# "Strength"?



## ChiarasDad (Mar 21, 2010)

Back home in the USA we don't have this "Strength" number that I see on the supermarket coffees here and also on coffee from some more artisan-level roasters such as Grumpy Mule. Sure, back home we are always saying this or that coffee is stronger than that coffee, or this one is really strong or pretty weak, but we don't have a system for it.

So, bearing in mind the clearly inadequate education I received growing up in The Colonies, can someone explain to me exactly what this coffee "strength" thing is? Is it just a roaster's self-assessed sensory impression of, er, fortitude, on a one-to-five scale, or is it an actual measurement of some kind? If it's a measurement, just what does it measure?

Thanks for any insight!


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## sandykt (Dec 3, 2009)

Most people on the forum here stay clear from the strength scale mentioned on supermarket coffees. However, online roasters such as Has Bean (for example only) have strength indicators along with a very informative description of the coffee taste itself.


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## vintagecigarman (Aug 10, 2009)

sandykt said:


> Most people on the forum here stay clear from the strength scale mentioned on supermarket coffees. However, online roasters such as Has Bean (for example only) have strength indicators ....


I may be wrong, but I don't think I've ever heard Steve (Hasbean) refer to strength. Much more subtle than that!


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## sandykt (Dec 3, 2009)

No, the reference to strength is subtle, but I have seen references to a medium strength etc on some descriptions.


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## RisingPower (Dec 27, 2009)

I think on some labels i've seen reference to amounts of caffeine but I don't recall anything with regards to strength? I wonder whether it's with reference to that, as that's the only logical standpoint I can think of.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

In my opinion Strength does not belong in the specialty coffee vocabulary.

It is a subjective indicator of how the coffee tastes, based on how long the beans have been roasted and the flavour profile - and are rarely accurate

The strength indicators are not uniform across all roasters who add this to their label, so you are getting one companies viewpoint.

A strong coffee to one person may be a weaker coffee for another persons taste

There is also no way the roaster can determine how well you extract the coffee


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## ChiarasDad (Mar 21, 2010)

Here's what I'm talking about, in case that hasn't been clear:

Here in the house I have a couple boxes of Rombouts "My Coffee Moment" single-serving filters. One is the Intense variety, which besides being labeled "Powerful & smokey" bears a stylised "Strength - 5 - Strong" emblem. The other is their Original Decaff variety, "Balanced & authentic without the caffeine" whose emblem says "Strength - 3 - Medium."

You can see the same sort of thing (if you squint a little) in the little round emblems on these images from the Douwe Egberts website:
























I think I've seen the same things on the other supermarket brands. And the same sorts of strength numbers seem to be listed for the coffees at Grumpy Mule.

The strength numbers seemed ubiquitous enough that I thought I must be the only person who didn't know what they meant. They seemed intuitively reasonable enough, but I wondered if there were some agreed-upon definition of strength that I was missing.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Examples:

Taylors of Harrogate use the following strength indicators - click here

Grumply Mule uses it to group tastes so that if you like one Strength 4 then other Strength 4's may also be of interest

As a guideline, a quick check online across a number of companies who use this grading method reveals that Strength 3 is usually 'medium roast' - which in itself can vary on a per coffee basis


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## ChiarasDad (Mar 21, 2010)

OK, so it seems they are a rough guide to darkness of roast. Thanks, Glenn.

(I am shuddering at Taylors' equating the darkest roasts with espresso, but I'm sure I will be all right after I have a shot or two to calm my nerves.)


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