Tasting Guide

Know Your Brew

Track what you taste, learn what it means, brew better next time.

Choose Your Depth

Two Modes, One Goal

Both modes track the same brew. Casual captures the essentials in seconds; Pro adds the sensory tools professionals use. Switch any time — your tastings carry over.

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Casual Mode

Overall rating (1–10)
Acidity, Sweetness, Bitterness, Body (1–5)
Body weight (Light / Medium / Heavy)
Flavor notes with subcategories (Fruity → Berry, Citrus…)
Taste → Fix cheat sheet

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Pro Mode

Pro

Everything in Casual, plus:
Aroma, Flavor, Aftertaste, Balance
Mouthfeel texture tags
Specific flavor descriptors (Blueberry, Bergamot…)
Defect tracking & extraction analysis

The Big Number

Overall Rating

How much did you enjoy this cup? One number, 1 to 10. The only required field — everything else is optional.

1 — Poor5 — Decent10 — Outstanding

Breaking It Down

Sensory Attributes

Rate each from 1 to 5. These break a cup into its parts so you can spot what works and what to change.

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Acidity

Brightness and liveliness — crisp apple, sparkling citrus. A positive quality, not the same as sourness.

Milk buffers acidity — expect 1–2 points lower. If it still cuts through, that’s a good sign.

Cold brew reads naturally lower. Focus on whether it’s clean, not how bright.

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Sweetness

Natural sweetness from well-developed sugars. Even black coffee has it. More sweetness usually means better extraction.

Lactose adds sweetness. Score the combined experience — that’s what matters.

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Bitterness

Pleasant bitterness adds depth: dark chocolate, espresso. Harsh bitterness signals over-extraction.

Cold temperatures suppress bitter receptors. A cold brew that tastes bitter is seriously over-extracted.

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Body

Weight in your mouth — light and tea-like, or thick and syrupy. Separate from taste; this is about texture.

Milk fat dominates body. Score the whole drink, not the coffee underneath.

Cold brew tends heavier and more viscous than hot-brewed equivalents.

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Flavor

Pro

Taste and aroma combined — everything you experience while sipping. The central attribute in professional cupping.

Delicate florals and bright fruits get masked. Chocolate, caramel, and nutty notes shine through milk.

Cold preserves floral and fruity notes better than you’d expect. Look for them.

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Aftertaste

Pro

Flavor that lingers after swallowing. A clean finish invites another sip. A harsh one points to a problem.

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Balance

Pro

How well all attributes work together. Nothing dominates, nothing is missing.

For milk drinks, balance means espresso and milk in harmony — not one drowning the other.

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Uniformity

Pro

Consistency across the cup — does the first sip taste the same as the last? Great coffee stays uniform as it cools.

When There's Milk

Milk Drink Attributes

Milk changes everything. Casein binds acids, fat coats your palate, lactose adds sweetness. These attributes only appear when you log a milk drink in Brewd.

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Coffee–Milk Balance

Milk

Does the espresso hold its own, or does milk take over? Rate from 1 (milk-dominant) to 5 (coffee-forward). The sweet spot depends on the drink — a flat white should lean coffee-forward, a latte can be gentler.

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Milk Texture

Milk

How the milk feels in your mouth — silky and microfoamed, or flat and overheated? Texture is what separates a good milk drink from a great one.

SilkyVelvetyGlossyMicrofoamDense foamFlatBubblyScorchedGritty

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Integration

MilkPro

Does the espresso harmonize with the milk, or sit on top? This is the core criterion in WBC competition scoring — the best milk drinks feel like a single, unified beverage.

Brewd lets you log dairy, oat, soy, almond, or coconut. Each changes flavor differently — oat adds sweetness, soy can be nutty, almond is aromatic but less stable. Track it and you'll find what pairs best with your beans.

Served Cold

Cold Brew & Iced Coffee

Temperature changes perception. Cold suppresses bitterness, dampens aroma, and shifts which flavor notes you notice. Brewd adjusts its guidance when you log a cold drink.

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What Changes at Low Temperature

Based on UC Davis Coffee Center research

Bitterness drops: Bitter receptors are less sensitive in the cold. A smooth cold brew might taste harsh reheated.
Acidity reads differently: Cold brew has higher pH (less acidic chemically), but bright acids still come through as clean and crisp.
Florals survive: Cold brew preserves delicate floral notes that can get lost in hot extraction.
Aroma is suppressed: Fewer volatiles reach your nose. What you taste matters more than what you smell.

Cold brew is steeped cold for 12–24 hours — smoother, heavier body, muted acidity. Iced coffee is brewed hot and flash-chilled — brighter, more aromatic, closer to its hot profile. Brewd tracks both separately so your notes stay meaningful.

Refreshment

ColdPro

A quality unique to cold drinks with no hot equivalent. Does the drink feel reviving and clean, or flat and cloying? Pro Mode adds a Refreshment attribute (1–5) for cold brew and iced coffee logs.

How It Feels

Body & Mouthfeel

Body is the weight and texture of coffee in your mouth — separate from taste.

