There are fewer compounds affecting gustatory perception than there are aromatic compounds. These sensations are perceived by our taste buds in very different ways. Further, these compounds also interact with the brain at different rates and in different patterns. Early in their training, professional cuppers gain knowledge that some parts of the mouth, palate and […]
Articles Tagged: Gustation
The Basics of Coffee Sensory
There are more than 400 organic and inorganic chemical compounds present in coffee, and not one can be regarded as the principle flavoring agent. This makes coffee rather intriguing and complex. Interestingly, many of the chemical components, when separated and concentrated, have highly objectionable flavors. Many of the natural components of coffee’s flavor are unstable […]
Understanding Gustation
The Four Basic Tastes Gustation is the taste sense whose receptors lie in the mucous membrane covering the tongue and whose stimuli consist of soluble chemical compounds. As a general rule, the tongue can detect four basic tastes. Sweet Characterized by solutions of sugars, alcohols, lycols and some acids. Sweet is perceived primarily by the fungiform […]
Primary Taste Sensations
Taste Modulation and the 6 Primary Taste Sensations Through a process called taste modulation, the basic taste sensations interact with one another, depending on the relative strength of each. In gustation, there are six combinations that can occur. Sweet, sour and salt taste interact and form the following combinations: Acids increase the sweetness of sugars […]
Gustation Terms
Acidy A primary taste sensation related to the presence of sweet-tasting compounds. Created as acids in the coffee combine with sugars to increase the brew’s overall sweetness. A characteristic found most often in washed Arabica coffees grown above 1,200 masl, such as Colombian Supremo. Acidy coffees range in taste from piquant to nippy, with the […]