Describing Descriptions

The following articles were originally published as a 2-part special series in Tea and Coffee Trade Journal in the July/August 2018 and September 2018 issues.

How do we encourage or persuade customers to try our coffee? Communicating the virtues of the coffee will attract the attention of buyers, for both green coffee and roasted coffee. The success of any beverage program starts with quality: how does it taste? Branding, promotion and merchandising will capture the first sale, but only quality will keep your customers returning time after time. Together we will explore how to create TRUE coffee descriptions: Trustworthy, Realistic, Understandable, Enticing.

Describing coffee’s characteristics and writing menu descriptions are similar. There are generally tacit rules when writing menus: concise statements for quick recognition, using descriptive words that entice the senses and encourage purchase, and getting this information to your audience in a manner that is easily understood. Coffee descriptions, especially value-added attributes, are used to identify a point of differentiation from competitors. Descriptions also catalog differences in quality within an offering list or menu, and should provide enough information to substantiate the price of coffee. Good descriptions, specifically about the coffee’s provenance and flavor profile are proactive and answer the customer’s questions before being asked. Coffee professionals are enthusiastic, passionate and place a high priority on product education but we often create jargon and use insider’s vernacular not easily understood by consumers. The comprehensive educational programs within the coffee industry seek to provide us with understanding of geography, botany, terroir, processing, and supply chain terminology; terms that are perplexing and obscure to most consumers.

Creating coffee description is relatively easy; begin by writing obvious details. Sales and marketing professionals have a reputation for creating poetic descriptions lacking connection to the product, and include hyperbole or inaccuracies do not accurately portray the coffee, and are not TRUE. The challenge is to create TRUE coffee descriptions that are quickly and easily understood, that differentiate one coffee from another, and that encourage purchase.

TRUE coffee descriptions are:

Trustworthy – Coffee descriptions should have credibility to validate the quality expectations of a business. Any claims made in a product description must be confirmed by the operation of the business. For example, coffee certifications must be substantiated by identifying the certification organization, and include an explanation of the program details. Evidence within the business or supply chain must support the claims and description made for each coffee.

Direct Trade or relationship sourcing is disingenuous when presented by the company that does not source the coffee. This is dangerous for private label brands that do not source their own coffee and then appropriate the term from their coffee roaster. Also troubling is a roasting company that misrepresents its sourcing by promoting the actions of its green coffee supplier as its own.

Trust is developed over time through positive interaction and honesty. Trust is quickly destroyed and will cause a customer to look for another provider.

Realistic – Avoid exaggeration and embellishment. Coffee descriptions should be accurate to the individual product and based on the reality of the supply chain, not an ideal, what is hoped for, or a generalization. Descriptions should be revised when the details of a product or supply chain change. Realistic descriptions are believable and help increase the trust customers have for the product and business supplying the coffee. For example, once a long standing national brand coffee had two contradicting statements on their roasted coffee package at the same time, both “Same Great Taste Since 18XX” and “New & Improved Flavour.” This is an example of an overzealous graphic designer or marketer not living up to realistic descriptions. Widely used terms like “mountain grown,” “hand-picked,” “craft roasted,” “hand-crafted,” and “specialty” are easily understood by consumers. However, each has an expectation to actual reality and must be avoided if not true.

Fresh is a term that is used throughout the coffee industry and has become ubiquitous. However, it is unclear what is meant by the term when it is printed on packaged roasted coffee. Is it realistic to describe coffee as fresh within a modified atmospheric package that has a shelf-life of four months or longer?

Misinformation or inaccuracies that are not realistic contribute to a customer’s lack of confidence in the product or the brand. For example, coffees are most often itemized by country of origin, but often Kona, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java, Galapagos and Yunnan are listed as origins, yet these are not countries.

Understandable – The attributes of the coffee should be presented in a straightforward manner, using terminology that can be recognized and comprehended by the intended audience. Providing context or defining coffee nomenclature may be required when presenting information to consumers. For example, simply listing the name of the farm and varietal is commonplace, Panama Esmeralda Geisha. Labeling the words to indicate farm and varietal, then also presenting the significance of the information to help the consumer understand the value, quality implications and meaning is commonly overlooked.

