Earthy Flavour Standard

What Is an Earthy Flavour?

Earthy flavour refers to a distinctive taste and aroma reminiscent of damp soil, freshly dug earth, or musty environments. Technically, this flavour is often associated with the compound ethyl fenchol (also known as 2-ethyl fenchol), a byproduct of microbial activity in damp, organic-rich environments.

In beverages or food products, the presence of an earthy note can be either intentional and desirable, as in some wines, coffees, and mushrooms, or a quality defect caused by contamination or improper storage.

What Causes Earthy Flavour in Beverages?

The earthy taint in food or drinks is often caused by :

– Poor storage conditions – damp, dark, or unsanitary environments
– Contaminated raw water – the presence of bacteria that produce 2-ethylfenchol
– Dirty or improperly maintained equipment
– Packaging contamination – migration of flavour compounds through materials

These factors can cause ethyl fenchol to seep into products, resulting in an undesirable earthy character.

Using the Earthy Flavour Standard for Sensory Training

In sensory analysis, FlavorActiV’s Earthy flavour standard is a sensory reference often used to train taste panels and quality control teams to identify earthy notes in food, beverages, and other products. Earthy notes can be either desirable or off-putting, depending on the context; for instance, they may enhance the complexity of wine but be considered a defect in drinking water.

How to Recognise Earthy Flavour : Sensory Terms

The Earthy Flavour Standard trains users to detect :

– Freshly dug earth
– Soil
– Damp earth
– Earthy coffee

What are the Professional Applications of the Earthy Flavour Standard?

The Earthy Flavour Standard serves multiple professional applications :

– Sensory professionals and quality control teams use it to standardise their evaluation processes and maintain consistency across assessments.
– Beverage producers, particularly in the beer, spirits, water, and coffee industries, rely on it to detect quality issues and maintain product standards.
– Professional tasters, brewers, and training institutions incorporate it into sensory training programs to develop accurate detection capabilities.
– Researchers utilise the standard when investigating off-flavours and identifying taint origins in various food and beverage products.

With the Earthy Flavour Standard kit, users can train their palates to detect and assess earthy off-notes at various intensity levels, helping identify quality issues early in production.

Other Information

Beer Flavour Wheel Number : 0841
Flavour Level : This earthy taste or taint can occur at various levels
Recommended flavour standard / sensory reference standard of : the American Society of Brewing Chemists (ASBC) and the European Brewing Chemists (EBC)