A List of 110 Coffee Notes You Might Find In Your Cup

Do you ever struggle to find just the right word to describe your coffee? Let's give you 110 to choose from.

Man makes a list of coffee notes in the background while another tastes coffee from cups lined up on a table

Last Updated on December 9, 2023

Do you ever struggle to find just the right word to describe your coffee?

Let’s give you 110 to choose from.

The following list of coffee notes comes from the Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel published in 1995 and updated in 2016 by the Specialty Coffee Association in collaboration with World Coffee Research. It covers just about everything you might taste in your coffee.

Woman uses a spoon to lift coffee from a cup while tasting

List of Coffee Notes

  • Roasted
    • Pipe tobacco
    • Tobacco
    • Burnt
      • Acrid
      • Ashy
      • Smoky
      • Brown, Roast
    • Cereal
      • Grain
      • Malt
  • Spices
    • Pungent
    • Pepper
    • Brown Spice
      • Anise
      • Nutmeg
      • Cinnamon
      • Clove
  • Nutty/Cocoa
    • Nutty
      • Peanuts
      • Hazelnut
      • Almond
    • Cocoa
      • Chocolate
      • Dark chocolate
  • Sweet
    • Brown sugar
      • Molasses
      • Maple syrup
      • Caramelized
      • Honey
    • Vanilla
    • Vanillin
    • Overall sweet
    • Sweet aromatics
  • Floral
    • Black tea
    • Floral
      • Chamomile
      • Rose
      • Jasmine
  • Fruity
    • Berry
      • Blackberry
      • Raspberry
      • Blueberry
      • Strawberry
    • Dried fruit
      • Raisin
      • Prune
    • Other fruit
      • Coconut
      • Cherry
      • Pomegranate
      • Pineapple
      • Grape
      • Apple
      • Peach
      • Pear
    • Citrus fruit
      • Grapefruit
      • Orange
      • Lemon
      • Lime
  • Sour/Fermented
    • Sour
      • Sour aromatics
      • Acetic acid
      • Butyric acid
      • Isovaleric acid
      • Citric acid
      • Malic acid
    • Alcohol/Fermented
      • Winey
      • Whiskey
      • Fermented
      • Overripe
  • Green/Vegetable
    • Olive oil
    • Raw
    • Green/Vegetative
      • Under-ripe
      • Peapod
      • Fresh
      • Dark green
      • Vegetative
      • Hay-like
      • Herb-like
    • Beany
  • Other
    • Papery/Musty
      • Stale
      • Cardboard
      • Papery
      • Woody
      • Moldy/Damp
      • Musty/Dusty
      • Musty/Earthy
      • Animalic
      • Meaty/Brothy
      • Phenolic
    • Chemical
      • Bitter
      • Salty
      • Medicinal
      • Petroleum
      • Skunky
      • Rubber

Each sip a riddle,
Berries, spices, whispers soft,
How to frame this taste?
Words falter, flavors dance free,
Coffee's vast lexicon.

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