Did you know that the number of chemically injected, or naturally roasted aromatic compounds found in coffee increases every year? Today the number is well over 800- yes 800 different aromas, and as our methods of analyzing and categorizing these distinct aromas grows better and more precise, more will be uncovered. Despite this fact- that there is a continually growing amount of coffee aroma, which is more than half of the two part function of actually tasting flavor- one half being your mouth and tongue the method to which we traditionally attribute taste, which does the work of identifying flavor attributes like, salty, and sweet and sour. But in reality your tongue only does- well less than half of the work of really tasting. The other organ that does most of the work is our nose, both nasally, which means you're smelling the flavor. And Retronasally, which means the flavor is traveling up your throat, or is in your mouth and the aromas are wafting into your nose.
Our perception of coffee aroma is dependent upon both the concentration of the compound, meaning how strong the flavors are blended in your drink. And the odor threshold, which means the lowest possible concentration of the aroma that is still recognizable by the human olfactory. In reality, the olfactory is not actually as well known as we would assume, there are many different receptors and functions that we do not put into use. But as we study more and begin to detect more and more compounds these ideas are solidified.
So, it is to be expected that a relatively small group of compounds, that share both high concentration, and low odor threshold make up the aroma we know as the coffee aroma. Researchers actually work on studies where they continue to identify and sort out what it is that makes the specific aromas of coffee, and even flavored coffees, and their aromatic compounds. For the average Joe to understand what all this means is not actually as complicated as it may sound, its easier to understand that there are lots of chemical processes that take place in the preparation of coffee beans, and brews. And it is our nose and mouth that are responsible for identifying what aromas, or flavors are the most pleasant, or the most commonly recognized as coffee. The job of the scientists is to sort out how over 800 coffee elements interact with our olfactory epithelium to make the broad array of flavors in existence.
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