Roast - The degree of color at which a coffee is taken to by a coffee roaster. The coffee is roasted from a light color to a French roast. In general, the lighter the coffee is roasted, the sweeter the cup taste is. A dark roasted coffee tends to be more heavy and pungent.
French and Italian Roast - Dark, heavy-roasted beans that are almost black in color and produce a strongly flavored coffee.
American Roast - A medium-roasted coffee, which produces a coffee that's neither characteristically light nor heavy.
European Roast -Two-thirds heavy-roasted beans combined with one-third medium-roasted beans.
Viennese Roast -One-third heavy-roasted beans combined with two-thirds medium-roasted beans.
Espresso actually refers to four separate things: (1) a brewing method, (2) a blend of beans, (3) a beverage, and (4) the color of a dark roast. The coffee is brewed very rapidly and is made from Arabica beans, which are usually roasted slightly darker and ground more finely than regular coffee. Unlike coffee, it is made one cup at a time and extracted within seconds instead of minutes.
Body - Body can be described as "mouth feel" - quite literally, how a coffee feels in your mouth. It's an impression of a coffee's weight on your tongue. The best way to determine the degree of body in a coffee is to take a small sip and let it rest on your tongue. Is it medium? Is it full?
Hard bean is a high-grade mountain grown coffee from Central or South America. Hard beans are produced in a cool climate and thus mature more slowly.
Exotic coffee is one which has a sweet, spicy taste and an unexpected or unusual aroma and flavor.
Cappuccino is a unique milked coffee drink in that it uses both steamed and foamed milk. The drink is a layered drink with equal parts steamed milk, coffee, and foamed milk.
Using the word strong to describe the amount of caffeine in a coffee is an incorrect usage of the term. Instead strong refers to a more darkly roasted coffee.
Acidity is the true measure of a coffee's taste. Coffee beans are composed of hundreds of chemical compounds. Acidity as a description of coffee, however, relates to the snapiness and life in the taste of the coffee.
Aroma is the smell of brewed coffee.
Flavor - Naturally, coffee tastes and smells like coffee. But other
flavors and scents - such as chocolate, fruit or flowers - are what make coffee drinking such an enjoyable experience. The next time you have a cup of coffee, take a deep whiff before you sip. Use your nose to give your mouth a preview, to enhance the flavors on your palate.
Bouquet is the smell of the coffee grounds only.
French Press is a pot with a narrow glass cylinder into which coffee and near-boiling water is placed. A mesh screen plunger is then inserted. The coffee grounds are allowed to steep for about 3 minutes and then pressed out. The coffee is then served from the cylinder.
Irish Coffee is made from a very dark roasted coffee, Irish whiskey, and brown sugar topped with whipped cream mixed with vanilla and sugar.