Coffee’s global supply chain often forces us to utilize words that are not found in every language and may be hard for many to pronounce. Words that are common to specialty coffee professionals may create a barrier between professionals and consumers. Think of Huehuetenango, Yirgacheffe, Xinabajul, Kayanza Gahahe, Nyamasheke, Kawa Maber, Abakundakawa Hingakawa, Cerrado, Oaxaca and Catuai.

Using abbreviations can create confusion even among professionals who may not understand the meaning or significance of the letters, eg, AP, EP, MCM, PW, HB, PC, Gr1, Sc18, MTGB, PFMC etc.

Enticing – Word choice will help the buyer understand the expected flavour attributes and assist in their purchase decision. This is an opportunity for the seller to extol the features, characteristics and benefits of the coffee to attract interest. An enticing flavour description may intrigue a consumer to make a purchase or confirm that it may be the wrong product for them – accuracy will contribute to creating happy consumers and preventing unpleasant experiences.

Presenting the coffee’s provenance, quality and flavour descriptions in a captivating way, while explaining why this information is important as a point of differentiation from other products or from your competitors, may compel the customer to make a purchase.

Creativity is the key when writing enticing descriptions, however, the information must remain trustworthy, realistic and understandable.

Taste Descriptions

Writing taste profiles for coffee has become competitive gamesmanship to present the most creative and esoteric descriptions. Alluring words and inventive phrases are used to entice but can be almost inexplicable. As we progress from the old Coffee Tasters flavour wheel to the new one, coffee professionals are challenged to upgrade their vocabulary and expand their list of possible descriptors. It is important, when the flavor wheel is used as a descriptor guide, to keep coffee descriptions TRUE.

Aroma and taste descriptors are most easily understood when primary flavours are referenced for the perceived attribute. When attributes are categorized into groups, it becomes difficult to understand their meaning without additional training or explanations. Simply put, state what you taste. Word choice is critical to prevent confusion. In my judgment, primary flavours are ones that can be found in nature and purchased directly from a grocer for calibrations. These are the flavours that can be standardized for training by creating calibration standards for aroma and taste, and naming each to the particular primary flavour. For example, grassy is fresh cut green grass, papery is the taste of paper coffee filters, woody is the taste of Popsicle sticks.

TRUE descriptions are best created in collaboration between sales and marketing professionals and product storytellers from supply chain to product development who have expertise in sensory attributes, physical characteristics and the coffee’s origin. TRUE coffee descriptions match the right coffee with the buyer to increase satisfaction, create distinctive coffee experiences, and to encourage repeat purchases.

Please see Part II: TRUE Green & Roasted Coffee Taste Descriptions in the next issue.

TRUE Green & Roasted Coffee Taste Descriptions

Aroma and taste descriptors are most easily understood when primary flavours are referenced for the perceived attribute. When attributes are categorized into groups it becomes difficult to understand their meaning without additional training or explanations. Confusion is created when conclusions are used for flavour descriptions or when adjectives or verbs are used in place of nouns when presenting descriptions. The use of primary food terminology adheres to the tenants of TRUE descriptions. A primary food word is one that has a tangible reference found in nature, at a grocery store, or within a set of calibration standards. Familiarity with basic taste terms is developed through sensory training using calibration samples for aroma and taste and aligning with other cupper and tasters for the appropriate use of the terms.

