Specialty coffee, in words you can use

A coffee bag might describe its contents as chocolatey, floral or peach-like. Those words can help you choose, even if you usually describe your coffee as strong, smooth or good with milk. You don't need to identify every note printed on the bag to find it useful.

What specialty means today

The Specialty Coffee Association's current definition centres on distinctive attributes that give a coffee or coffee experience extra value. It includes qualities you can taste and smell, alongside information such as origin, producer and processing method. A single score doesn't cover the whole definition.

For someone ordering a drink, that leaves a practical question: which qualities do you enjoy? You might value a familiar chocolatey espresso for a flat white. Someone else might choose a filter coffee because its aroma reminds them of flowers. Those are useful preferences to share when asking for a recommendation.

Read tasting notes as comparisons

A tasting note on an unflavoured coffee describes a sensory resemblance. 'Hazelnut' can describe an aroma someone recognises in the coffee; it doesn't, by itself, mean hazelnuts were added. Tasting notes aren't an ingredient list, though. If you need allergen information, check the product ingredients or ask the café about the drink and its preparation.

The World Coffee Research Sensory Lexicon gives researchers shared descriptions and references for coffee's flavour, aroma and texture. The SCA's guide to the flavour wheel recommends starting with a broad category and becoming more specific only as far as you can.

Try that with 'fruity'. If that's what you notice, keep the word. If it reminds you of a particular food, add it. You could write 'dried fruit, perhaps raisin' instead of trying to force a precise match with the bag.

Make a small comparison

At home, brew two different coffees with the same method and compare them without reading the tasting notes first. Write one observation about each. A note such as 'this one feels lighter in my mouth' describes texture; 'this one leaves a cocoa-like taste' describes what remains after swallowing.

Then read the bags. Look for overlap between their descriptions and yours, and record which coffee you'd buy again. At RASA in Buxton or Sheffield, you can use those same everyday words when asking about the coffee. 'I liked a lighter coffee with dried-fruit flavours' gives someone much more to work with than 'something nice'.