What exactly is this mouthfeel that coffee enthusiasts keep talking about?
"Mouthfeel" is the multifaceted, tactile sensory impression of a food. With our tongue, and less so with our palate, we explore the texture of foods or liquids.
The term "mouthfeel" is somewhat awkward loan translation from the English mouthfeel<1>. The term texture, used in wine sensory analysis, describes the same effect as mouthfeel and can easily be used in its place.
The differences in tactile sensory impressions between crackers, oysters, and dough are enormous. The vocabulary to describe these differences is equally broad: crispy, slimy, chewy, etc.
Coffee is different. As a beverage, coffee is liquid, and therefore the broad spectrum of intensity is limited: thin – liquid – thick. Instead of breadth, we need to go deeper and describe the quality of the intensity to communicate coffee. From tea-like, silky, velvety, juicy, to round, creamy, syrupy, etc., we have a large palette of descriptions at our disposal.
Some factors that influence mouthfeel
Numerous factors are partly responsible for the beverage. The ripeness of the coffee cherry, how it is processed, the way we roast the coffee and its resulting solubility – briefly roasted coffees are typically less soluble than longer roasted coffees.
The substances now dissolved through extraction are partly responsible for the quality of the mouthfeel. The water used plays an equally important role here, as the composition of the minerals contained in the water reacts with the coffee and thus extracts soluble substances.
Mouthfeel and perception
The texture of the coffee significantly influences our perception. When a coffee has a syrup-like consistency and lingers longer on the tongue, I also have more time to analyze the coffee. The flavor notes (flavours) appear more intense to us. If, on the other hand, a watery coffee quickly disappears from the tongue, it contains fewer dissolved substances. The low intensity and its short residence time mean that the flavor notes are barely perceptible.
The quality of the mouthfeel plays an important role in the sensory evaluation of a coffee. Even if the coffee has great aromas and complex acidity – if the mouthfeel doesn't contribute, the coffee is less enjoyable and the flavor notes are less readable.
<1> However, since many terms in coffee sensory analysis come from the Anglo-Saxon tradition (not least through the foundational work of the SCAA – Specialty Coffee Association of America), the term has become established.