When there is confusion, additional discussions are required to identify the actual taste or aroma character being perceived. This becomes inefficient for an operation and may result in inappropriate or incorrect descriptions being used for coffee. These additional discussions are challenging when cuppers/tasters are working to understand each description across language, regional or cultural differences. Examples of conclusion or category words that are to be avoided when communicating coffee descriptions:

• Aged – a measurement of time not taste, used as a conclusion when coffee presents tastes and aroma of paper, malt, cereal, cardboard, oats, peanut shells, and rice.
• Bright, Crisp & Sharp – terms used to describe organic acids that are astringent, tart or lack sweetness.
• Edgy – used to describe coffee that is not clean and/or not sweet.
• Green – describes coffee that is early-crop harvest, under-ripe, recently milled, or has not has enough time to rest before analysis. Specific tastes that could be identified individually include: grassy, green pepper, green bean, onion, and broccoli, among others.
• Harsh – also used to describe coffee that is not clean and/or not sweet.
• Low-grown character – often used to describe coffee that lacks intensity of flavour, mild acidity, thin body, and may also include grassy, dirty or earthy undertones.
• Old – a measurement of time not taste, used as a conclusion when coffee presents tastes and aroma of paper, malt, cereal, cardboard, oats, peanut shells, and rice.
• Off-cup – used to indicate a coffee cup that lacks uniformity with other cups, or has an unidentified taint or fault.
• Past crop – a measurement of time not taste, used as a conclusion when coffee presents tastes and aroma of paper, malt, cereal, cardboard, oats, peanut shells, and rice.
• Processed – often used to describe decaffeinated coffee and thought to indicate over-processing to remove caffeine or the character of the water used in decaffeinated coffee processing. Specific tastes that could be identified individually include: hay, straw, paper, cereal, malt, cardboard, peanut shells, nut skins, and rice.
• Roasty – used to describe the effects of roasting instead of the character of the coffee, for example the taste of burnt sugar, earthy, dirty, smoky or ashy characters found in dark roasted coffees or coffees exposed to exhaust smoke.
• Sound – A term used to indicate when coffee is free of defects.
• Tired – a measurement of time not taste, used as a conclusion when coffee presents tastes and aroma of paper, malt, cereal, cardboard, oats, peanut shells, and rice.

To avoid confusion when creating reviewing coffee sensory descriptions, it is most efficient and effective to use primary food words, which have a single item that can be used for calibration, either from a grocery store, or a flavour training kit.

Training and sensory acuity may affect the words used in creating coffee descriptions. Also, the quality of the coffee is a key contributing factor to the degree of generalization or specificity of the descriptive words used. Eg, a coffee may be described as having fruity, spicy, and nutty characters. By this description it is unknown if the cupper is a novice and has not been fully trained in identify and describing taste, or if the quality of the coffee does not allow for more specific taste characters to be perceived and listed.

Fruity is a category descriptor that obviously includes all fruits. This category can be divided into citric and berry, thus diverging on the fruit identity and increasing the level of specificity. Further detail perceptions would be to identify the actual citric fruits perceived or berries perceived. Many specialty coffee descriptions identify the individual variety of lemon or lime. This level of great details requires a highly trained cupper who is calibrated to lemon and lime standards and a high-quality coffee that has the inherent taste characteristics. Without one or even both to occur, a description that may include Kaffir Limes, Key Limes, Limequates, Meyer Lemons, Rangpur Limes, Tahiti Limes and Eureka or Lisbon lemons, will lack both credibility and believability.

Coffee Product Descriptions

Merchandising is the promoting of items for sale. Any action that stimulates the buyer’s interest and entices consideration for purchase intent is merchandising, including advertising, packaging, price, and promotion. It is most effective when the buyer understands the information which is presented in a clear and concise manner. When descriptions create too many questions, or present incomplete or include technical jargon, merchandising will adversely affect the buyer’s purchase decision.

Industry jargon and abbreviations are appropriate only when the seller and potential buyers are both familiar with the terms and a communication shorthand is appropriate. However, armatures, home roasters and consumers may be confused by our verbal short-hand.

When offering products to consumers, additional explanations and more detailed descriptions are required, specifically answering why the information presented is important and how it will affect the quality of the coffee. Consumers expect TRUE descriptions. Information that is obvious to professionals may be unknown to consumers, thus it is always recommended to identify the information being presented to avoid confusion. Green coffee descriptions are commonly used to merchandise roasted coffee products, illustrating the relationship and importance of describing descriptions accurately and appropriately.

