Glossary · 63 terms
Coffee glossary
Coffee words in plain English, with the grinder terms you meet when choosing a grinder explained in full.
A
- AcidityTaste and extraction
- The bright, tart quality in coffee, like citrus or berries. Wanted in many light roasts, and different from sourness.Read more →
- AeroPressBrewing
- A manual brewer, invented by Alan Adler, that uses air pressure to push water through the grounds.Read more →
- AffogatoEspresso and milk
- A shot of espresso poured over a scoop of vanilla gelato or ice cream.Read more →
- ArabicaBeans, roast and processing
- The coffee species behind almost all specialty coffee, prized for sweetness and complexity.Read more →
B
- BloomBrewing
- The first small pour in pour-over that wets the grounds and lets trapped CO₂ escape before the main pours.Read more →
- BodyTaste and extraction
- How heavy or thin coffee feels in the mouth.Read more →
- Brew ratioBrewing
- Coffee to water by weight, written 1:X. At 1:16, 15 g of coffee takes 240 g of water.Read more →
- Brew temperatureBrewing
- The water temperature you brew with. Hotter water extracts faster; light roasts often need hotter water than dark roasts.Read more →
- Burr alignmentGrinders and grind size
- How parallel and centered the two burrs sit. Poor alignment means one side grinds finer than the other.Read more →
- Burr grinderGrinders and grind size
- A grinder that crushes beans between two burrs instead of chopping them with a blade, giving a far more even grind.Read more →
C
- ChannelingTaste and extraction
- When water finds an easy path through the coffee bed, so some grounds over-extract and others barely extract.Read more →
- ChemexBrewing
- An hourglass-shaped glass pour-over brewer that uses thick bonded paper filters for a clean, light-bodied cup.Read more →
- Coffee cherryBeans, roast and processing
- The fruit of the coffee plant. Its seeds, usually two per cherry, become coffee beans.Read more →
- Cold brewBrewing
- Coffee steeped in cold or room-temperature water for many hours, using a very coarse grind.Read more →
- Conical burrsGrinders and grind size
- A burr set where a cone-shaped inner burr turns inside a ring-shaped outer burr. Common in hand grinders and many home electrics.Read more →
- CremaEspresso and milk
- The golden foam on top of an espresso shot, formed as CO₂ escapes under pressure. More crema does not mean a better shot.Read more →
- CuppingTaste and extraction
- The standard way to taste and compare coffees: grounds steep in a bowl, then the crust is broken and the coffee is slurped from a spoon.Read more →
D
- Dark roastBeans, roast and processing
- Coffee roasted into or past second crack, with oily beans and roast-led flavors like chocolate and smoke.Read more →
- DecafBeans, roast and processing
- Coffee with most of its caffeine removed before roasting, by water, CO₂ or solvent processes.Read more →
- Dialing inBrewing
- Adjusting grind, dose, ratio and time until a coffee tastes right on your setup. Grind is usually the first thing to change.Read more →
- DoseBrewing
- The weight of dry coffee used for one brew, in grams.Read more →
- Drip coffeeBrewing
- Any method where water flows through the grounds by gravity, from manual pour-over to automatic machines.Read more →
E
- EspressoEspresso and milk
- A small, concentrated coffee made by forcing hot water through finely ground, tamped coffee under high pressure.Read more →
- ExtractionTaste and extraction
- Dissolving flavor from the grounds into water. Too little tastes sour and thin; too much tastes bitter and harsh.Read more →
F
- FilterBrewing
- Paper, metal or cloth that separates grounds from the brew. Each changes how much body and sediment reaches the cup.Read more →
- FinesGrinders and grind size
- The very small particles every grinder produces. They extract quickly and can slow drawdown or add bitterness.Read more →
- First crackBeans, roast and processing
- The popping sound partway through a roast as moisture inside the bean turns to steam. Light roasts end soon after it.Read more →
- Flat burrsGrinders and grind size
- Two parallel, ring-shaped burrs facing each other, with beans ground as they move outward between them.Read more →
- Flat whiteEspresso and milk
- An espresso drink with a thin layer of velvety microfoam, smaller and stronger-tasting than a latte.Read more →
- French pressBrewing
- An immersion brewer where coarse grounds steep, then a mesh plunger pushes them to the bottom.Read more →
G
- Green coffeeBeans, roast and processing
- Unroasted coffee seeds, as they are traded and shipped before roasting.Read more →
- Grind indexGrinders and grind size
