你或許也有這樣的經驗：你只是想要一杯咖啡，隨意走進一家咖啡店，然後點了一杯Americano，店員馬上就問：「想要fruity 定nutty？」
很多人都會在這一刻愣住。不就是咖啡嗎？不是已經選了嗎？什麼fruity ？
但其實這個問題並不是想要刁難你，也不是在考驗你對咖啡的認識，而是一條捷徑，幫你更快遇見一杯你或許會更喜歡的咖啡。
生長在非洲高海拔地區的咖啡，往往帶有明亮、清新的酸質，讓人聯想到柑橘、莓果、熱帶水果——這就是我們常說的「果香型」咖啡。它輕盈、活潑，有點像第一口咬下的多汁水果。而來自中南美洲或巴西的咖啡，則更常呈現出溫暖、圓潤的風味，例如堅果、朱古力、焦糖，甚至花生醬般的熟悉感——這便是「堅果型」咖啡。
當然，這些都是很籠統的理解。咖啡最終呈現出來的味道不單單會受產區或品種（varietal）影響，同時也會受到處理法（processing）、烘焙曲線（roasting curve）的影響。但是對剛接觸精品咖啡的人來說，直接談論產區、處理法、烘焙曲線，往往太抽象；但從「你鍾意fruity 定nutty」開始，就相對容許掌握。店員想要問你的，並不是你對咖啡有多瞭解，而是在試着理解你的味覺記憶。
喜歡果香，不代表你「懂咖啡」。偏好堅果味，也不代表你「保守」。就像有人喜歡黑巧克力，有人偏愛牛奶朱古力。在精品咖啡的世界裡，風味從來不是高低之分，而是多樣性的展現。
下一次，當店員再問你：「果香還是堅果味？」你不需要猶豫，也不需要擔心答錯。相信自己的直覺，走進咖啡的風味世界。
You may have had this experience yourself: you simply want a cup of coffee, so you wander into a café, order an Americano, and the barista immediately asks, “Fruity or nutty?”
Many people freeze at that moment.
Isn’t it just coffee? Haven’t I already chosen?
What does fruity even mean?
In fact, this question is not meant to trip you up, nor is it a test of how much you know about coffee. It is a shortcut — one that helps you arrive more quickly at a cup you are more likely to enjoy.
Coffees grown at high altitudes in Africa often display bright, refreshing acidity, evoking flavours such as citrus, berries, or tropical fruit. These are what we commonly refer to as fruity coffees: light, lively, and a little like biting into a piece of juicy fruit. Coffees from Central and South America, or Brazil, on the other hand, tend to present warmer, rounder flavours — nuts, chocolate, caramel, even a familiar peanut-butter-like richness. These are what we call nutty coffees.
Of course, these descriptions are broad and simplified. The final flavour of a coffee is shaped not only by its origin or varietal, but also by how it is processed and how it is roasted. Yet for someone new to speciality coffee, conversations about origin, processing methods, or roasting curves can feel abstract and difficult to grasp. Starting with a simple question — fruity or nutty? — is far more intuitive. What the barista is really trying to understand is not how much you know about coffee, but the kind of flavours your palate remembers and enjoys.
Liking fruity coffee does not mean you “understand” coffee better. Preferring nutty flavours does not make you conservative. Just as some people love dark chocolate while others reach for milk chocolate, taste is deeply personal. In the world of speciality coffee, flavours are never about hierarchy, but about diversity.