What’s the Specialty Coffee Association Flavour Wheel?

Do you consider yourself to be a coffee connoisseur? Do you know your beans, blends, roasts, brews and different types of coffee drinks? There’s a lot to understand about coffee and some research suggests that its flavour profile is even more complex than wine.

Similar to wine sommeliers, people also make a living from tasting coffee. These professionals are known under titles like Master Taster or Coffee Cupper. It’s a fine art that demands extensive training. It also demands a sensitive palate that’s developed through experience and experimentation with coffee. We take a look at the many facets of coffee and specifically, The Specialty Coffee Wheel which is a vital tool used in coffee cupping sessions used to identify and describe the flavours and aromas in coffee.

What’s coffee cupping?

Coffee tasting or cupping itself can be done by anyone and it’s not limited to professionals. There are lots of guides online on coffee cupping for beginners – this one is a great place to start. 

Put simply, coffee cupping is the process of analysing and determining the flavour, aroma, and quality of coffee beans. Basic things to look out for when tasting coffee include the following:

*Flavour
*Aroma
*Acidity
*Sweetness and bitterness
*Body or mouth-feel
*Aftertaste

What’s the Specialty Coffee Association Flavour Wheel?

If you want to get a bit more technical with your coffee tasting, you’ll want to make yourself familiar with The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA)’s Coffee Taster’s Flavour Wheel. Developed in 1995, it is arguably one of the most iconic resources in the coffee industry.

It’s been the industry standard for over two decades and has been translated into many different languages all over the world. In 2016, it was updated in collaboration with World Coffee Research (WCR).

It’s the product of dozens of professional sensory panellists, scientists, coffee buyers, and roasting companies. This specialist research team tasted around 100 coffees and identified their attributes over the course of a year. Today, the wheel continues to inspire a whole new set of vocabulary for coffee industry professionals.

You’ll likely have seen this iconic bright and colourful kaleidoscope-style wheel online or hung in coffee shops, coffee businesses, roasteries and in homes everywhere. It consists of more than 100 descriptors laid out in a 360-degree diagram and helps to create a common language around coffee’s aroma, flavour, and texture.

Coffee Tasters Flavour Wheel from the Speciality Coffee Association

How to use the Specialty Coffee Association Flavour Wheel

As a tool, the Specialty Coffee Association Flavour Wheel is intuitive and enjoyable to use. According to the SCA, the Flavour Wheel can be used in casual or professional coffee cupping.

The wheel’s design encourages users to start at the centre and work their way outward. The most general taste descriptors are located near the centre, and they get more specific as the tiers work outward.

Users can stop anywhere, but the further outward they go, the more specific the description will be. The inside tier gives the nine general flavours, the middle tier gives what are called umbrella terms, and the outer ring is made up of specific descriptors.

An important point to note is that “flavour” doesn’t just mean taste. The SCA explains, “‘Flavour’ is defined as a combination of taste and smell. The flavour wheel contains attributes on the entire continuum between basic tastes (those things perceived only by the tongue) to pure aromatics (those things that only can be smelled).”

So as you taste your coffee and consider the flavour wheel, make sure that you pay attention to the complete sensory experience.

What do the colours mean?

You should also consider the bright and vivid colours on the wheel. Sense of taste and smell are closely connected to what we see. The colours have been specifically chosen to be evocative of various flavour notes. For example, dark chocolate is dark brown, cherries are red, lemon is yellow, apple is green and so on. Ultimately, the more you use the wheel, the more you’ll associate certain tasting notes with certain colours and shades.

At the end of the day, coffee tasting should be fun so whilst the coffee wheel might seem overwhelming at first, just try and relax and enjoy the process.

Discover More: What happens at a coffee tasting?

What’s the right coffee for my office?

The type of coffee you enjoy naturally comes down to personal preference. If you’re an office or facilities manager who’s choosing coffee for the entire office, you’ll want to opt for a crowd-pleasing blend. There are lots of great quality beans and blends out there and having quality coffee can support your overarching office culture.

We recommend firstly trialling a couple of different coffees to understand what’s popular in the office. We have a wide range of premium coffees to choose from. Plus, we’ve colour-coded and grouped our coffees into five blend families to help you choose. Lighter on the scale will give you a more fruity and complex coffee experience. And the blends at the bolder end of the scale will have more body and intensity.

Our expert team is each Speciality Coffee Association trained, and we offer free ‘Discovery’ sessions. You can choose to visit one of our CoffeeCafé experience centres, or we can come to your office.

Alternatively, why not join us for one of our regular Coffee Experience Sessions in London? During these sessions, you’ll learn a bit about the history of coffee and have machine demos so you can understand how easy each machine is to operate and maintain. And you’ll taste coffee of course, and try out some unique office coffee drinks that you think will suit your requirements.

Get in touch

If you’re ready to learn more about coffee and elevate your office coffee experience, the first step is to get in touch with our team. We’ll be happy to work with you so you can find the perfect office coffee solution.