Palate Training: Berries Recap

We had a great time hosting our third palate training at the shop today! Focusing on Sun-Dried Processing and Berries, Aria and Caleb walked through the basics of how we taste, coffee processing, and then compared the different berries to each other and KLLR Coffee’s Sun-Dried Ethiopia!

We use palate trainings as a way to share coffee with friends and demystify the idea that tasting notes in coffee is only for real coffee drinkers. Your palate is shaped by the foods you like and don’t like, the experiences you’ve had, and the number of coffees you’ve drank.

How We Taste

Aria took us back to Elementary school to remind us of the five parts of taste (sour, sweet, salty, bitter, & savory or umami) and then discussed how aromatics, tactile sensations like body or mouthfeel, and involuntary reactions like puckering can influence our perception of taste. In short, blueberries taste like our perception of blueberries. If we think critically about what we are tasting: examining the sourness, sweetness, aroma, etc. of each item, we can relate the different attributes of that food to things like wine, cheese, or coffee!

Sun-Dried Processing

Processing refers to the process of transforming coffee from coffee cherry to coffee bean, ready to be roasted. In the Sun-Dried process, coffee cherries are picked and dried on raised beds with the fruit still attached to seeds. This drying process imparts wild flavors onto the beans that are vibrant, juicy, and sweet.

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