Let's talk about taste...

[Kudzu]

There is a circle I go round-and-round; help me out.

On one hand, taste is subjective; one person likes what another dislikes. We tend to like what we are used to, and do not readily take to something new and different. As a crude example, I drank Budweiser beer for many years, thought it was good beer and enjoyed every one I drank. After becoming acquainted with so-called craft beers, getting used to, and appreciating, bigger and more diverse flavor profiles, Budweiser tastes like water and is not at all satisfying to me. OTOH, millions of people, who have not experienced and come to enjoy craft beers, are still drinking and enjoying Budweiser just as much as I ever did. I feel like I am enjoying craft beer more than I ever did Budweiser, but those still enjoying Budweiser are no less satisfied than I am. To me, that is a persuasive argument that taste is subjective and you enjoy what you are used to with little regard for what is "good."

The whole argument, above, is hard to maintain in face of the fact that knowledgeable experts, with sensitive and trained palates, can sample different coffees (wines, beers, whatever) and come to similar conclusions about what is bad, good, exceptional. The ability to do that is as much art as science, but competent tasters will come to surprisingly similar conclusions.

The variety of coffees people enjoy, as different as they are, suggests to me taste is lagely subjective. The consistency of opinion of highly skilled cuppers makes me wonder, however.

What do you think?

 

[PinkRose]

I often wonder that kind of coffee the highly skilled cuppers drink on a regular basis. What do they prefer personally? What kind of coffee do they grind and brew at home? I bet they all differ.

 

[Kudzu]

I often wonder that kind of coffee the highly skilled cuppers drink on a regular basis. What do they prefer personally? What kind of coffee do they grind and brew at home? I bet they all differ.

I expect you are right. After all, they are not exempt from the the fact that people tend to like what they have become used to. Even if they can be objective when cupping coffee, many are probably apt to revert to their comfort zone for personal consumption.

Maybe some pros will chime in here.

 

[John P]

I think good and bad is objective.


Once "good" is established, it's preference, which is subjective.

 

[pstam]

It seems that my understanding is totally different from others.

I asked the question that to my trainees whether the tastes of coffee is objective or subjective? The best answer I chose is that "The tastes of coffee are objective, but the impressions of people are subjective". It is true that the compounds of coffee is fixed after it was made. So its tastes must be fixed, but the people may have different impression about the tastes when they taste the coffee.

What do you think?