Coffee Education

Espresso Sensory basics

Alberto Polojac
 Course content
- Sensory analysis
- Physiology
- Basic tastes and aromas
- Espresso extracion
 What is sensory analysis?

Scientific discipline that studies descriptions of sensations

perceived by human beings
 Why?

- Coffee is both simple and complex in flavour

- Get closer to consumer experience
- Chemical analysis is not practical
 How?

Using human senses

Informations must go through mental

process which can be influenced by
internal and external cues
 Senses
More than 11 milion bytes reach the
brain every second and only a part
of this information is processed

● 40% sight
● 30% hearing
● 5% touch
● 1% smell
● 1%taste
Man cannot so much think as an idea, unless he has
perceived something with his senses

Aristotle
Chain of perception
STIMULUS

SENSATION

PERCEPTION & INTERPRETATION

RESPONSE
Samples

- Selection of samples will affect

accuracy of test
- Preparation of samples
- Submission of samples to assessors
Human assessors

- Innate abilities
- Training
- Personal experience
- Physical and psychological state
 Building sensory skills
EXPERIENCE INNATE ABILITY
20% 25%

20%
PRACTICE 35%
MENTAL DISCIPLINE
 Food business
Results of sensory testing should produce
accurate information that can be used to make
business decisions

Successful sensory programs:

- produce accurate relevant information
- are reasonably cost effective and efficient
- increase personal developement of participants
Espresso
 History
1855: the first espresso machine is presented at the
world exposition in Paris
1901: Bezzera starts to produce an espresso machine
where pressure comes from steam.
1950: Faema produces a new concept of espresso
machine where water pressure is produced by a pump
In the Bezzera machine pressure was
proced by a boiler through hot water.
Water pressure could reach 1,5 atm
with a temperature above 100°C
In 1935 Francesco Illy
creates the first automatic
machine by substituting
steam with compressed air
In 1945 Gaggia introduces a
lever in the espresso machine
to generate water pressure
In 1950 Faema
substitutes the lever with
an electric pump
In 1961 Faema produces the
first machine with continuos
supply, the famous E61.
All modern espresso
machines will be
based on the technical
evolution of Faema
E61
Multiboiler system
 Coffee in the world
In Italy espresso culture started at the beginning of
1900. Espresso is ordered, served and tasted just
in time

Abroad, in particular in USA, coffee shops is

where espresso is one of the ingredients to prepare
drinks that customers have while seated or to take
away
Espresso enhances all senses
colour
Sight texture
persistency

direct
Olfaction
indirect

sweet
Taste bitter
acidity

mouthfeel
Tactile
astringency
Sight
Colour reddish-brown

Texture 2 - 5 mm

Persistency at least 2 minutes

 Colour Texture Persistency

The colour of the cream The solidity and refinement of The time in which a
is produced from sugar the grain and the quantity of compact and fine cream
caramellization the creama is produced by starts to disgregate
zuccheri during roasting proteins, fats, sugars and other
and some poliphenols colloids emulsified inside the
that oxidize during cell walls through gases during
extraction extraction
Olfaction
What we identify in flavours
depends on our sense of smell
50 milion odorant receptors are in the olfactory epithelium

People discriminate 10,000 odors and differentiate 4,000

Swallowing forces air up orthonasal way

Training can improve odor recognition by 1,000 times

 Olfaction
Enzymatic

Aromas Sugar Browning

Dry Distillation
 Enzymatic
- Most volatile
- Result of enzymatic reactions during growing
- Perceived in dry fragrance and brewed aroma

Flowery Fruity Herbal

Jasmine Lemon Peas

Tea rose Apple Potato
 Sugar browning
- Moderately volatile
- Result of thermal reactions during roasting
- Perceived in aroma and mouthfeel

Caramelly Nutty Chocolaty

Caramel Walnut Chocolate

Honey Almond Vanilla
 Dry distillation
- Least volatile
- Bean fiber breakdown during roasting process
- Perceived in dry fragrance and aftertaste

