Many hands make good coffee or a wine, I hope everyone will agree with me. In spite of being a teetotaler I have learnt a lot about wine. People don’t accept that fact that I don’t drink wine when we get-together for some drinks, I talk so much about them. Wine tasting & coffee tasting by itself has a lot to learn.
Learn more these topics on Coffee & Wine can be learnt.
Red, Rose & White wine are there. For the coffee we have light, medium & strong, I mean the quantity of water not the milk thickness in India. A good cup of coffee is the legacy of the people who grow, pick, process, roast, and serve it.But if u go for a coffee shop in India u get these option (Reminds me of the Kotak securities advertisement)
Cappuccino or Espresso
Coffee – Black or white
Sugar – with or without
With Sugar – White or brown
Beans – various varieties to chose from
Roasted – Mild, medium or strong (Just the beans, not the coffee on the stove)
All this for just a cup of coffee ….
Ok now let’s go back to the similarities between wine & coffee. The observation process that requires your eyes, nose and palate, for the coffee with milk and sugar.
Using your eyes:
Wine: Check the reflection of light on the wine n shining of the liquid. More it shines, younger it is.
Coffee: Check the reflection of light on the coffee, the more it’s transparent the lighter the coffee is or in other words the less the milk is there.
Some diamonds sparkle more than others, some wines shine more than others. If u observe the same phenomenon in the coffee straight go ahead and throw that in the bin.
Viscosity can be a geographical indicator or a measure of residual sugar. Watch the streams of wine that run down the sides of the glass after you swirl it.
Wine: An oily look indicates a high level of alcohol.
Coffee: The non-sticky look indicates a high level of water some time if the sugar content is also high u will get the sticky look.
On to clarity: Looking through the side of the glass, preferably against a dark background, try to see if any particles are suspended in it.
Wine: The better-the wine is very clear. A cloudy wine will lack finesse.
Coffee: The better-the coffee is opaque. Any sign of translucent indicates the lack of quality.
I’m not discussing about the color of the wine or coffee here. That will be an article by itself.
Smell: Now you have to smell it, first just smell it simply as it is. Then stir it little bit and smell it. Try this 3 - 4 times.
Wine: The smell is a strong indicator it tells us where the wine was stored, the kind of soil it was grown all these can be found with this property.
Coffee: The same can be applied. Be careful not to stir for long as it will get cold and go taste less. The smell is a very strong indicator for the coffee. Some people add brick powder so that u can get a color but the smell can come in hand to help you in this regard.
Taste: Now finally take it in mouth. But wait, wait, wait...just take it in mouth, don't swallow it.
Wine: Keep it there for a while, that will increase the temperature of wine upto the body temperature and also let a little amount of air go in the mouth and mix with the wine
Coffee: Keep it there for a while, a word of caution. Don’t blame me if it’s piping hot as you get in some parts of south India. But the initial taste itself will tell you if you consume the whole glass or just throw it down.
