So what does a natural Guji coffee taste like? It’s a citrus fruit flavor bomb with strong notes of lemon, a bright citric acidity, and a good body and mouthfeel. But that’s just the tip. After cupping hundreds of Guji’s, we’ve compiled a detailed profile of the natural from Guji, using data from three seasons.
This flavor poster is a reference point for you as a roaster and buyer. Whenever you consider roasting and serving a Guji natural, you can grab the flavor poster and use it as your control to kick off your sourcing journey. Discover the profile, download the flavor poster here.
What did we find after three seasons of cupping? For starters, heaps of citrus fruit. And more specifically, lemon. Both flavors lay at the core of the naturals from Guji. The core notes pair with berries or stone fruit, and sometimes even hints of chocolate. The complex naturals leaned heavily to peachy flavors. And in rare cases, we even spotted floral notes or winey flavor characteristics.
The acidity is usually high in intensity, with a tendency to be rounded on the tongue. The complex structure exhibits acids related to citrus fruits and sometimes drupes and apples. On occasion, the acidity can be phosphoric, which gives you a cola and fizzy-like acidity tingle on the tongue. The acidity brings brightness to the cup and juicy taste sensations on the tongue.
The natural from Guji has a medium body. But it’s not rare to cup a Guji natural with thin bodies rather than medium or even full-bodied naturals. In rare cases, we registered that the body was a bit dry. But overall, we noted that the mouthfeel tends to be smooth and juicy-like.