavors in coffee; the spice flavor in coffee may cause problems or be too intense, but it should not lose points in the flavor column, and you can give a low score in the balance item. If people can better appreciate spice flavors, that is a good thing.

In the SCA-approved aromatic memory kit, the 36-aroma Le Nez du Café, coffee pulp aroma is classified as a defect. This means that the smell of coffee pulp is generally considered a negative sensory attribute. Kristian believes this must be premised on washed-process coffee. If washed beans show the smell of coffee pulp, it is indeed hard to tolerate. But if it is sun-dried or honey-processed coffee, the aroma of coffee pulp is an uplifting note.

Therefore, for us on the other side of the ocean, because of differences in culture, diet, and so on, it is even harder to understand the American version of the coffee flavor wheel, and this is actually a normal phenomenon. But what can be certain is that the SCAA coffee flavor wheel is very scientific and has greatly promoted the coffee industry.

Flavor Wheel for Consumers

Although the SCAA coffee flavor wheel is scientific and comprehensive, to ordinary consumers it is like a book without words. The Belgian roasting company Cuperus released a consumer coffee flavor wheel, greatly simplifying the coffee flavor wheel as we usually know it. It contains only six categories: bright fruity, nutty, sweet fruity, floral, chocolate, and spice-vanilla.

If you are observant, you may notice that these 6 categories are not exactly the most common types of coffee flavors in our daily lives, and they also echo the major positive flavor categories in the 2016 new coffee flavor wheel. Using this simple flavor wheel can help consumers understand more easily. Helping more people understand coffee flavor is the role of today's coffee flavor wheel, and the localization and simplification of the flavor wheel are the beginning of popularization.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.