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FLAVOR WHEEL

The SCA & WCR flavor wheel gives us shared language. Start at the center (broad family) and walk outward toward specifics. Play with the wheel above before reading on.

EXPLORE FIRST

The Flavor Wheel

Inner: families · middle: groups · outer: descriptors. Tap any wedge to drill in and see coffees that show that note.

FruityBerryCitrusStone FruitTropicalFloralFlowerTea-likeSourFermentedSourAlcoholWineFermentedGreenVegetativeVegetalHerbRoastedCerealBurntTobaccoSpicesWarm SpicePungentNuttyCocoaNuttyCocoaSweetCaramelizedVanillaHoneyOtherPaperyMustyChemicalBlueberryStrawberryRaspberryBlackcurrantLemonOrangeGrapefruitBergamotPeachApricotPlumCherryMangoPineapplePassionfruitLycheeJasmineRoseChamomileHibiscusBlack teaGreen teaLacticAceticTartRed wineWhiskeyCognacFunkyCiderHayGrassPea podFresh herbMaltBreadSmokyAshyPipe tobaccoCinnamonCloveNutmegPepperAlmondHazelnutPeanutDark chocolateMilk chocolateCocoa nibCaramelBrown sugarMapleVanillaHoneyCardboardMustyRubberMedicinalCOFFEEFLAVOR
FURTHER READING · 3 SOURCES
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MethodStructure

Anatomy of the wheel

Three rings, one vocabulary

Pixel art cutaway of an espresso machine anatomy

Ring 1 (center) names broad families — Fruity, Floral, Sweet, Nutty/Cocoa, Spicy, Roasted, Sour/Fermented, Green/Vegetative, Other. Ring 2 splits each family into groups (Fruity → Berry, Citrus, Stone, Tropical). Ring 3 names specific descriptors (Berry → Blueberry, Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackberry). Colors echo the sensation — red for ripe fruit, pink for floral, brown for roast.

CRAFT NOTE

The wheel was published by the SCA & World Coffee Research in 2016, built from a sensory lexicon of 110 attributes. Every word was tested with reference samples — 'blueberry' means the same thing in Oslo and Addis Ababa.