Defining Bitter, Sour, and Acidic - A Discussion and Priner for new roasters and forum members

Coffee Talk
1

Hi,

To help improve communication and sharing, would like to discuss a very important part of coffee flavor descriptions.

Bitter vs Sour vs Acidity

While some languages and cultures make separating and describing these flavors more easily defined, English is not so clear, and there are so many different cultures that use English, which furthers the importance of discussing what we mean when talking coffee flavors and charscteristics.

topics to discuss:

  1. Bitter

  2. Sour

  3. Acidity

bonus

  1. pH scale
  2. sensations from stomach acid and caffeine

associated words with this topic: acrid, sharp, citrus, lemony, chalky, harsh, char, herbal, tea-like, medicinal, complex

Why is this topic being brought up? English does not clearly distinguish between bitter and sour. Aslo, acidity for many people is often associated with sour flavors. That means when using English, “bitter” can mean any of the above definitions. this creates a major issue with coffee because a combination of sour and bitter flavors tend to be the dominant flavors. not to mention that caffeine can often excite the digestive system and create the sensation of exteme acidic sensations in the gut.

Coffee is one of the most complex flavors people consume on a regular basis, and it is unfortunate that English is so easily confusining in describing the most important aspects of the composition of a coffee flavor profile.

What do you do? how do you use these words?

See comments below.

2
  1. BITTER

here we will update more about the description of BITTER based on the community feedback

here we will update more about the description of BITTER based on the community feedback

here we will update more about the description of BITTER based on the community feedback

3
  1. SOUR

here we will update more about the description of SOUR based on the community feedback

here we will update more about the description of SOUR based on the community feedback

here we will update more about the description of SOUR based on the community feedback

4
  1. ACID or ACIDITY

here we will update more about the description of ACID based on the community feedback

here we will update more about the description of ACID based on the community feedback

here we will update more about the description of ACID based on the community feedback

5
  1. OTHER NOTES and DEFINITIONS

More notes and definitions will be edited in here.

More notes and definitions will be edited in here

More notes and definitions will be edited in here

6

I’m not sure I agree with this, as a native speaker of American english. What makes you think this is the case?

I have personally met people who can’t explain the difference, in the same way that some people don’t have a vocabulary (or perception) to distinguish musical pitches or chords, or colors. But that doesn’t mean the words are the same.