Flat
A dull, lackluster coffee, deficient in
acidity.
Fair trade coffees
A coffee that is
certified by an international agency as having been grown on a farm that
is part of a Fair Trade working cooperative. Fair Trade certification
works to allow farmers to warrant a fair price for their goods and at
the same time upholds specific standards for the wages and living and
working conditions of its workers. Fair Trade coffees are labeled as
such.
Fair Traded Coffee
Coffee
that has been purchased from farmers (usually peasant farmers) at a
"fair" price as defined by international agencies. The extra paid these
farmers under fair trade arrangements is extremely modest, by the way.
Fermentation
An
important but confusing coffee term with two main meanings. 1) As a
positive component of the wet method of coffee processing, fermentation
is a stage in which the sticky pulp is loosened from the skinned coffee
seeds or beans by natural enzymes while the beans rest in tanks. If
water is added to the tanks the process is called wet fermentation; if
no water is added it is called dry fermentation. 2) In sensory
evaluation, or cupping, of coffee, fermentation is an important
descriptor for a range of related taste defects set off when the sugars
in the coffee fruit begin to ferment. Sensations described as ferment
can range from sweet, composty, rotten-fruit tastes to harsh, moldy,
musty, or medicinal tastes.
Filter Holder,
Portafilter
In espresso brewing, a metal object with
plastic handle that holds the coffee filter, and clamps onto the group.
Filter Method,
Filter-Drip Method
Technically, any brewing method
in which water filters through a bed of ground coffee. In popular usage,
describes drip method brewers utilizing a paper filter to separate
grounds from brewed coffee.
Fine
A quality coffee in terms of acidity,
body, and overall positive characteristics.
Fine Cup
Coffee
with good, positive characteristics.
Finish
The
sensory experience of coffee just as it is swallowed (or, in the
professional cupping procedure, just before it is spit out). Some
coffees transform from first impression on the palate to finish; others
stand pat.
Flavor
In
cupping, or sensory evaluation of coffee, what distinguishes the
sensory experience of coffee once its acidity, body, and aroma have been
described.
Flavored coffee
Coffee
beans that have been “spiced up” with chocolate, cinnamon, hazelnut, or
other spices and flavors.
Flavored Coffees
Coffees
that in their roasted, whole-bean form have been mixed with flavoring
agents.
Flip-Drip, Neapolitan
Macchinetta, Macchinetta
A style of drip method
brewer in which the ground coffee is secured in a two-sided strainer at
the waist of the pot between two closed compartments. The brewing water
is heated in one compartment, then the pot is flipped over, and the hot
water drips through the coffee into the opposite compartment.
Floral
An aroma suggestive of flowers.
Fluid Bed Roaster,
Fluidized Bed Roaster, Air Roaster, Sivitz Roaster
A
roasting apparatus that works much like a giant popcorn popper,
utilizing a column of forced hot air to simultaneously agitate and roast
green coffee beans. These devices are sometimes called Sivitz Roasters,
after their popularizer and first American manufacturer, inventor
Michael Sivitz.
Foreign
A term
that generally covers a number of imperfect flavours coming from
contamination, for example, rubbery or mouldy.
Foul
A rank,
strong, fermented flavour or any other strong, unpleasant defective
flavour, such as hidey or oniony.
Fragrance
As
a specialized term in cupping, or sensory evaluation of coffee,
fragrance describes the scent of dry coffee immediately after it has
been ground but before it is brewed.
French press
A preferred coffee-making device in which ground coffee is topped with
hot water. Then the grounds are manually pressed to the bottom of the
pot with a plunger-like filter mechanism that separates the grounds from
the brewed coffee. Makes a flavorful cup.
French Press, Plunger
Pot
Brewing method that separates spent grounds from
brewed coffee by pressing them to the bottom of the brewing receptacle
with a mesh plunger.
French roast
A degree of dark roast.
French Roast, Heavy
Roast, Spanish Roast
Terms for coffee brought to
degrees of roast considerably darker than the American norm; may range
in color from dark brown (see Espresso Roast) to nearly black (see Dark
French Roast) and in flavor from rich and bittersweet to thin-bodied and
burned.
Fresh
A positive trait used to describe
freshly roasted coffee with vibrant flavor and aroma.
Frothed Milk
Milk
that is heated and frothed with a steam wand as an element in the
espresso cuisine.
Fruity
A sweet or tangy aroma or flavor
suggestive of berries or citrus.
Full
Indicating
strong character, in terms of acidity, body, and flavor.
Full-City Roast, Light
French Roast, Viennese Roast, Light Espresso Roast, City Roast, High
Roast
Terms for coffee brought to degrees of roast
somewhat darker than the traditional American norm, but lighter than the
classic dark roast variously called espresso, French, or Italian. In
the cup, full-city and associated roast styles are less acidy and
smoother than the traditional American "medium" roast, but may display
fewer of the distinctive taste characteristics of the original coffee.
Among many newer American specialty roasters, roast styles once called
full-city, Viennese, etc. may constitute the typical, "regular" roast of
coffee.