- BrewMark's 0–100 scale for grind size: 0 is espresso-fine, 40 is filter, 100 is the coarsest setting. It lets a setting be translated between grinder models.Read more →
- Grind retentionGrinders and grind size
- Ground coffee that stays inside the grinder after grinding and comes out with your next dose.Read more →
- Grind sizeGrinders and grind size
- How fine or coarse the ground coffee is. Finer grounds extract faster, so each brew method needs its own range.Read more →
- Grind size distributionGrinders and grind size
- The spread of particle sizes a grinder produces at one setting. No grinder makes particles that are all one size.Read more →
H
- Honey processBeans, roast and processing
- Drying beans with some of the sticky fruit layer still on, which tends to add sweetness. No honey is involved.Read more →
I
- Immersion brewingBrewing
- Any method where the grounds sit fully submerged for the whole brew, such as French press, cupping and cold brew.Read more →
L
- LatteEspresso and milk
- Espresso with a larger amount of steamed milk and a thin layer of foam.Read more →
- Light roastBeans, roast and processing
- Coffee roasted to shortly after first crack, keeping more of the origin flavors, such as fruit and florals.Read more →
M
- Medium roastBeans, roast and processing
- Coffee roasted between first and second crack, balancing origin character with roast sweetness.Read more →
- MicrofoamEspresso and milk
- Steamed milk with bubbles so small it looks glossy, used for flat whites, lattes and latte art.Read more →
- MicrolotBeans, roast and processing
- A small, separately kept batch from one farm or plot, often with its own processing or variety.Read more →
N
- Natural processBeans, roast and processing
- Drying the whole cherry before removing the fruit, which often gives fruity, winey flavors.Read more →
O
- OriginBeans, roast and processing
- Where a coffee was grown: the country, region or farm.Read more →
- Over-extractionTaste and extraction
- Pulling too much from the grounds, usually from too fine a grind or too long a brew. Tastes bitter or drying. Grind coarser.Read more →
P
- Pour-overBrewing
- Pouring hot water by hand over grounds in a filter cone, as with the V60, Kalita Wave or Chemex.Read more →
R
- RDT (Ross Droplet Technique)Grinders and grind size
- Adding a drop of water to beans before grinding to reduce static, clumping and mess.Read more →
- RistrettoEspresso and milk
- A shorter espresso shot: the same dose, stopped with less liquid in the cup.Read more →
- Roast dateBeans, roast and processing
- The day the coffee was roasted. Most coffee tastes best within a few weeks of it.Read more →
- RobustaBeans, roast and processing
- A hardier coffee species with more caffeine and bitterness than arabica, common in instant coffee and some espresso blends.Read more →
S
- Second crackBeans, roast and processing
- A second round of crackling late in a roast, as the bean structure breaks down further. It marks dark-roast territory.Read more →
- Single dosingGrinders and grind size
- Weighing and grinding only the beans for one brew, instead of keeping a hopper full.Read more →
- Single originBeans, roast and processing
- Coffee from one country, region or farm, rather than a blend.Read more →
- Specialty coffeeBeans, roast and processing
- High-quality coffee judged on a formal quality assessment. For years that meant 80 or more points on the SCA cupping scale.Read more →
- SteepingBrewing
- Soaking grounds in water without pouring through them. Extraction happens by diffusion.Read more →
- Stepless grinderGrinders and grind size
- A grinder whose adjustment turns smoothly with no clicks, so any setting between two marks is possible.Read more →
T
- TampingEspresso and milk
- Pressing the grounds level and firm in the portafilter basket so water meets even resistance.Read more →
U
- Under-extractionTaste and extraction
- Pulling too little from the grounds, usually from too coarse a grind or too short a brew. Tastes sour or thin. Grind finer.Read more →
V
- V60Brewing
- Hario's cone pour-over brewer, named for its 60-degree angle, with one large hole and spiral ribs.Read more →
- Variety (varietal)Beans, roast and processing
- The cultivar of the coffee plant, such as Typica, Bourbon, Geisha or SL-28.Read more →
W
- Washed processBeans, roast and processing
- Removing the fruit soon after picking and washing the beans before drying, which tends to give clean, bright cups.Read more →
Y
- YieldEspresso and milk
- The weight of espresso in the cup, compared with the dose of dry coffee that went in.Read more →
Z
- Zero pointGrinders and grind size
- The setting where the burrs just touch. Many grinders count their settings from it.Read more →