We divide the sensory elements of coffee into three categories: olfactory, gustatory and tactile.
Each of these categories each have three subsections relevant to coffee cupping.
The olfactory elements are aroma, flavour, and aftertaste.
The gustatory elements are acidity, sweetness, and bitterness.
The tactile elements are weight, texture, and afterfeel.
When scoring coffee, a balance score describes the aggregate of all the scoring elements — i.e., how they interact.
We do consider salt and umami properties important to coffee appreciation.
Cuppers can be objective when it comes to identifying positive and negative qualities in coffee if they have experience working with a library of sensory references.