Coffee aromatherapy

A fascinating hour at Bluewater this evening. I went to a coffee tasting, conducted by a wine expert who has widened his talents to a parallel expertise in coffee.

We learned about the 'tongue map', determining which areas of the tongue register different tastes, from sweet to salty, citrus and dark chocolate. We sampled different grand cru coffees with relevant foods - from fruit, through croissants to cheeses.

We savoured the delicious crema atop the coffees, and the dark richness below. We learned to slurp and savour coffee and appreciate its qualities in much the same way that wine buffs do.

There are apparently some 800 aromas involved in coffee, even more than are claimed for wine. For a coffee lover, It was sheer caffeine heaven!