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Ubiquitous Sense of Touch [ Body ] While it’s hard to find an accurate equivalent
for the term “body”, you might understand it pretty well
We use hands, lips and tongue to feel what we if you are a fan of red wine, in which due to the fermen-
eat or touch. A simple example is we as infants would tation of ethanol and other substances the wine gets its
instinctively put into mouth everything our hands rich taste. Body is more like a description of density
could reach, where touch is an integrated part of tast- that can be experienced by tongue. To put it simple, you
ing. Imagine how boring it would be if we felt the same might easily see the difference between drinking water
whatever we touch. and drinking such beverages as yogurt or espresso, where
the last ones give you a higher sensation of heaviness.
Oral Taste Sensation. A coffee’s body is mainly created by the coffee
I have read a lot of fascinating stories about the bean’s oil and dissolved substances extracted during the
sense of touch and experiments with it. For people brewing process, which contributes to coffee’s richness,
with ageusia or anosmia, who are not able to taste or density and complexity. Because the drip/filter meth-
smell, sight and touch are what they rely on to judge od removes many desirable flavor oils, this brewing
food. By feeling the texture, they would tell if it is method produces a lighter body. In contrast, an espresso
fresh or “delicious”. For example, ham with good pro- shot pulled from an espresso machine/maker will have
portion of fat and lean or sashimi would offer different more body because the essential oils remain in the coffee.
kinds of tasting sensation. Touch, which is very im- Therefore, you can easily tell one from another by feeling
portant for those people, serves as a way to experience the sharp difference in their body. Learning about body
different levels of sensations while enjoying food. will enrich your experience in tasting a cup of coffee.
*An interesting fact: Ben Cohen, co-founder of
Ben&Jerry’s Ice Cream, who has anosmia, compen- [ Astringency ] The Misunderstood Sensation of Touch
sated for not being able to smell cherry, chocolate and Many people, describing the flavor of coffee, use the
almond etc. by having a super-feel and texture in his expression of “bitter and astringent”. Astringency,
products to satisfy the oral feelings. This “problem” therefore, is always mistaken for a descriptor of taste.
turned out to be a positive feature and has made Actually, it is a sensation of touch, which is also a sig-
Ben&Jerry the most popular brand in the world of ice nificant flavor component of wine and tea.
cream.

Chlorogenic Acid Levels
LOW HIGH

Roasted Coffee Green Coffee
Bean Bean
“Tactile” is one of the espresso evaluation indexes on sensory score sheet
in World Barista Championship
Astringency is a puckering sensation on
the tongue, back of the palate and cheeks. The
For coffee, touch equates to mouth feelings, astringency in wine is the tannins primarily from
namely the weight, texture and finish of the liquid in grape skin, while that in coffee is the combination
the mouth. When you experience the interaction of of the chlorogenic acid from the beans, which is
the three, you are feeling the cup of coffee with the degraded into various elements in the roasting
sense of touch. process, and the tartaric acid from the beans.
Texture is an important part of feelings like smell Astringency is sometimes admirable in wine but
and taste. It is often said that a great espresso “paints never in coffee. It is what baristas are working
the tongue” , and indeed it always leaves in the mouth hard to get rid of as an irritation to the tasting ex-
a rich aftertaste. Differences in body and temperature perience and a flaw of the roasting process. Well-
will bring different oral feelings, helping coffee som- controlled roasting and extracting is the key to a
meliers in their judgments. Two following paragraphs nice cup of coffee with smooth texture and flavor.
tell in detail about the two most often used coffee
tactile markers.

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