Train your palate like a barista: how to

Making a good coffee is a skill to perfect over time, but there is something that is underestimated by the ones who already have a good coffee machine and a precise grinder: the ability to read what they’re drinking. To do so, they should train their palate.

If you don’t have the possibility to follow specific courses or lessons, you could start from our suggestions that will turn each cup into a moment of aware observation.

Everything starts from water

The first exercise requires you to pay attention to water. Start by drinking different brands of mineral water, comparing them one next to the other. Some taste flat or neutral, some are a little bit saltier, some others have an iron or scale aftertaste. To learn how to discern these subtle differences is the starting point for the development of a sensitivity that you could then transfer to coffee.

Learning about coffee

Cupping is a professional tasting technique used by roasters or Q-Grader to evaluate coffee. In its home-version we simplify it, keeping its utility. You’ll need:

– 2 or 3 different coffees, part of the same category (for example, 2 African mono-origin, or 2 blends for espresso)
– 1 grinder
– 93° C (200° F) water
– 2 or 3 cups

To start, grind coffee with a coarse granulometry and pour it in a cup. Pour hot water over ground coffee, wait 4 minutes, and break the layer formed on the surface with a teaspoon. Smell it and then taste, take a sip by slurping coffee to spread it evenly on the tongue.

The goal is not to judge which coffee is better, but to note the different flavor notes: where you find the acidity, if the aftertaste is light or strong, if there is a sweet or a bitter note at the end.   The direct comparison is the strongest tool to develop a sensory memory.

To build a library of sensations

The aromatic profiles of specialty coffee could be described as reminiscing of raspberries, apricots, dark chocolate and nuts, and even jasmine. These references are not poetic, they are precise. And, to recognize them in the cup, it’s essential to acknowledge them outside the cup.

A concrete exercise can be buying fresh fruit (oranges, berries, apples, bananas) and savour them slowly, paying attention to where you find the acidity or the sweetness in your mouth.  The same can be done with spices (cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, vanilla, nutmeg) by smelling them one at a time, with care. For the floral and herbal scents, it is important to be curious and notice the scents that we encounter (freshly cut grass, jasmine, rose, …). In this way, one can build a personal library of scents and sensations that becomes useful during tasting.

To keep a tasting diary

Sensory memory doesn’t last forever. An impression on the palate that might seem neat at first, might vanish later, especially if you are at the beginning of your tasting journey and you still don’t have many words to describe flavors.

Our suggestion is to note down every session – the coffee you use, the granulometry, the temperature, and, most of all, the perceived feelings. This helps in building a personal archive that can be helpful for tracking progress, patterns, preferences. There is no suggested format: a few notes can be enough to keep the sensations alive for the moment, but also recognizable for the future.

Patience is part of the method: training your tastebuds requires time, and results are not linear. Some days, everything seems clear and some other days the cup stays…silent. It’s normal, what matters is to keep practicing and be curious. You will notice that what changes is the quality of your attention, cup after cup, session after session. And that is, after all, what matters the most.