A Simple Coffee Tasting Routine

Most people drink coffee every day, yet very few of us actually taste it. We sip, swallow, and move on. But once you learn how to build your palate, your morning cup becomes far more than caffeine. It becomes a ritual that trains your senses, sharpens your intuition, and helps you understand why some coffees taste fruity, while others lean chocolatey, spicy, or floral.

You do not need fancy gear or a barista background to start. What you need is attention. And a simple routine you can repeat every week. The goal is to teach your brain what you are tasting, so you can choose coffees you actually love instead of guessing at the shelf.

Below is a straightforward method you can use at home, whether you are tasting Mood Artisan Coffee or any other specialty coffee you enjoy.

Why Tasting Matters

Coffee is one of the most complex beverages in the world. There are hundreds of aroma compounds working together. Origin, variety, processing, roasting, and brewing all influence taste. When you take the time to slow down and explore what is in your cup, you start to notice details that used to blur together. Over time, your palate becomes sharper.

For example, Guatemala coffees often have chocolate and citrus notes. Many Ethiopian coffees lean floral or berry-like. Brazilian coffees can feel round, creamy, or nutty. Specialty coffees sourced from women producers, like the ones we roast at Mood, often show even more clarity and nuance because the producers are meticulous about quality and selective picking.

The more you taste intentionally, the more these distinctions become easy to recognize.

The Routine: A Simple 5 Step Coffee Tasting Practice

This is the routine I recommend for anyone wanting to train their palate. Repeat it once a week. It only takes ten minutes.

Step 1: Brew a Clean Cup

Start with a consistent brew method. A French press, AeroPress, or basic drip brewer all work. Choose one method and use it every time. Consistency matters because it removes variables. You want your focus on taste, not troubleshooting.

Use fresh coffee, a medium grind, and water just off the boil. If you have a scale, use it. If you do not, that is fine. Keep your routine the same each week.

Step 2: Smell Before You Sip

Before you taste anything, swirl your cup gently and smell the aroma. Do not try to name the scent immediately. Just notice it. Sweet or savoury. Bright or soft. Sharp or muted.

People often assume aroma has to smell like blueberries or jasmine for it to matter, but that is not true. Many delicious coffees smell like chocolate, toasted grain, or warm spice. Your job is to pay attention.

Step 3: Take a Small Sip and Hold It

Take a slow sip and let it sit on your tongue for a second. Notice the first impression. Does it taste sweet, acidic, bitter, or empty. Focus on primary flavour first. Complex notes come later.

You will also begin to notice texture. Light and tea-like. Silky and creamy. Heavy and dense. These textures help you recognize origins and processing styles later because they follow patterns.

Step 4: Breathe Out Through Your Nose

After you swallow, exhale gently and notice what lingers. This is where tasting notes reveal themselves.

For example:

• A coffee from Mexico might show syrupy sweetness and red fruit notes.
• A Brazilian coffee might linger with chocolate or peanut character.
• A washed Central American coffee might finish clean with subtle citrus.

Do not force a label. If you do not taste fruit or flowers, that is fine. The goal is awareness, not performance.

Step 5: Compare With Your Last Cup

At the end of each week, compare what you tasted today to what you tasted last week. What changed? What stayed the same? What patterns are forming?

Your brain learns through contrast. The more coffees you compare, the faster your palate develops.

Why This Works

Wine experts, chocolatiers, and distillers all rely on the same principle. Palate training comes from repetition. You expose your senses to a wide range of flavours, reflect on what you tasted, and slowly build a mental library.

Over time you start to:

• Understand your personal preferences.
• Notice when a coffee is fresh or past its peak.
• Brew better coffee because you know what you are aiming for.

This is when coffee becomes fun. Instead of guessing which bag to buy, you know exactly what fits your mood.

What to Taste First

If you want an easy way to explore a wide range of flavour profiles, the Discovery Set is designed specifically for this type of exploration. Each coffee is sourced exclusively from women producers and showcases a different flavour character. One might be chocolatey and round. Another bright and fruity. Another floral and elegant.

Because all five are roasted to highlight sweetness, clarity, and balance, they offer clear contrast without extremes. That makes them ideal for palate training and for discovering your personal preferences.

How to Keep Growing Your Coffee Palate

Once the routine becomes comfortable, you can expand it. Try:

• The same coffee brewed two different ways.
• Two coffees from the same region but different processes.
• The same coffee at different temperatures. Flavours shift dramatically as the cup cools.
• Coffees from the same producer across multiple harvests (or roasters) if you have access.

Each of these comparisons sharpens your senses.

The Bigger Reason This Matters

Coffee is not meant to be rushed. When you slow down and taste with intention, your daily ritual becomes grounding. It becomes a moment of presence. And when you explore coffees grown by women producers who put immense care into their craft, you begin to appreciate the people and stories behind every cup.

Building your palate is not about becoming a critic. It is about cultivating awareness. It is about paying attention to the subtle details in a product that travelled a long way and passed through many hands before it reached you.

Try this routine once a week. In a month you will taste details you never noticed before. In a year your relationship with coffee will be completely transformed.