Tasting guide
How to run a coffee capsule tasting for a buying team
6 min read
For importers, distributors & retailers
01
Write the decision before pouring the coffee
A tasting becomes more useful when the team agrees what it is trying to select. Are you choosing a hero SKU, a dependable core espresso, a hospitality trio or the first flavour edit for retail? The same cup can be interesting and still be wrong for the role under discussion.
Record the intended channel beside every sample. This keeps a personal favourite from automatically becoming the lead product for accounts where it may be harder to explain or repeat.
02
Control the preparation
Use the same machine, water, programmed volume, cup shape and warm-up routine for every capsule. Taste in small groups so the earliest coffees are not cold by the time notes are compared. Serve water and keep food, perfume and strongly scented materials away from the table.
- Begin with classic, unflavoured profiles.
- Move from lighter or softer cups toward darker and more intense ones.
- Taste flavoured capsules after the classics and group similar families together.
- Write notes before discussing them as a group.
- Retaste the shortlist in the actual target service setup.
03
Score language the sales team can use
Technical tasting language is useful only if it survives the route to market. Record aroma, body, perceived sweetness, bitterness, acidity and finish, then add a plain sentence describing who might choose the cup and when. That second line often becomes more valuable to a buyer than a long list of specialist terms.
For flavoured coffees, describe the flavour profile without assuming the named food is an ingredient. The product label remains the source for composition and allergen information.
04
Retaste for the range, not the winner
The goal is not necessarily one highest-scoring coffee. A commercial range needs contrast: products that do different jobs without duplicating one another. Retaste the shortlist side by side and remove any SKU whose role is already covered more clearly by another.
When requesting samples from DORO’S, include the channel, target roles and machine setup. That gives the tasting a commercial brief from the beginning.