Sweetness in Coffee: Sensory Analysis and Identification of Key Compounds

The Coffee Science Foundation (CSF) is excited to announce the launch of a new research project, “Sweetness in Coffee: Sensory Analysis and Identification of Key Compounds,” in collaboration with the Flavor Research and Education Center (FREC) in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

Specialty coffee consumers and experts alike agree that a key part of coffee quality is the natural sweetness that is a part of high-quality coffee flavor. Recent research has confirmed that, counterintuitively, the sweetness in coffee does not come from sugars in the bean. This has created something of a mystery among coffee experts and sensory scientists —if sugars do not make coffee taste sweet, what could be the reason for the sweet taste of high-quality coffee?

Natural sweetness makes coffee more valuable to consumers, roasters, and coffee farmers alike, which is why it is being recognized as a sensorial evaluation category within the SCA’s Coffee Value Assessment System. Solving the mystery of sweetness, then, is a key element of the SCA's journey to make coffee better and more sustainable.

Published Research Outputs

“Sweetness in Coffee” began research in fall of 2022, and the CSF hopes to see results as soon as 2023.