What is the intensity comparison between a fault and a taint in coffee?

The intensity comparison between a fault and a taint in coffee reveals that a fault is characterized by a more intense negative impact on the flavor profile of the coffee. A fault typically refers to a defect that affects the taste significantly, leading to undesirable sensory characteristics such as sourness, bitterness, or off-flavors that are immediately noticeable and can detract from the coffee's overall quality.

In contrast, a taint refers to a less intense issue that may affect the aroma or aftertaste but does not necessarily dominate the flavor profile like a fault does. Taints can result from external factors like packaging or storage but often do not impact the core taste to the same degree as faults. Thus, when comparing the two, faults are indeed more intense and directly involve taste, making option C the correct understanding of their differences.

The other options do not accurately capture this distinction, as they either underestimate the severity of faults, incorrectly equate faults and taints, or make unfounded claims about the commonality of taints versus faults.