How to taste espresso versus filter coffee

Espresso and filter coffee start from the same beans but end up as different drinks.

• Strength. The SCA's brewing standard puts well-made filter coffee at a strength of 1.15 to 1.35% total dissolved solids, with 18 to 22% of the coffee extracted. Espresso is several times more concentrated, which makes every attribute more intense.
• Pressure and oils. Espresso is brewed under pressure through a compact bed of fine grounds. It carries emulsified oils and fine particles that a paper filter would hold back, which account for much of its heavy body and its crema.
• Roast. Espresso roasts are often developed a little further, to tame sharp acidity at that concentration. Cupping and many filter roasts are lighter.

So a coffee that tastes bright and tea-like as a pour-over can taste syrupy and chocolate-heavy as espresso. Neither is "the real" taste.

1. Look. Note the crema's color and thickness, but don't judge the coffee by it.
2. Smell. Smell the shot as soon as it is pulled.
3. Stir. The crema, the body and the bottom of the cup taste different. Stir with a small spoon, or swirl, so your sips are consistent.
4. Sip small, and coat your mouth. A gentle slurp helps here too, because it sends aroma from the back of your mouth to your nose.
5. Judge the structure. Note sweetness, acidity and bitterness, and how well they balance. A good espresso can be intense and still balanced.
6. Feel the texture. Describe body (light to syrupy) and texture (creamy, silky, thin, gritty, drying).
7. Wait for the finish. Is the aftertaste long and sweet, or harsh, ashy or drying? In espresso the finish often decides whether you want another sip.

When you dial in a grinder, taste each shot with the same questions, changing one variable at a time. Sour, thin shots and bitter, harsh shots point in opposite directions.

Filter coffee rewards the same approach as a cupping:

• Smell first, before you sip.
• Taste across temperatures. Sip hot, then again warm, then again near room temperature. Flavors change as the cup cools.
• Name the flavors, from general to specific, using the tasting vocabulary and a flavor wheel.
• Note clarity. Paper-filtered coffee is usually very clean, which makes acidity and florals easier to pick out. Metal-filtered or immersion brews keep more oils and body.

• Hold the brew method constant. If you want to compare two coffees, brew them the same way, or cup them. That is exactly why cupping exists.
• Match the strength. Comparing a strong brew with a weak one tells you about strength, not about the coffees.
• Taste milk drinks separately. Milk tends to add sweetness and body and soften acidity, so a coffee that shines black can disappear in a flat white, and the other way round.

• Body: "full" in filter coffee might be "thin" in espresso. Describe body relative to the style.
• Acidity: what reads as pleasantly bright in a filter can become sharp or sour at espresso strength.
• Bitterness: expected and often pleasant in espresso; more noticeable as a flaw in a light filter.
• Sweetness: in espresso it often shows as caramel, chocolate or syrupy fruit; in filter it is lighter, like honey or ripe fruit.

The Coffee Tasting app works for specialty coffee as espresso or filter. Each tasting records fragrance, aroma, flavor, aftertaste, acidity (intensity, descriptors and acid type), mouthfeel (body from watery to coating, plus texture), sweetness, balance and the rest, so you can taste the same coffee both ways and compare the notes.