Floral notes in coffee exemplify the connection between taste and smell. Describing the taste of a specific flower is near impossible…we always default to “it tastes like it smells” which, admittedly, isn’t the most helpful. Floral notes are primarily a delicate, aromatic quality – aim for a lighter roast and take a deep whiff as you sip to emphasize the florals in your coffee. A visit to your local nursery to smell flowers associated with coffee will help you to better distinguish between different types of floral notes. Florals range from those common to wine and beer (particularly, those from hops / estersAn ester is an often fragrant organic or partially organic compound formed by the reaction between an acid (including amino acids) and an alcohol. They play a smaller... ...more) to those found in teas. Unlike tea, coffee is never literally scented by drying with flowers, so there is an unpredictable nature to the occurence of floral aromatics and flavors. That said, they are most often found in wet-process Ethiopian coffee in my experience, and the roast must be light enough not to obscure them. Coffee flowers themselves are supremely scented, bearing resemblance to milder forms of JasmineA very positive and intensely floral quality in coffee, usually with a strong aromatic component, reminiscent of jasmine flower or tea. There are many forms of jasmine; the... ...more!
Types Of Florals Common In Coffee Aromatics and Flavor
- Jasmine: a powerful and penetrating floral scent, found in some Ethiopian coffees, and similar varieties (GeshaGesha is a long-bean Ethiopia selection with unique cup character. Gesha is the name of the town in Western Ethiopia where the original samples were collected. Spelling it... ...more) from GuatemalaGuatemalan coffee is considered a top quality coffee producer in Central America. Due to our proximity to Guatemala, some of the nicest coffees from this origin come to... ...more, PanamaPanama coffee ranges from medium quality lower altitude farms to those at 1600 - 1800 meters centered in the area of Boquete in the Chirqui district near the... ...more, ColombiaColombian coffee is highly marketed and widely available in the US. They have been largely successful at equating the name Colombian Coffee with "Good" Coffee. This is half-true.... ...more.
- Honeysuckle: a classic floral scent but milder and more delicate than jasmine, found in EthiopiaEthiopia, formerly known as Abyssinia, or a coffee cultivar: Ethiopia, or more specifically the Empire under Haile Selassie, was known as Abyssinia. The name is Latin, derived from... ...more, some Guatemala
- Fruit blossoms: a varietyA botanical variety is a rank in the taxonomic hierarchy below the rank of species and subspecies and above the rank of form (form / variety / subspecies... ...more of types, namely stone fruit and cherryEither a flavor in the coffee, or referring to the fruit of the coffee tree, which somewhat resembles a red cherry.: Either a flavor in the coffee, or... ...more, sometimes found in KenyaKenya is the East African powerhouse of the coffee world. Both in the cup, and the way they run their trade, everything is topnotch.: Kenya is the East... ...more, BurundiBurundi coffee bears resemblance to neighboring Rwanda, in both cup character, but also the culture surrounding coffee. Burundi is a small landlocked country at the crossroads of East... ...more, RwandaA Bourbon cultivar variant from Rwanda and Burundi. Bourbon coffees are named for the island in the India Ocean where French colonists grew it. Some history from the... ...more
- Wildflowers: a more dusky and herbalA flavor descriptor in coffee reminiscent of herbs, usually meaning aromatic, savory, leafy dried herbs. Usually, more specific descriptions are given, whether is is a floral herb, or... ...more floral profile, found sometimes in dry-process Ethiopia, Central America, etc.