Weight

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Light

Tea-like, delicate, juicy

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Medium

Balanced, silky, smooth

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Heavy

Creamy, syrupy, rich

Texture Tags

Pro

Tag the specific textures you notice.

SilkyCreamySmoothJuicyVelvetyButteryOilyThinWateryAstringentChalky

What It Tastes Like

Flavor Notes

Tap the flavors you recognize. Each category expands into subcategories — Fruity reveals Berry, Citrus, Stone Fruit. In Pro Mode, drill deeper into specific descriptors like Blueberry or Bergamot.

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Fruity

Berry, Citrus, Dried Fruit, Tree Fruit

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Floral

Jasmine, Rose, Chamomile, Lavender, Hibiscus

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Sweet

Brown Sugar, Honey, Maple, Caramel, Vanilla, Molasses

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Nutty/Cocoa

Almond, Hazelnut, Peanut, Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Cocoa

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Spice

Cinnamon, Clove, Cardamom, Black Pepper, Ginger, Nutmeg

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Roasted

Tobacco, Pipe Tobacco, Dark Chocolate, Smoky, Ashy, Brown Roast

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Cereal

Malt, Grain, Toast, Fresh Bread

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Vegetal/Earthy

Mushroom, Woody, Herbal, Grassy, Mossy, Peaty

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Other

Fermented, Winey, Whiskey, Papery, Chemical, Rubber

These nine categories come from the SCA Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel — the global standard for describing coffee. Tap a category to see subcategories (Berry, Citrus…). Pro Mode goes one level deeper: Berry → Blueberry, Raspberry.

Milk masks delicate florals and bright fruits. Chocolate, caramel, nutty, and spice notes survive best. Don't worry if you can't find the tasting notes on the bag — that's normal with milk.

When Something's Off

Defect Tracking

Pro

Flag what went wrong so you can fix it next time. Brewd separates brewing problems (fixable) from bean problems (worth noting for your next purchase).

The Extraction Spectrum

Most off-flavors trace back to extraction — how much flavor the water pulled from the grounds.

Under

Ideal (18–22%)

Over

Sour, thin, sharpBalanced & sweetBitter, harsh, dry

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Brewing Defects

You can fix these

Under-extracted: Sour, sharp, thin. Grind finer, raise temp, or extend time.
Over-extracted: Bitter, harsh, dry. Grind coarser, lower temp, or shorten time.
Channeling: Uneven, sour and bitter at once. Fix puck prep or pour technique.
Off water: Flat or chemical taste. Use filtered water.

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Bean Defects

Worth noting for next purchase

Stale: Cardboard, papery, lifeless.
Baked: Bread-like, flat, underdeveloped.
Fermented: Vinegary, unpleasant sour.
Phenolic: Chemical, medicinal, iodine.
Scorched: Burnt or charcoal notes.

Milk drink defects: Too milky — coffee flavor disappears (increase dose or reduce milk ratio). Scorched milk — burnt, sulfuric taste from overheated milk (keep steam temp below 70°C). Split — milk curdles on contact with espresso, usually too acidic for the milk type (common with almond).

Quick Reference

Taste → Fix

Sour & sharp?

Under-extracted. Grind finer.

Bitter & harsh?

Over-extracted. Grind coarser.

Flat & lifeless?

Stale beans. Check roast date.

Thin & watery?

Increase dose or grind finer.

Sweet & balanced?

Nailed it.

Complex & clean?

Great beans, great brew.

The Science

Sources

SCA Coffee Value Assessment (CVA)

Replaced the legacy SCA Cupping Form in 2024. Protocols SCA-102 (preparation), SCA-103 (descriptive), SCA-104 (affective).

sca.coffee/value-assessment

SCA Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel (2016)

Nine primary categories, 110 specific descriptors. The global standard for describing coffee flavor.

sca.coffee/research/coffee-tasters-flavor-wheel

World Coffee Research Sensory Lexicon

The scientific reference behind the Flavor Wheel. 110 attributes with intensity scales and physical reference standards.

worldcoffeeresearch.org/resources/sensory-lexicon

SCA Golden Cup Standard

Defines the ideal extraction yield of 18–22% and brew strength (TDS) of 1.15–1.35%.

sca.coffee/research/protocols-best-practices

Coffee Quality Institute — Q Grading

Professional coffee grading certification. Brewd’s Pro Mode attributes align with the Q Grader cupping protocol.

www.coffeeinstitute.org/q-program

WBC 2024/2025 Rules & Regulations

World Barista Championship milk beverage scoring criteria. Basis for Brewd’s milk drink attributes.

worldbaristachampionship.org/rules/

Cold vs Hot Brew Sensory Analysis — Batali et al. (2022)

Study comparing cold brew, room-temp, and hot brew across origins and roast levels.

doi.org/10.3390/foods11162440

Milk Protein Effects on Coffee Polyphenols — Chen et al. (2025)

How casein and whey proteins bind chlorogenic acids, reducing perceived acidity and bitterness.

doi.org/10.3168/jds.2025-26795