coffee writing

How do you communicate a flavor? How do you tell others what coffee tastes like? How can you write about coffee in a way that is understandable by the average coffee drinker?

I’ve written about how I became a food writer previously. In that article there’s the not-so-short story of how it dawned on me that I liked food and was knowledgeable enough to write about it, as a full-time job.

Coffee descriptions have left many drinkers baffled. I bet half of consumers barely read them. Understandably. Many descriptions are either too vague (“sweet and strong”) or seem unrealistic (“lemon meringue with undertones of sandalwood”).

How to tell a taste? A smell? A mouthfeel? How do you communicate what your taste buds are telling you to a person that is not with you, not even in your country or even on the same continent as you?