Wet Aroma

Smelling the crust on the cups, part 1 of judging the wet aromatics (part 2 is breaking the crust with the spoon).
Smelling the crust on the cups, part 1 of judging the wet aromatics (part 2 is breaking the crust with the spoon). From Left it is me, Andrew Barnett, Joel Pollock, Steve, and Ramond. Not sure why they put all the gringos together at one table, but Spain was all together too. Korea and Japan were split between 2 tables.

In cupping, wet aroma refers to the smell of wet coffee grinds, after hot water is added. It can involve smelling the “crust” (floating coffee grounds) on the coffee, as well as “breaking the crust”, when a spoon is pushed through the crust to release aroma, and slightly stirred.

The aromatics of a coffee greatly influence it’s flavor profile, and comes from the perception of the gases released by brewed coffee. Aroma is greatest in the middle roasts and is quickly overtaken by carbony smells in darker roasts.

Aroma is distinct from the dry fragrance from the coffee grounds; in general fragrance describes things we do not eat (like perfume) and aroma pertains to food and beverage we consume. Aromatics as a term may encompass the entire aroma experience of a coffee. Aromatics are a huge part of flavor perception (remember the ‘hold your nose and eat an onion experiment). Aromatics reach the olfactory bulb through the nose and “retro-nasally” through the opening in the back of our palate. While some taste is sapid, perceived through the tongue and palate via papillae, or taste buds, most of flavor quality is perceived through the olfactory bulb.

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