Coffee, Can The Average Person Taste The Difference?

31 May 2009 in Coffee maker

Can the average person taste the difference of a high end cup of coffee. I am going to rule out McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts and refer to the more exotic blends from your Starbucks and Caribou’s and other Specialty Coffee Shops. Can a person discern between Sumatran and Columbian, Kona and Ethiopian, or is good coffee just that, good coffee? I realize there are “super tasters” and “coffee snobs”, but I am refering to the average “Joe” so to speak, can they really tell the difference? Cheers!


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31 May 2009 Coffee maker

10 Comments to Coffee, Can The Average Person Taste The Difference?

  1. I don’t believe the average person can tell you exactly what type of coffee it is that they are drinking but I do believe the average person can tell the difference between high end coffee and your average, everyday cup of joe. Simply put, the coffee you buy in a can at the store is burned beans. The high end stuff is lightly roasted. Can you tell the difference between burned food and unburned food?

    2. Sandy on 31 May 2009

  2. i’m fairly average and i could tell that the cofee i got the other day was Sumatran versus the house blend of Starbucks coffee that i asked for… and i could tell that difference with soymilk and splenda in it…..

    3. Zero Gravity Chairs on 31 May 2009

  3. anyone should be able to taste the difference.

    4. bettyabo on 31 May 2009

  4. I find in most cases, good coffee is just good coffee.
    The only coffee in which I can discern between is coffee from Sumatra and coffee that is not from Sumatra. There is an unmistakeable earthy and low acidic taste with the coffees from Sumatra I’ve tried.
    Sumatran is also my favourite.

    5. Lisa on 1 June 2009

  5. All the coffee drinkers around here seem to be able to, every time someone brings “other’ coffe in and makes it, they all know right away.
    I don’t drink coffee, so I can’t say

    6. Mystee_R on 1 June 2009

  6. A recent survey (heard this on the radio) found that McD’s, Dunkin Donuts, and Krispy Kreme all had better tasting coffee than Starbucks and other high-end coffee chains. They said Starbucks burnt their beans.
    I’ll take a cup of McD’s or Costco’s home-brew anyday.

    7. Sugar Pie on 1 June 2009

  7. Yes, most people should be able to taste a difference between Colombian and Sumatran, etc.
    The clearest way to detect the differences is to do a direct comparison between two or three different coffees in one sitting–get one small cup of each variety, let them cool off a bit (it’s very hard to truly taste any coffee when it’s boiling hot), and take some small sips of each one, one after the other.
    But you will need to drink these coffe samples “black”–putting in 3 spoons of sugar and a big slug of cream will mask the flavor of any coffee, and they will all tend to taste the same.

    8. clicksqu on 1 June 2009

  8. I can tell a difference between two different kinds of coffee.

    9. DeafLega on 1 June 2009

  9. yes i can

    10. caligurl on 1 June 2009

  10. well…my average Don wouldn’t be able to. As long as it is strong and black he’ll drink it. And he won’t save any for you either.

    11. floatnfu on 1 June 2009

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