In reading the introduction, I learned that this is an advanced text and I should probably read a couple other books first that the author recommends. 

Coffee Sensory and Cupping Handbook by Mario Roberto Fernández-Alduenda and Peter Giuliano
World Coffee Research Sensory Lexicon
Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel
Craft Coffee: A Manual by Jessica Easto

Very dry and slow moving. I'll keep to enjoying coffee without understanding everything 

This book delved a lot deeper into the science of taste than I was expecting, and your girl is NOT into science. Especially chemistry. Biology, OK, but when we start getting to the cellular level, I'm out. 

HOWEVER. I understood enough of the science talk from the first half of the book  that it provided the necessary framework for comprehending the more practical aspects of the second book, where the author actually begins to discuss the process of tasting coffee. 

More than merely TASTING coffee, this book teaches you how to CATEGORIZE and VERBALIZE what you are tasting, which can be a very tricky thing. I would like to read more books about different types of beans and the process of roasting (not to mention the process of coffee preparation), all of them in terms of taste. But this is a good overview on tasting coffee in general and I benefited from this read. 

The parts that spoke to average coffee-drinkers were very enlightening in terms of understanding tasting notes, distinguishing washed vs. natural process in a way that was very clear, and some practical tips for tasting coffee in a way to get more out of the cup. Other areas of the book got very technical / scientific—like all of the palate exercises and even the physiology of our senses—that felt dry and less engaging. It also feels like the audience is for coffee professionals but you know that she’s intending it for people making coffee at home. As someone who loves coffee, I don’t feel like I was the intended audience for this book, but I definitely took away some things.