Free coffee flavor wheel PDF and poster

The Specialty Coffee Association's Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel is the global sensory reference for specialty coffee. First published in 1995 and redesigned in 2016 in partnership with World Coffee Research, it organizes coffee flavor vocabulary into broad categories — from Floral and Fruity through Roasted, Spices, and Sweet. Inner rings are general; outer rings get specific. Move from an inner category to a more specific outer descriptor as you taste.

Roasters, Q Graders, and café trainers use the wheel as a shared vocabulary on the cupping table. Instead of just saying "fruity," you might end up at "fruity > other fruit > peach." Instead of "spicy," you might land on "brown spice > clove." That little bit of extra detail is useful when two people are tasting the same coffee and describing it differently.

How to use this poster

• Pin it above the cupping table — tasters point at descriptors during calibration.
• Print it for SCA / Q Grader training sessions — a printable reference for learning the flavor vocabulary.
• Use it in green-buying conversations — show the importer exactly which sub-categories you're chasing.
• Hand it to new baristas — faster than any vocabulary list.

Printing tips

Use the PDF when sending the poster to a print shop or choosing a large paper size. For home printing, select “fit to page” and turn off automatic scaling that crops the outer ring. The PNG is convenient for slides and quick digital sharing.

A couple of quick answers

Is this the interactive wheel? No, this page is the straightforward printable poster. You can explore the interactive wheel or build a profile for a particular coffee if you want to click notes and save them.

Can I put my logo on it? Yes. Use the free customizer to add a logo or photo in the center, then download or print the same wheel.