The factors that are considered in the grading of caviar are the uniformity and consistency of the grain, the size, color, fragrance, flavor, the gleam, firmness and vulnerability of the roe skin.
A) Grade 1: Grade 1 caviar is a caviar that ideally combines all properties; it must be firm, large grained, delicate, intact, of fine color and flavor.
B) Grade 2: Grade 2 caviar is also a fresh caviar with normal grain size, very good color and fine flavor.
C) Grade3: Pressed Caviar in this grade, external effect caused the fracture of more than 35 percent of the roe skins before it was removed from the fish. Therefore, this caviar is treated in a different manner than grade 1 and grade 2 caviar.
When it comes to caviar taste it is important to know about both acquired and innate taste. An acquired taste is an appreciation for something to be enjoyed by a person who has not had substantial exposure to it and that is not easily or immediately liked or appreciated. It is the opposite of innate taste, which is the appreciation for things that are enjoyable by most persons without prior exposure to them.
Beside the foods like row oyster, coffee, alcohol, certain cheese, anchovies, cilantro, and olive considered as acquired taste, I'd like to introduce Caviar as the most expensive learned flavor.
Flavor
While caviar comes from a fish, it is NOT (or shouldn’t be) super fishy. It will always have a mild fishiness and slight saltiness, but the taste of caviar is more like ocean water, rather than in-your-face fish. This of course depends on the quality of the caviar, but good caviar is mild and fresh, with no pronounced intensity, and rather a buttery richness that is wholly unexpected.
Great caviar has a wonderful texture. The beads roll in your tongue and slide through the roof of your mouth, firm, each bead distinct from the next, with little to no mushiness. Caviar is smooth but has no overwhelming oiliness to it and it has a wonderful pop once you bite into the eggs, releasing a burst of flavor.
The best caviars, are often described as buttery with nutty flavors. However, the flavor profile will vary greatly from tin to tin. Factors that can influence caviar flavor are the species of the sturgeon, where it comes from, the quality of the water where it swims, the food it eats, and even it’s age – older, more mature sturgeon produce the best caviar.
Type of Taste
Almas Caviar
Almas, which translates as diamond, is the most expensive caviar in the world. It is harvested from an albino beluga sturgeon (Huso huso), which should be between sixty and one hundred years old, and which is only found in the southern Caspian Sea—presumably because the area is less polluted
Persian Caviar
Persian sturgeon (Acipenser Persicus) mostly lives in southern part of the Caspian Sea. It grows up to 70 kg and can live up to 60 years. To reach maturity it needs 10 to 12years. The color of its caviar can vary from very light golden to very dark gray. Persian Caviar is one of the best and most prestigious foods in the world! It has exquisitely rich, aromatic, fresh and exclusivity nutty flavor with that fabulous and famous burst of the sea. This caviar is bursting with flavor exploding your mouth.
Beluga Caviar
Beluga caviar (the roe of beluga sturgeon) is one of the most prized caviar varieties in the world. Since it can take up to 25 years for the animal to mature and start producing roe, this caviar is extremely rare, expensive, and extravagant.
Beluga caviar beads are large, plump, and firm, with a color that can range from light to dark gray. With a delicate, tender, and almost buttery flavor, beluga caviar can be eaten plain, allowing the complex layers to develop individually.
Siberian Sturgeon Caviar
Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser Baerii) is mostly prized for its dark and glossy caviar.This caviar ranges from dark brown to black, and it typically has medium-sized, glistening beads. The flavor is earthy, nutty, buttery, and subtly sweet.
Sterlet Caviar
Sterlet roe has small and delicate eggs that range from light to dark gray. The flavor is mild, subtly sweet, and buttery.
Sevruga Caviar
Salted roe of the sevruga sturgeon is one of the most common and renowned caviar varieties in the world. Native to the Black and Caspian Sea, sevruga reproduces faster than other sturgeon varieties, which makes the caviar plentiful and more affordable.
Although small in size, the crunchy caviar beads are packed with salty, buttery flavors and usually range from light gray to black.
Kaluga Caviar
Kaluga is a caviar variety harvested from the eponymous river sturgeon, officially named Huso Dauricus, which is native to the Amur River basin. Kaluga beads are usually firm and large. Their color may range from gray to olive green or brown, while the flavor is distinctively buttery.
Russian sturgeon, (Acipenser Gueldenstaedtii)
Medium-sized caviar, ranging from brown to seaweed green; sometimes it sports a handsome golden hue. Often the mildest of the caviars, with a flavor that ranges from gently rich and briny to delicately sweet and buttery.