ASHY

A quality in aroma or flavor similar to that of an ashtray, the odor of smokers’ fingers or the smell one gets when cleaning out a fireplace. In the most moderate amount, it may not ruin a cup. Ashy flavors can hint at roasting defects, anything from smoky unclean air being recycled through a roasting drum (or a roaster that doesn’t vent, like a barbeque drum roaster set-up). Softer, lower-grown coffees will show ashy tastes before high-grown, dense coffees, given the same roast treatment.