Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/491371
50 STiR tea & coffee industry international Consumer comprehension? SCAA Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel posters and open-to-the-public cuppings have become familiar sights in settings where curious consumers mingle with their favorite roasters or baristas. For many such businesses, inviting the general public to join in is just smart strategy: When you can help some- one put words to a new and pleasurable sensation, you connect your brand and your product to that experience. Still, to engage with consumers about flavor can backfire. As Gail Vance Civille, president of Sensory Spectrum, Inc., described in her presenta- tion at the 2014 SCAA Symposium, when a cus- tomer learns flavor descriptors, they may make statements that misuse those terms. "Baristas are probably in the most challeng- ing position due to their knowledge of coffee qual- ity and product attributes but are interacting with consumers who vary greatly in their coffee knowl- edge," Hallien said. At Counter Culture Coffee training centers, a cupping is held every Friday at 10 a.m.. As Counter Culture's coffee buyer and quality manager, Timo- thy Hill has plenty of practice talking about flavor with colleagues and consumers. Whether training someone new to cupping protocols or a member of the public, he stresses how important it is to keep description on a level that is easy to under- stand. "We're not super flowery [with flavor lan- guage]," said Hill. "We try to focus on things that are most perceptible to people who are new to more nuanced coffees." Felicia Tiller, manager of Rising Star Coffee's newest location in Cleveland, Ohio, explained a less formal approach: "On any given day, an inter- ested coffee lover could walk in to find us hovered over a series of cupping bowls, clipboards in hand, or squinting at a refractometer. In those situations, any interested parties are encouraged to join in. Usually one of us will notice the curious look on their faces and just hand them a spoon." The SCAA wheel can be confusing or intimidat- ing for those who do not understand the analysis and design approach that went into creating it. "[Consumers don't] understand what enzy- matic smells like," said Hill. "I don't know what enzymatic smells like, but it's a descriptor on the SCAA flavor wheel." This confusion is why Hill spearheaded the creation of the Counter Culture Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel, though he admitted some mistakes were made with the first edition produced. "Somehow, we left off blackberry, which is a descriptor we use very often, and cardamom, which I don't use very often but I know a lot of cuppers who do," said Hill. Updates to the Counter Culture wheel are al- ready in the works to address those omissions. The future of flavor Fixing what was not quite right in the first edi- tion of the Counter Culture Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel is just part of what the company is doing. Hill is working with a small group of people to translate it into other languages and to redraw it based on descriptors in other languages. Hill said, "Spice will probably be a bigger cat- egory in Amharic than it is in English, just because culturally [in Ethiopia] they use a lot more spices." SCAA has teamed up with World Coffee Re- search (WCR) and Kansas State University to cre- ate a scientific sensory lexicon for coffee. Part of the drive behind this effort is to develop a coffee flavor lexicon that can be used by both trained descriptive sensory panels and professional cof- fee tasters. In addition, project collaborators hope to follow the lead of other industries such as beer, wine, and whiskey to extend its use to consum- ers. In a retail or café setting, of course, the ulti- mate goal would be to enable someone to choose a new coffee to try based on comparing flavor notes to the description of a product she already knows she likes. About the WCR project, Hallien said, "I think this is very important and much needed work. The majority of research reports and findings that I've read within the coffee science community have lacked sound sensory evaluation protocols and results. I'm very excited about WCR and its po- tential." Hill mentioned new versions of the Counter Culture Coffee flavor wheel should be available next year. WCR expects to release the first results of its coffee variety intelligence project in 2015 as well. There is little doubt more news about these projects will be announced in time for the annual SCAA event in early April next year. Mario Fernandez, doctoral candidate at University of Otago, New Zealand Chris Hallien, board member SCAA's Technical Standards Committee