LMSC How would you describe Grapefruit and Cranberries please?
I’m not sure I fully understand what you’re asking me. That’s maybe not surprising - it’s only too easy to run into difficulty when trying to use language to describe sensory effects.
I can only tell you how we would use those words in the context of evaluating coffee. Take grapefruit. If we’re using grapefruit, we’re almost certainly trying to describe the acidity. A typical, or even a pink grapefruit are mostly associated with a fairly bracing, sharp acidity that is quite clean but has a hint of bitterness about it that you wouldn’t find in something like a lemon - which may have also a bracing, sharp acidity, but with a lot more sweetness.
So, a flavour note like grapefruit - for me at least is quite useful, it tells me quite a lot. It’s just one element though, so I’m instantly wondering about how well that acidity sits within the overall flavour profile, the balance if you like. That will have a huge impact on whether I’m going to find the coffee pleasant or not.
Cranberries for me still have a sharp acidity but it’s way more gentle than in a grapefruit. There’s a lot of sweetness too which gives more balance. They’re a little sour but that can work well with the sweetness. The finish when eating cranberries is sweeter, and lingering, whereas a grapefruit usually has quite a dry finish.
I suppose the point for me is that we use these composites as a kind of shorthand when discussing coffee within the industry but they are sometime perceived differently outside that context. e.g. ’it’s more cranberry than grapefruit’ tells me a huge amount about the coffee I’m considering trying out with a view to possible purchase.
