Four terms that won’t really come up too often while just enjoying an espresso but, are common among espresso connoisseurs are smooth, sweet, bitter, and bittersweet.
You can describe a smooth espresso as being easily consumed without the addition of much sugar or any milk whatsoever. The flavor should be primarily sweet rather than that of acid or bitter tones with a heavy body.
Using sweet to describe an espresso relates more to the heavy body, balanced flavor of the dark brown not black beans. It does not mean that the espresso is literally sugary but rather smooth and rich with heaviness in the cup. In countries where espresso is consumed without milk like Italy, this is important.
A bitter tasting espresso can be likened to a dry wine. The acidity creates an astringent sensation in the rear of the palate. This bitterness is achieved by dark roasting the beans.
Another term that you don’t see used very often is bittersweet. Bittersweet can be used to describe a dark roast espresso that is bitter yet has the sweet sensations also. This is not to be confused with a strong flavor. For instance you can brew a really acidic bean to a light or medium roast and it will be just as “strong” tasting as any dark roast coffee. The use of “strong” really deals with the flavoring agents and solids in the brewed coffee.
Well there you have four terms that you can use to professionally describe different espresso.
