How to taste coffee at home.

Brew the same way each time so the variable is the coffee, not your method. Use a scale, filtered water just off the boil, and a recipe you trust. A pour-over or AeroPress works well because both highlight clarity.

Taste at a comfortable temperature. Very hot coffee numbs the tongue; let it cool for a minute or two. The best flavours often appear as the cup cools.

Aroma is where most of flavour lives. Bring the cup to your nose before the first sip and notice what arrives first: florals, fruit, nuts, chocolate, spice, something earthy or green.

Then sip with a small slurp. The slurpr aerosolises the coffee and spreads it across your palate, the way professionals taste. It is not pretension; it is physics.

Start broad, then narrow down. Is the acidity citrus-like or berry-like? Is the sweetness caramel, honey or dried fruit? Is the body thin, silky or syrupy? What flavour remains ten seconds after you swallow — the aftertaste or finish?

There are no wrong answers. A flavour wheel is a prompt, not a test — ours is below, built around the tastes we actually find in our light roasts. Use it to build a personal vocabulary so you can choose coffees you will love next time.

Write down three words after each cup. Over a few weeks you will see patterns: you prefer washed coffees, or naturals, or high-acidity lots, or full-bodied ones. That is the point. Tasting is a conversation, and the more you listen, the better the next choice becomes.