A lot of coffee drinkers (and coffee companies) use the words “strong,” “rich,” and “bold” almost interchangeably. Even so, most people would probably agree that these words mean different things when it comes to coffee.
While all three terms have a positive connotation, it can be tricky to know what anyone actually means when they’re using these words to describe coffee. Ask 10 different people what they think is a “bold” cup of coffee, and you’re likely to get 10 different answers—or more likely, 2 answers and 8 non-answers.
The meanings vary depending on who you ask, but I’ve done my best to summarize the general “gist” of these terms below:
“Bold” Coffee
Some people use the word bold to mean “intensely flavored.” As such, most people who are talking about bold coffee in everyday conversation are talking about dark roasts, since those tend to have the most smoky, intense flavor. (Think of how people use “bold” when they’re referring to a “bold” BBQ sauce, if it helps.)
However, there are people in the coffee industry who use the word “bold” when talking about coffee (the beverage) that uses more coffee grounds and less water in the brewing process.
As you can see, it’s still pretty confusing to know what people mean when they talk about a certain coffee being “bold.” You pretty much have to rely on context clues—or ask.
“Rich” Coffee
Thought “bold” was difficult to pin down? “Rich” coffee can refer to coffee that has a full body—but what does that mean?
Well, some people use the term “rich” to refer to coffee that feels dense. That is, a “tactile sense of viscosity”—or “being thiccc” in other words. The term “mouthfeel” is most commonly associated with wine, but it comes into play with coffee as well.
Like “bold,” the average person describing coffee as “rich” is probably talking about a dark roast. But a light roast with a full body and high acidity could also be described as rich. As is often the case with these kinds of coffee words, it’s very likely that the average coffee drinker could describe two wildly different tasting coffees as rich, while a professional in the coffee industry (or a coffee company as a whole) might have their own personal definition of coffee richness.
In general, a rich cup of coffee is one that feels full and satisfying, while one that feels thin and leaves you feeling generally unsatisfied is most likely not rich enough.
“Strong” Coffee
Strength means a lot of different things to a lot of different people as well. It can refer to brew strength, or in other cases, caffeine content.
You can change the strength of your brew by altering your brewing method, or various steps in the brewing process (water temperature, brew time, etc.). However, if you’re starting out with a weak coffee, you can only make it so strong.
Black Insomnia also uses the term “strong” as an adjective to refer to its extreme caffeine content, which has been verified in independent lab tests as being the highest. Its status as the world’s strongest coffee has to do with its blend of rare and exclusive beans, and a highly-refined roasting technique created through years of optimization for caffeine content.
In summary, the easiest way to think of coffee strength, the way most people use the term, might be the following comparison table:
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