Coffee, Can the average person taste the difference?
Posted by scottparat on 31 Mar 2009 | Tagged as: Coffee Questions
Can the average person taste the difference of a high end cup of coffee. I am going to rule out McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts and refer to the more exotic blends from your Starbucks and Caribou's and other Specialty Coffee Shops. Can a person discern between Sumatran and Columbian, Kona and Ethiopian, or is good coffee just that, good coffee? I realize there are "super tasters" and "coffee snobs", but I am refering to the average "Joe" so to speak, can they really tell the difference? Cheers!
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10 Comments »
on 31 Mar 2009 at 1:11 pm 1.Sandy said …
I don't believe the average person can tell you exactly what type of coffee it is that they are drinking but I do believe the average person can tell the difference between high end coffee and your average, everyday cup of joe. Simply put, the coffee you buy in a can at the store is burned beans. The high end stuff is lightly roasted. Can you tell the difference between burned food and unburned food?
on 31 Mar 2009 at 1:11 pm 2.Mysteerain said …
All the coffee drinkers around here seem to be able to, every time someone brings "other' coffe in and makes it, they all know right away.
I don't drink coffee, so I can't say
on 31 Mar 2009 at 1:11 pm 3.clicksqueek said …
Yes, most people should be able to taste a difference between Colombian and Sumatran, etc.
The clearest way to detect the differences is to do a direct comparison between two or three different coffees in one sitting–get one small cup of each variety, let them cool off a bit (it's very hard to truly taste any coffee when it's boiling hot), and take some small sips of each one, one after the other.
But you will need to drink these coffe samples "black"–putting in 3 spoons of sugar and a big slug of cream will mask the flavor of any coffee, and they will all tend to taste the same.
on 31 Mar 2009 at 1:11 pm 4.Melissa S said …
well…my average Don wouldn't be able to. As long as it is strong and black he'll drink it. And he won't save any for you either.
on 31 Mar 2009 at 1:11 pm 5.myheartisjames said …
i'm fairly average and i could tell that the cofee i got the other day was Sumatran versus the house blend of Starbucks coffee that i asked for… and i could tell that difference with soymilk and splenda in it…..
on 31 Mar 2009 at 1:11 pm 6.Patrick G said …
I find in most cases, good coffee is just good coffee.
The only coffee in which I can discern between is coffee from Sumatra and coffee that is not from Sumatra. There is an unmistakeable earthy and low acidic taste with the coffees from Sumatra I've tried.
Sumatran is also my favourite.
on 31 Mar 2009 at 1:11 pm 7.Sugar PIe said …
A recent survey (heard this on the radio) found that McD's, Dunkin Donuts, and Krispy Kreme all had better tasting coffee than Starbucks and other high-end coffee chains. They said Starbucks burnt their beans.
I'll take a cup of McD's or Costco's home-brew anyday.
on 31 Mar 2009 at 1:11 pm 8.caligurl2729 said …
yes i can
on 31 Mar 2009 at 1:11 pm 9.DeafLegacy said …
I can tell a difference between two different kinds of coffee.
on 31 Mar 2009 at 1:11 pm 10.bettyaboop510 said …
anyone should be able to taste the difference.