Advise on forming 'nutty' blend

[aliel Member Find all posts View Profile Close aliel]

Hi everyone,

Lately i've been drinking coffee from a cafe called brioche, and i'm really, really liking their coffee.

The coffee has this awesome nutty taste about it, but not in the same way i'm used to. The only way I can think to describe it is like a bit of cocoa with a massive chestnut (I think?) sort of punch.

They are using Five senses coffee and i believe it is the 'dark horse' blend. I have yet to purchase some from them and try it at home.

Nonetheless, I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me form a blend with a similar sort of taste profile.
As described I want a little bit of cocoa then followed by a strong nutty flavour.

The coffees I currently have at my disposal are:
-Peru Ceja estate
-Brazil natural washed
-Indonesian Aceh gunung
-Colombian volcan galeras
-Rwanda Nyungwe

Otherwise if there are any coffees that would be better suited just let me know as I will be doing an order soon.

Cheers, Ali E

[Dimal Mal Find all posts View Profile Close Dimal]

G'day Ali...

You've got some great beans there mate, all of which can produce great results in the cup.
For the sort of results you are chasing though, I'd concentrate on the Peru and Colombia beans. Probably take them close to 2nd-Crack but not too far over. The first few lazy snaps would be as far as I'd take them, but would probably err on the side of caution and stop the roast just before 2nd starts.

Something else worth trying if you can find some....
A small proportion of high quality Robusta (no more than 15%) can add significant nuttiness to a blend too and can be most enjoyable. I can't see any listed in BeanBay but if you scout around you might be able to locate some from a reputable seller.
The thing with Robusta though, is that it requires more heat (on average) than Arabica beans and should most definitely be taken to the edge of Rolling 2nd-Crack (for me anyway). It also takes a lot longer for full flavour(s) to develop too so you should roast a small batch at least a week ahead of your Arabica batches.

Anyway mate, experimenting is the name of the game so play around with small batch sizes to start with until you find the "sweet spot" (and Nutty) that you're looking for. All the best...

Mal.