Each company should adopt a standard format for coffee description, which over time, will become familiar to returning customers. An important note: regular customers will gradually gain knowledge and sophistication, so before changing the format of coffee descriptions carefully consider how those changes will affect new and novice consumers. What benefits one consumer group may alienate another. Detailed explanations for coffee descriptions may be presented on the company’s web page, within the foodservice menu or retail display, and are not always feasible to include on the coffee packaging. In the foodservice environment, TRUE product descriptions and detailed explanations should always be part of employee training and available to any employee who needs to answer a consumer’s question.

Green Coffee Descriptions

Commonly used to establish provenance, promote the sourcing practices, or explain the quality of the coffee, green coffee descriptions are obviously a critical component to merchandising green coffee products and are not more common when merchandising roasted coffee products. Often a point of differentiation from one product or company to another, green coffee descriptions establish the expectations for quality, value and sensory experience.

Green coffee descriptions may require explanation relevant to quality, sensory profile, and price:

• Regional Identification – What is a Yirgacheffe or Huehuetenango?
• Varietal/Cultivar – Why is Bourbon or Geisha important to state?
• Altitude/Density & Other Identifiers – What is meant by PW, EP, HB, SHB, HG, MCM, SHG?
• Processing Types – How are the different methods significant?
• Certification – Why is it significant and what does it mean?

Recently, a colleague visited a local coffeehouse that offers specialty quality coffees in their pour-over station. The featured coffee was Panama Pacamara and the price was USD $9 for a 12-ounce cup. When compared to usual prices for pour-over, French press and vacuum pot preparation in the US, this drink is about two to three times more expensive. The merchandising and description for this expensive handcrafted beverage, Panama Pacamara, was grossly incomplete, and was further exacerbated when the barista was asked about the coffee provenance and roast development. The barista’s only response was Pacamara coffee from Panama. This exchange and poor description is tantamount to merchandising a bottle or can of craft beer as ale from Colorado and selling it for two to three times the usual price. Both are examples of descriptions that are not TRUE.

Roasted Coffee Descriptions

The message of hospitality is to never give the customer a reason to shop elsewhere. Confusing and incomplete merchandising may force buyers to look elsewhere for coffee. When buyers are unable to connect with the product through the description there is low confidence of purchase or repeat purchases.

As professionals, we know our industry has many differences of opinions and company-specific terminology regarding quality identifications for coffee. TRUE descriptions are not vague and are aligned with the industry as whole. Examining roast level’s descriptions, the roast development spectrum may be divided into categories, there has been limited industry alignment on the use of light, medium, and dark description. Recognized roast terms used in merchandising, such as: American, cinnamon, city, full city, Vienna, continental, French, Italian, etc, are not standardized and often create confusion for the consumer. When comparing several packaged coffees that all use the same roast level identification, there will surely be several different levels of roast development or coffee colour, often with a wide range from light to dark. Consumers are further confused when seeing company-specific references. Eg, a light roast from a company that specializes in dark roasted coffees may be darker than a dark roasted coffee from a company that specializes in light roasted coffees. Standardization or a universality of roast development language or roast colour identification would contribute to greater understanding by consumers.

Descriptions are not TRUE when confusion is created and consumer expectations are not met. Flavour descriptions, roast description, coffee quality, origin information, etc, must always follow the TRUE model or a point if disconnection will occur between the seller and the buyer, or between the professional and the consumer. Knowing the details of the contents within a coffee package or of a coffee beverage through the use of TRUE descriptions will help prevent disappointment and purchases of coffee that will not suit the preferences of the consumer.

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Spencer Turer is vice president of Coffee Enterprises in Hinesburg, Vermont. He is a founding member of the Roasters Guild, a licensed Q grader, received the SCAA Outstanding Contribution to the Association Award and earned the SCA Specialty Coffee Diploma. Turer is an active volunteer for the Specialty Coffee Association and the National Coffee Association of the USA.