A speciality coffee flavour note across London.
Cardboard in the cup presents as a dry, papery flatness that sits at the back of the palate, lacking sweetness or brightness and often accompanied by a slightly stale, woody quality. It is generally considered an undesirable or off-note rather than a nuanced flavour characteristic, and it tends to signal that something has gone wrong in the bean's journey from farm to cup. The most common causes are oxidation of the coffee's oils, improper storage, or the use of beans that are well past their peak freshness.
Cardboard notes are not strongly tied to any particular growing origin, as they typically arise from handling and storage conditions rather than terroir. That said, coffees processed using natural or pulped natural methods can sometimes develop papery qualities if the drying phase is not managed carefully, and robusta-heavy blends often carry a flat, cardboard-adjacent character as a baseline trait. Washed coffees from any origin can also exhibit this note when exposed to moisture, poor packaging, or prolonged periods between roasting and consumption.
A cardboard note is unlikely to appear on a roaster's tasting notes, as it signals a quality issue rather than an intentional flavour profile; its presence in the cup often points to stale beans, so checking the roast date on the bag and choosing coffee roasted within the past four to six weeks is a practical way to avoid it. Brew methods that use paper filters, such as pour over or cafetiere with a paper liner, can occasionally introduce a faint papery quality if the filter is not rinsed thoroughly before brewing. If cardboard is consistently present regardless of brew method, the issue most likely lies with the beans themselves rather than the preparation.
Take our 60-second flavour quiz and discover roasts across London that are aligned with your palate — including ones carrying cardboard notes.