how to appreciate coffee, wine, and tea... (amongst other things)

SECOND SECTION: how to appreciate coffee, wine and tea (amongst other things)

ok, i'd like to describe a seemingly less practical skill. while i was an intern at starbucks, i was taught the invaluable skill, to me, of tasting. while people may love to trash-talk this company, i maintain that they are doing a good job of educating coffee drinkers, in an ability that i believe crosses over rather nicely into tasting various different things.

essentially, tasting is comprised of breaking down the different senses involved. sometimes this requires you to close your eyes when you drink (or eat) to focus on either the aroma, or the taste. when you experience something, try to break down different components that make up whatever you may be tasting.

the key is building confidence in your discerning abilities. thus practice is highly important, for you to become accostomed to presenting your thoughts behind the different aspects of whatever you may be tasting. sit down with your significant other, friends, co-workers, and so forth. practicing this on a daily basis will make you more aware of the subtleties in what you're trying.

it also is important that you try different things alongside each other, which will allow you to be able to compare them and discern their differences or similarities more accutely.

first, i'd focus on the visuals:

a) with coffee, maybe look at the color of it, if it's a dark, rich color, or a lighter hue.

b) with wine, look at how it clings to the glass (its "legs", indicating how sweet a wine is), the shade/hue.

c) with tea, could be yellow, green, red, orange... many different shades!

secondly, look for the aroma (there are different "polite" ways of doing this, including the wafting of your hand above the cup rather than putting your nose over the side of the cup, or food. obviously this will be determined by who you're doing this around) just call out whatever first comes to your mind!:

a) with coffee, there can be all sorts of different aromas present, such as grapefruit, citrus, earthy tones, herbal tones, etc.

b) with wine, once again, there are a myriad of different aromas, some may be oaky, others may be very berry or floral, minerally...

c) with teas, again there are many possibilities. from grassy green teas, to berry like infusions.

lastly, focus on the taste:

a) with coffee: look for the body (weight of the liquid on your tongue, how the flavor fills your mouth), the acidity (if your sides of your tongue tingle), and the characteristics of the flavors. example: you could get a "light bodied", "bright acidity" coffee, with "citrus notes".

b) with wine: once again, the body, acidity, and characteristics. example: an "oaky" wine, with tannins and blackberry notes.

c) tea: also, body, acidity, and characteristics. a "toasty", "bright acidity", with medium body, for a light black tea.

and there you go! you have the tools that you need, now call out your creativity and go for it. i promise you, trying something will never be the same, as you'll be able to break something down into it's nuances. this may incur you spending more money on such things in the future, though (just to warn you! :)).

i'm currently at remedy teas here in Seattle, my favorite tea shop, escaping the weather with the help of two different teas, and enjoying the ambiance that this place harbors. it is definitely my winter haunt. tea shops and cafés serve as hubs of community, and provide an extra kick of energy, in my opinion.

hope this is helpful!
abraços,
burnptcruisers