Umami.. bean or barista dependent?

[lilmeh]

Hi all,

Lately Ive been drinking a lot more coffee than I would like due to working long hours and recently started noticing that certain cafes are serving coffees with stronger umami aftertaste which results in a dry/dryer throat.

So, does anyone know what factors come into play?
Is it the baristas skills or the beans?

[shapeshifter]

Re: Umami.. bean or barista dependent?

You must be pretty special to be able to tell

[Andy]

Re: Umami.. bean or barista dependent?

Is it the baristas skills or the beans?

Mostly the beans.
Wet hulled Indos are often very high in the "meaty" flavours as are some of the African dry processed beans but Ive even found it in Colombian beans before.

The roaster can also add more unami effect by roasting longer, darker which burns-of the sweetness and leaving more of the traits that you have found.

...and even the barista can amplify the unami by pulling a higher temperature shot.

You might find that the cafes have swapped out a bean in their blend, thats the most likely difference.

[lilmeh]

Re: Umami.. bean or barista dependent?

Hmm.. maybe I described it wrong but its not just "meaty", its more the lingering aftertaste which leads to dryness on the tastebuds - kind of like a guggliness in the throat afterwards...

.. I am really bad at describing this :-/

[every1luvsu]

Re: Umami.. bean or barista dependent?

I am not sure what the cause is but I had a teacher in primary school whos mouth didnt produce as much saliva as it was meant to. The doctor told him to chew gum (ie wrigglies).

So that is an option to prevent dryness, assuming your work environment allows for it.

[cosmicfluff]

Re: Umami.. bean or barista dependent?

I think that parched/dry feeling is not dissimilar to the dryness experienced after eating foods containing MSG.

To side track a little, come coffees Ive had outside of work have this starchy mouthfeel. What might have caused this? Im not sure if Ive even described it correctly.

[lilmeh]

Re: Umami.. bean or barista dependent?

To side track a little, come coffees Ive had outside of work have this starchy mouthfeel.

I think we might be describing the same thing..

[cosmicfluff]

Re: Umami.. bean or barista dependent?

We might be onto something... ^^

[short_black_fella]

Re: Umami.. bean or barista dependent?

Hi all,

Lately Ive been drinking a lot more coffee than I would like due to working long hours and recently started noticing that certain cafes are serving coffees with stronger umami aftertaste which results in a dry/dryer throat.

So, does anyone know what factors come into play?
Is it the baristas skills or the beans?

Are these cafes using blends which contain some level of robusta coffee?

I have had dealings (limited) with some that tend to leave a real astrigency feel in the mouth.

Perhaps it could also be bean/roast related. Higher acidity can be linked to astrigency. Maybe a lighter roast??

[Topher]

Re: Umami.. bean or barista dependent?

Yeah - maybe a lighter roast? Sydney seems to be going all melbourne at the moment and going for light blends with super short shots. All the cool kids are doing it.

Let one of these tricky blends pour too long and hits the top of your mouth like the juice of a dry lemon soaked in vinegar strained through a dirty tea towell.

As a side note there is a sydney roaster called umami.