Whilst tasting notes can be prone to hyperbole - there have been important improvements in bean processing and roasting. Not that long ago, SCAEE turned its nose up at naturally processed beans arguing the process tainted what the bean had to offer. It was true that, in order to enjoy fruit forward notes, you had to put up with some level of mustiness. Now we have hybrid processing methods such as carbonic maceration, honey etc which improve the quality of the natural process in spades. Roasting has benefitted from the incorporation of computer control which, above all, should ensure consistency batch to batch. So, overall, the quality of the coffee we buy these days has improved but expecting the wow factor from cheaper priced beans is never going to happen no matter what the roaster puts on the bag in terms of tasting notes.