Spicy Resinous Pyrolytic

Pepper Piney Ashy

Clove Black currant Tobacco
 Desirable aromas
Boisè Dry wood, oak aroma
Caramel Reminds of caramel sugar candy
Chocolate Dark chocolate and vanilla aftertaste
Fragrant Floreal and spicy fragrance
Floreal Fresh flowers aroma, in particular washed coffees
Fruity Citric fruit and red fruit aroma
Nut Nutty aftertaste
Toasted bread Freshly cooked bread crust
Spicy Recalls spices like clove or cinnamon
Roasted Strong and persistent coffee aroma
Tobacco Pipe tobacco aroma
Winey Round and mature red wines
 Undesirable aromas
Burnt Smoky, carbon like aroma
Dirty Mouldy and aged
Earthy Wet ground and raw potato
Grassy Green grass, vegetal like
Mould Cellar room with no ventilation
Rio Salty and medicine like
Caucciu Burnt rubber or rubber cap
Animal Wet fur, leather
Stinker Rotten flowers, organic material in decomposition
Rancid Oxidized oils
Jute Wet baggy aroma
Straw Similar to grassy but more dry
Ash Ashtray or chimney
 Practical session

Aroma evaluation test

 Gustation
The detection of stimuli dissolved in water, oil or
saliva, by the taste buds
Meilgaard

- we cannot taste something not in liquid taste

- contact is more regular than olfaction
 Gustation
10,000 taste buds detect 5 basic sensations:

Bitter

Salty

Sour

Sweet

Umami
Gustation
Bitter
- always present in coffee
- increasing during roasting
- not desirable in high concentrations
Sour
- always present in coffee
- reducing during roasting
- desirable when complex
Sweet
- sucrose concentration
- reducing during roasting
- very desirable
 Flavour
combination of taste and aroma

- fine: quality
- rich: intensity and complexity
- persistent: lasting over time
 Tactile
Mouthfeel: a tactile sensation imparted by coffee

- viscosity: thick, oily

- softness: creamy, smooth, doughy
- substance: dense, heavy
- resistance: syrupy, round
- afterfeel: prolonged physical feeling
- negative: astringency
 Espresso - definition

Is a beverage made from

percolation of hot water that
with pressure runs through a
leyer of roasted and ground
coffee. The pressure of water
while going through the coffee
cake.

only 30% is water soluble

Grinding
 Why we grind?

●
increase the surface area of the
coffee beans
●
open bean structure so the water
can easily get all the flavours
Coarse Fine
 Tamping

Correct tamping is
necessary to get
uniform extraction from
ground coffee

CREATE THE
PERFECT
RESISTANCE!
 The perfect espresso
Dose 7 +/- 0,5 gr

Temperature H2O 90°C +/-2°C

Pressione di estrazione 9 +/- 0,5 atm

Tempo di percolazione 5”+25”

Volume 25 +/- 5ml

Yield 25 gr
 Dose

weight of dry ground coffee in the portafilter

more dose = more yield

● don’t change dose to adjust flavour balance
● don’t change dose to adjust the shot time
● don’t change dose to make the espresso stronger or weaker
 Yield
amount of espresso in the cup after extraction
 Strength
● intensity of flavour
● texture, weight or viscosity
● concentration of dissolved coffee flavour
in one word = TOTAL DISSOLVED
SOLIDS (TDS)

percentage of the total brew

● 7-12% espresso
● 1,2 – 1,8% brewed coffee
 Time
Three main factors affecting how long an espresso takes to extract
● ground size
● pump pressure or flow rate
● baskets
Putting all together
Putting all together
Putting all together
Any questions?
 Alberto Polojac

- AST for Green, Sensory, Roasting and Brewing

- Qgrader

Personal info: alberto.polojac@imperator.cc

www.bloom.coffee