<i>ESPRESSO</i> COFFEE BEVERAGE: CLASSIFICATION OF TEXTURE TERMS

ABSTRACT The present study reports on the classification of terms used to describe texture and/or mouthfeel characteristics of coffee, particularly espresso coffee, resorting to the classical food texture approach and putting in evidence how consumption habits (i.e., the brewing method) affect the terms used to describe it. Trained panelists have been interviewed in order to generate spontaneously a large number of descriptive texture terms. The terms collection was processed according to methodology previously adopted for liquid foods and beverages to classify the terms into well known mouthfeel categories. This classification identified a reduced number of texture terms categories to set up a list of terms submitted to the same trained panelists and to 93 Italian and 143 non‐Italian consumers in the form of a questionnaire with forced choice. Results show that the term “body” alone cannot be used to describe the mouthfeel of coffee beverages, prepared with different brewing methods. The obtained responses may constitute the basis for the development of an appropriate terminology for communicating the mouthfeel characteristics of espresso coffee, and may assist in addressing the finding of correlations between perceived texture and objective measurements of physical properties of the beverage.