Where Do Floral Notes in Coffee Come From?

Coffee flowers are pure white with five or six petals, arranged in clusters, and they carry a light, sweet scent that fades quickly. That aroma is what tasters reach for when they use floral words to describe coffee flavor, drawing on jasmine, gardenia or thyme as reference points rather than naming one exact bloom.

Botanically, the coffee tree belongs to the Rubiaceae family, the same family as gardenia but a different genus. In the early 17th century, botanists naming Arabica noted its flowers carried the fragrance of Arabian jasmine and the leaf shape of laurel, so the first botanical name was Jasminum arabicanum. The flower scent resembles ripe peach flesh: elegant, rounded and short-lived.

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No matter the field, things with floral fragrance always seem so unique—both because the fragrance of flowers can heal the heart, and because flowers, as a distinctive carrier of emotion, can resonate with people. Even coffee is the same.

Looking back, before ever seeing a real coffee flower, Front Street came to know the scent of coffee flowers through Le Nez du Café No. 12—Coffee Blossom. From it, Front Street sensed a sweetness like peach flesh, elegant and rounded, like biting into a just-ripened juicy peach.

In the early 17th century, when botanists were naming Arabica coffee, they noticed that the flowers blooming on the coffee tree "have the fragrance of Arabian jasmine and the leaf shape of laurel." Therefore, the first botanical name for Arabica coffee was "Arabian Jasmine" (Jasminum arabicanum). It seems coffee flowers and jasmine are indeed very similar.

From a botanical perspective, the coffee tree belongs to the Rubiaceae family, the same family as gardenia, but not the same genus, so the plants look somewhat similar. In terms of scent, however, compared with the rich, dense fragrance of gardenia, the aroma of coffee flowers is much lighter.

When it comes to tasting coffee flavors, it isn't easy to capture in time and identify exactly which specific flower it is; the blended scent is unique and hard to put into words. The aroma or tasting experience reminds one of the pleasant scent of white flowers, but for a moment there's no accurate way to describe exactly what it is—so it's called "white floral." Besides coffee flowers and jasmine, there are also white roses, white camellias, white magnolias, pear blossoms, lemon blossoms, plum blossoms, and so on—this is a very large flower group.

The floral notes in coffee are mainly divided into three types: heavy/muted aroma, subtle aroma, and fresh aroma. Below, Front Street introduces different floral types based on coffee bean categories, so you can choose for yourself.

1. Recommended: Front Street Panama Geisha coffee, Front Street washed Yirgacheffe coffee, and Front Street Gedeb Gode. These coffees have obviouswhite floral notes and are typical representatives of the fresh aroma type;

If you want to taste coffee with pink floral notes, we recommend Front Street Colombia Sidra and Front Street Costa Rica Bach;

2. The subtle aroma type is most classic with sweet rose. We recommend Front Street Emerald Red Label Geisha coffee and Front Street Strawberry Candy coffee, which carry this kind of floral note and smell soothing;

3. The heavy/muted aroma type has a slightly pungent scent and may prick the nose at first. Chamomile and osmanthus are typical representatives. If you'd like to experience it, we suggest buying Front Street Mozart coffee and Front Street Gold Label Geisha coffee.

As a rare flavor in specialty coffee, floral notes have always been something coffee lovers chase. The formation of floral notes partly depends on the coffee variety, cultivation, and the degree of fermentation in post-processing, while roasting is a very key step in controlling the intensity of floral notes.

As the roast degree deepens, substances in the coffee gradually transform, and floral notes are easily worn away. Therefore, from the perspective of roasting alone, light to medium roasts usually preserve floral notes better. Medium-light roasted coffee has softer flavors and a lighter body, making it easier to perceive floral notes when tasting.

Generally speaking, floral notes tend to appear when grinding coffee grounds and during the blooming stage, and are especially obvious in the medium-to-low temperature range of the brewed coffee. When tasting, you might compare it with flowers you've encountered and see which tone the flavor you perceive belongs to.

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