bitterness is due to easily extracted caffeine,
the rest to more slowly extracted phenolic
compounds and browning pigments. More
than 800 aroma compounds have been
identified, and they supply notes that are
described as nutty, earthy, flowery, fruity,
buttery, chocolate-like, cinnamon, tea,
honeyed, caramel, bready, roasty, spicy, even
winey and gamy. Robusta coffees, with their
substantially higher content of phenolic
substances than arabicas, develop a
characteristic smoky, tarry aroma that is
valued in dark roasts (they are also distinctly
less acidic than arabicas). Milk and cream
reduce the astringency of coffee by providing
proteins that bind to the tannic phenolic
compounds, but these liquids also bind aroma
molecules and weaken the overall coffee
flavor.
Decaffeinated Coffee Decaffeinated coffee
was invented in Germany around 1908. It’s