Here Are the Elements of a Truly Great Coffee

It’s often difficult to break down what makes a great coffee. Every seasoned coffee drinker knows that sense of elation when a coffee is just right. As the two-time winner of Roy Morgan’s best coffee shop, here’s what we look at to determine when a coffee is truly exceptional.

Great Coffee Through the Senses

Sight: A great coffee is a rich, healthy crema colour. If the coffee is pale or unpleasantly brown, it has been under or over-extracted. The milk should be smooth and silky, with no visible bubbles.

Smell: Your coffee should have a light, floral aroma in addition to the usual smell of espresso. You should not smell any burning, as this would mean your milk has been steamed for too long. Also, a strong acidic smell emanating from your coffee may reflect a poor extraction.

Taste: In broad terms, your coffee should taste balanced. A great coffee walks the line between acidity and bitterness. Aftertaste is also crucial, as a poorly made coffee can have a strong acidic or bitter aftertaste beyond the initial sip.

Feel: Feel, and specifically mouth-feel, is a crucial aspect in enjoying your coffee. Your coffee should be smooth and velvety, with a thickness slightly more than water, but not so thick that it is difficult to drink.

Overall, a great coffee is all about balance, between aspects of acidity, bitterness and the quality of the milk.

Choose Your Milk Carefully

These aspects can be adjusted with the addition of different milks, which can distinctly change the flavour of your coffee!

Full-Cream Milk: Made up of fats and proteins, traditional full-cream milk gives coffee a more velvety texture than alternatives.

Skim or “Skinny” Milk: Skinny milk has had the fats removed. As a substitute, sugars are added to give the milk more flavour, giving skinny milk a slight sweetness.

Soy Milk and Almond Milk: Both soy and almond milk have a nutty flavour which makes them unique. Soy milk often has a thickness, not unlike full-cream milk. Almond milk, however, is associated with a stronger taste, particularly the unsweetened variety.

Be sure to visit your local Muffin Break and see how our master baristas balance the intricacy of the coffee-making process.

We’re also committing to add a little bit of goodness by reducing our impact on Australian landfill – for every takeaway cup you buy, we will pay to have one recycled by Simply Cups, helping to keep waste out of landfill. Find out more about how the “Good Goes In” at Muffin Break.