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New to Roasting and Blending (Read 513 times)

Ben Larence

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New to Roasting and Blending
Apr 27^th, 2010, 11:18am

So im relatively new to roasting and blending but i believe that the blend i make is pretty good although i am VERY keen to make it better. currently i am roasting 8 different single origin beans all of which are fair trade organic. they include Mexico, Colombia, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Ethiopian, PNG and Peru.
im putting different percentages of each into the blend but i am struggling with the tweaking of the flavors. As in it is not quite strong enough and doesnt have a strong body which is what im ultimately after.
Currently the strong coffee in the blend is Ethiopian but i cannot put too much of it in the blend as it makes it too acidic.
Im basically just looking for some help trying to understand what mix of flavors makes the best tasting blend overall and how to get a smooth and strong flavour. can anyone help?

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Ben Larence

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Re: New to Roasting and Blending
Reply #1 - Apr 27^th, 2010, 12:12pm

Of so from reading some of the posts here it is clear i am using way too many beans in my blend. Fair enough. Therefore the blend i propse to use for a strong sweet flavour is:
40% Ethiopia Yirgacheffe (Strong, Sweet earthy flavour. dark roast)
30% PNG Purosa (Smooth sweet flavour with slight nut. Perfect medium roast)
20% Colombia Equidad (Sweet, acidic flavour with slight clove (i think). Medium roast)
10% Dominican Republic Barahona (Strong Earthy acidic flavour. Slight dark roast)
Thoughts?

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smokeydeck

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Re: New to Roasting and Blending
Reply #2 - Apr 27^th, 2010, 12:14pm

Welcome Ben.

It's important first of all, to understand the individual characteristics of each single origin and how different roast profiles affect it in the cup. You should aim to roast all them in a way that makes them drinkable as a SO.

Once you've done this, you can blend with a plan in mind. The best advice early on is to keep it simple. 2 or 3 bean blends are easier to adjust and with blends of 4 beans or more you really need to know what you're doing (or get very lucky

)

Have you tried the classic Moca Java blend? 50/50 of Indo/Ethiopian should do the trick. Of course, it will depend upon which Indo/Ethiopian and how you roast them.

Check out the "blending basics" sticky in this section of the forum.
SweetMarias and Boot coffee also have good info.

good luck,

sd

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OlSmokey

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as Luke G
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Re: New to Roasting and Blending
Reply #3 - Apr 27^th, 2010, 5:17pm

Ben Larence wrote on Apr 27^th, 2010, 12:12pm:

so from reading some of the posts here it is clear i am using way too many beans in my blend. Fair enough. Therefore the blend i propse to use for a strong sweet flavour is:
40% Ethiopia Yirgacheffe (Strong, Sweet earthy flavour. dark roast)
30% PNG Purosa (Smooth sweet flavour with slight nut. Perfect medium roast)
20% Colombia Equidad (Sweet, acidic flavour with slight clove (i think). Medium roast)
10% Dominican Republic Barahona (Strong Earthy acidic flavour. Slight dark roast)
Thoughts?

OK.. my thoughts...

Leave the Dominican coffee for single origin...
Add an extra 10% Columbian and roast it a little bit darker.

This by my experience should give you the extra body you require and the slightly longer roasting of the Columbian should transfer to a bit "stronger".

ALTERNATIVE:
Swap the Dominican for some dark roasted Indonesian like a Mao Horse or Blue Batak?
This will also give the boost you looking for?

ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE:
If you like it the way it is but just need some extra oomph... once blended add some dark roasted Robusta to the end product...somewhere between 5% and 15%. Start low and experiment to find out where the robusta takes over the Arabica flavours and aromas then settle on a safe %.

TIP:
Roast the robusta at least 5 days ahead of the rest and anywhere up to 10 days ahead of the others.

It looks a bit like your using 2 base beans in the Columbian and the PNG...something else to try would be using the same beans but just one base? .. OR different %'s of each?

Good luck and let us know how you go with it?
Luke.

Dalla Corte Mini II MAzzer Mini II Hottop B II Behmor 1600 II Pullman Tamper II Mocha Pot II 4 xFrench Press II Aeropress + Hario www.youtube.com/user/BaristaEvolution stuff.

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Mal CS Moderator Offline Coffee! Coffee! My Kingdom for a doppio piccolo... Posts: 10072 Warwick QLD Gender:	Re: New to Roasting and Blending Reply #4 - Apr 27^th, 2010, 8:50pm Caffeine Dealer wrote on Apr 27^th, 2010, 5:17pm: ALTERNATIVE: Swap the Dominican for some dark roasted Indonesian like a Mao Horse or Blue Batak? This will also give the boost you looking for? I think you'll find that this is of Ethiopian origin 'CD'.... Mal.
Back to top	Diadema "Junior Extra", AeroPress, Bellina TC3A "Gold" (Hario), Mazzer Kony-E Grinder, Bombora Water-Filter System, Corretto Roaster, Impulse Sealer & Pullman Tampers. IP Logged

WotB Roastalot Offline a.k.a. nunu Posts: 453 Carlingford Gender:	Re: New to Roasting and Blending Reply #5 - Apr 27^th, 2010, 10:25pm Or a slight twist on the mocha java... 50% Indo (CS 11) 30% Ethiopian (CS 9) 20% Indo (CS 8)
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Caffeine Dealer OlSmokey Offline The user formally known as Luke G Posts: 614 Ballina NSW Gender:	Re: New to Roasting and Blending Reply #6 - Apr 28^th, 2010, 6:18am Mal wrote on Apr 27^th, 2010, 8:50pm: I think you'll find that this is of Ethiopian origin 'CD'. Hahahahahahahah...blonde moment! I just pictured the not so blue horse on a Kuda Mas bag Thanks for pointing that out for us all
Back to top	Dalla Corte Mini II MAzzer Mini II Hottop B II Behmor 1600 II Pullman Tamper II Mocha Pot II 4 xFrench Press II Aeropress + Hario www.youtube.com/user/BaristaEvolution stuff. IP Logged

stuartgrant

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Re: New to Roasting and Blending
Reply #7 - Apr 28^th, 2010, 9:44am

Agree completely with what smokeydeck said - roast them all separately such that they work well as a single origin, then cup them (ie. taste them away from the espresso machine) to see what they have to offer. Every bean will be different (even more so depending on how you roast them and then your taste preferences etc.) and not all will play nicely with the others.

My understanding of what people perceive as "strength" is what others call a bean's ability to "cut through milk". For me it's neither acidity OR dark roast characteristics that give blends this trait, it's some other x-factor which I don't have a name for... I do know that harder beans (Kenya, many Centrals, Ethiopians) roasted a bit darker have this characteristic. Sumatrans do it well, too, but I'm personally not a fan of them unless you can get a nice clean one that lacks that gritty, savoury harshness.

Cheers,
Stuart.

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