How to Properly Taste Coffee

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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Just like wine, the taste and quality of coffee can be very complex. Knowing how to properly taste coffee is the first step in understanding these complexities. Distinguishing the characteristics of good coffee takes practice and research.

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Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Fresh whole beans
Grinder
Tea pot
Tablespoon
Two 8 oz. porcelain coffee cups
Coffee spoon

Step 1

Ground whole bean coffee into medium coarse grounds.
Step 2

Put 2 heaping tablespoons of grounds into an 8-oz. coffee cup.
Step 3

Pour 6 oz. of water that is close to boiling (about 200 degrees) and let it steep for 2 to 3 minutes. At this point, the coffee should form a crust of grounds.
Step 4

Use your spoon to push aside the grounds and collect the freshly brewed coffee.
Step 5

Take a good strong slurp to pull the coffee from the spoon into your mouth.
Step 6

Swish the coffee gently around your mouth and note the taste, smell and feel of the coffee.
Step 7

Spit the coffee out into the second coffee cup and note the after-taste of the coffee to determine how it finishes.

Tips & Warnings

To properly taste more that one coffee, rinse your mouth out with water in between tastings.
Your sense of smell plays an important role in properly tasting coffee. Make sure there are no strong odors around that could interfere with your coffee tasting.
Use fresh whole beans. Porcelain coffee cups are the best to use when tasting and drinking coffee.

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