The coffee flavor wheel is one of the most valuable tools in the coffee industry, and the SCAA flavor wheel has received its first comprehensive update after 21 years since its creation. This revision relied on deep collaboration between the World Coffee Research organization and SCAA, bringing together the collective wisdom of sensory experts, scientists, buyers, and roasters, making it arguably the largest and most collaborative flavor wheel research project in history. The new version not only restructured the logic of flavor classification but also added a large number of fruit and plant-related descriptors. This article will guide you through the structure and meaning of the old flavor wheel, compare the changes in the new version, and interpret the industry trends behind the newly added flavors. Whether you are a beginner just getting into specialty coffee or a seasoned enthusiast, you can gain a clear framework for understanding flavors from this.
The coffee flavor wheel can be considered one of the most valuable tools in the coffee field, and the SCAA flavor wheel has only undergone its first revision after 21 years since its introduction. This update was driven by the joint efforts of the World Coffee Research organization and SCAA, bringing together the participation of many members of professional sensory institutions, researchers, coffee buyers, and roasting companies. This research is unprecedented in scale and highly collaborative, giving rise to a batch of new terminology related to the industry and professional fields. This groundbreaking tool will change the way the specialty coffee industry thinks about using the flavor wheel.
So, the new coffee flavor wheel has arrived—are you all ready? Not caught up yet? No worries, let's first review the old flavor wheel together!
Friends who love specialty coffee are surely familiar with this SCAA flavor wheel, but many people report that they find it hard to understand. Today, let's briefly break down the structure of the flavor wheel and the meaning it conveys.
The old flavor wheel consists of two parts: negative flavors on the left and regular flavors on the right.
Let's look at the left side first. It's not hard to see that the flavor descriptions listed on the left are mostly unpleasant types, and the flavor wheel directly categorizes these undesirable flavors. Where do these flavors come from? In fact, there are quite a few factors in coffee that lead to poor flavor and taste, from fresh fruit harvesting, post-processing, green bean storage to roasting—every step can leave an impact. For example, not removing rotten or unripe fruits during harvesting, over-fermentation or improper drying temperatures during post-processing, uncontrolled hygiene conditions and humidity during green bean storage, and inappropriate roasting levels or methods—all of these will ultimately produce negative flavors and drag down the taste of a cup of coffee. The old flavor wheel provided detailed classification and description of negative flavors that may appear under various circumstances.
Next, let's look at the right side of the old flavor wheel. The right side is mainly divided into two major sections: mouthfeel and aroma, extending outward from there. In terms of mouthfeel, the core is divided into four categories: sour, sweet, bitter, and salty. These four senses come from the taste buds in our mouths. On this basis, the intensity and pleasantness of these four types of taste bud sensations are further described. The aroma section on the right is far richer than mouthfeel, because aroma is perceived through the sense of smell. I believe everyone knows that the nose can capture far more information than taste buds. The complexity of aroma is absolutely a hundred times greater than that of taste. What we usually call apple flavor is actually smelled by the nose, while the sweetness of the apple is what the taste buds taste. If you are interested in sensory topics like this, I recommend reading the book "Taste Hunters"—you might want to find a copy and flip through it.
Next, let's talk about the new flavor wheel. Upon closer observation, you'll find that it has changed from two graphics in the old version to a complete circular ring. For comparison, many of the negative flavor descriptions on the left side of the old version no longer appear in the new version. At the same time, a large number of flavors have been added. Yes, it's like playing "spot the difference"—comparing the old and new versions side by side, we find these newly added flavors: strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, chamomile, jasmine, grapefruit, lime, coconut, pineapple, cherry, pomegranate, grape, peach, pear, black tea, vanilla, olive oil, raw, fresh, under ripe, dark green (similar to broccoli, kale, spinach), peapod, herb like, and so on.
It can be seen that the new flavor wheel has added quite a few fruit-related descriptions. In fact, these descriptions were already in use before the flavor wheel was updated. Some of the newly added raw, plant-like adjectives may stem from flavor descriptions extended by certain overly light roasts currently popular, and these are also often mentioned in daily communication. This globally used flavor wheel, which can be considered the common language of the coffee world, will naturally adjust and improve in response to updates and trends within the industry.
Article source: FrontStreet Coffee; image source: SCAA official website.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
