This started as personal notes on how I to approach tasting my coffee each morning — with a few tweaks, this became my guide for tasting anything.

Be Present

Take a deep breath in through your nose, out through your mouth

Take note of your feet against the ground

Take note of your hands

Be Curious

What does it look like?

What does the smell remind you of?

What does the taste remind you of?

Consider Basic Tastes

Sweet - Sour - Salty - Bitter - Umami

Consider Dimensions to Taste

Flavor - see "Basic Tastes"

Texture - how does it feel?

Finish - how does it end?

Memory - what does this bring up?

Share

Write down your thoughts to others or your future self. This forces you to articulate half-formed thoughts which will be hard at first. But you'll only get better by doing it.

References

🥘 Recipes

Remember to taste deeply