Coffee × Music: Completing the Sensorial Pentangulation
How the Event Began
Gage (https://salemoon.co.uk/) and I first formulated the idea for this event as a response to a similar event hosted by Ake & Humphris: Wine & Music Night.
At first, the idea seemed quite abstract, and we were unsure how it would be received. Striking a balance between making the event engaging and enlightening versus pretentious and alienating felt challenging — we wished to avoid the latter.
Initially this seemed like a very difficult task... Had we bitten off more than we could chew?
However, as time and planning for the event went on, we gradually began to realise just what a good idea it turned out to be!
Exploring the Senses
Typically, when we taste coffee, we use four of the five senses.
1. Taste — The most obvious. When you sip a cup of coffee and evaluate its flavour profile, you explore taste.
2. Smell — Aromatics and fragrance also guide our expectations and flavour perception.
3. Touch — In coffee we call this tactile. Words like “mouthfeel,” “body,” and “weight” all belong here.
4. Sight — Latte art, colour of the brew, even watching a barista work all influence our expectations and flavour perception.
5. Hearing — This appears to be where the line is drawn. Aside from the shriek of poorly textured milk, there's little to suggest that sound affects flavour perception.
The SCA Barista Championships hint at this concept: competitors use sound and spoken communication to set expectations. Many use music to shape the sensory environment — but this area remains largely unexplored.
The Aim of the Event
So this was the brief: complete the sensorial pentangulation by exploring sound as part of coffee perception.
We presented four coffees and paired each with three tracks we felt best represented the emotional and sensory qualities of the cup.
How We Chose the Music
We characterised each coffee based on the emotional and sensory response it invoked:
Did it feel joyful, warm, or cosy? Did it evoke springtime? Autumn? Did it feel “bass-heavy,” “funky,” “polite,” “expressive”? What imagery came to mind?
We used these impressions to choose songs that mirrored the mood and emotional tone of the coffee.
Guests listened to each set of three songs while tasting and voted on which track paired best with the coffee.
The Coffees & The Music
1. Hermanos Aguilera — Costa Rica
Imagery: Gentle, warming, sweet, cosy, neutral, summery, comforting.
Songs:
1. The Message Continues — Nubya Garcia
2. May Ninth — Khruangbin
3. For What It’s Worth — Buffalo Springfield
Crowd's Favourite: May Ninth, Khruangbin
Second Favourite: Buffalo Springfield
Third Favourite: Nubya Garcia
2. Basha Bekele — Ethiopia
Imagery: Springtime, flowers, polite, well-defined, nuanced, complex, building, transformative.
Songs:
1. Les Fleur — 4Hero
2. The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major (Spring) — Vivaldi
3. Freedom — George Michael
Crowd's Favourite: Freedom — George Michael
Second Favourite: Vivaldi
Third Favourite: 4Hero
3. Red Sparrow — China
Imagery: Bass-heavy, janky, minty, unexpected, energetic, attitude.
Songs:
1. Lost Ones — Lauryn Hill
2. Angel — Massive Attack
3. Venus As A Boy — Björk
Crowd's Favourite: Angel — Massive Attack
Second Favourite: Björk & Lauryn Hill (tie)
4. Edinson Argote — Colombia
Imagery: Candy-like sweetness, funky, complex, wibbly-wobbly, expressive, punchy.
Songs:
1. Superstition — Stevie Wonder
2. Chameleon — Herbie Hancock
3. Da Funk — Daft Punk
Crowd's Favourite: Da Funk — Daft Punk
Second Favourite: Herbie Hancock & Stevie Wonder
You can find the full playlist here:
Coffee × Music Spotify Playlist
FAQ
Why pair coffee with music?
The event explored how sound can shape emotional and sensory context — completing the “fifth sense” of coffee tasting.
Can music actually change flavour perception?
Research suggests expectation influences perception. Music sets mood, emotional tone, and anticipation, which can subtly shift how flavours are experienced.
How were the songs chosen?
Based on emotional imagery and sensory impressions evoked during tasting — then matched with tracks of similar tone and atmosphere.
Will you run this event again?
Definitely — the response was overwhelmingly positive, and we plan to explore even deeper connections between sound and flavour.
