Another what to blend thread

[BamBam]

Hi Guys,

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been lurking for a while and thought it high time i started to make some posts. Now i know this is a bit "cliché" and "done to death" but as a total newbie to blending I am having a bit of trouble coming up with a blend from the stash of beans of have.

So this is what i have.

Brazilian Daterra Sunrise
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
Kenya AA
Indonesia Mandheling Kuda-Mas
Colombia Supremo (From Serge at Go Barista, thanks Serge)
GUATEMALA (Also from Serge)

So far I have roasted the Colombia and Guatemala together 50/50 and i have done Yirgacheffe SO (took it to far and ended out chucking it, make sure you have oven mits handy when you are roasting ) and Kenya SO in my corretto.

I am thinking of trying a 50/50 pre-roast blend of the Yirg and Indo this weekend. (as suggested in a previous thread by Andy)

I would like to come up with something from these that is a really nice smooth, choc tasting blend for milk drinks for the family and would love it if someone would give me some advice. I would prefer if it could be a pre-roast blend for the corretto but i could do a few batches.

Thanks everyone for reading and have a great weekend.

Jeremy

[GrindOnDemand]

Re: Another what to blend thread

Gday Jeremy ...

Welcome to CS, & the fun learning curve of blending (which Im still well & truly on )

If youre after lingering choc notes, Id suggest having the Mandheling as the dominant bean in your blend (anywhere from 50% - 80%). Maybe then have the Africans as the remainder. Id pull it just shy of SC, bag, leave a week, then try.

Have fun
Tony

[BamBam]

Re: Another what to blend thread

Thanks Tony,

So i might try somthing like Mandheling/kenya/yirg 60/20/20 does this sound like it would be on the right track?

I do have some valve bags so I will try and leave them for about 5 days or something ( i get way to excited and try them way to early )

Jeremy

[GrindOnDemand]

Re: Another what to blend thread

... so i might try something like Mandheling/kenya/yirg 60/20/20 does this sound like it would be on the right track? ...

Yep, I reckon so. Also maybe roast a second batch of purely 100% Indo just to compare the differing taste profiles a week post-roast as a SO & when blended - that way itll give you an indication of how to tweak the ratios to suit your palate.

Cheers,
Tony

[BamBam]

Re: Another what to blend thread

Thanks alot Tony,

I will mix them together tonight so they can site a while together until i roast them. I will also do as you suggest re. SO. I plan on tasting all the beans I have as SO anyway.

Thanks again.

Jeremy

[BamBam]

Re: Another what to blend thread

Just roasted these,

The blend 60/20/20 indo/yig/kena was roasted for 13:40. First crack at 8:06 and pulled at first snapples of second.

Indo SO roast 17:12, first crack 10:30 pulled at start of second.

With the second roast i ajusted the height of the heat gun a bit for a longer time to FC. Both times i put the heat gun up to extend FC to SC. I couldnt believe how much variation there is in the Mandheling. Does this sound like i am on the right track at 10mins FC and about 6 mins after for SC?

Cheers.

[greenman]

Re: Another what to blend thread

Sounds pretty close to the mark, the test will be in the taste!
Ive just tried some 4 bean roasts and the results were pleasing, a couple peaked around 5 days but by then they were almost finished. With a combo of 4 beans I took the roasts out fairly slowly and got 1st around 14-15mins and then 2nd around the 20min mark.
Enjoy your roasting and dont be afraid to experiment.................

[BamBam]

Re: Another what to blend thread

Thanks alot greenman. Good to know about your roast for the blend. I dont really know what is a too long or to short of a roast, only what i have read here and other places. I will definatly continue to experiment but as long as i know i am in the ball park it makes it a bit easier.

Had to laugh when i saw the 5 day thing. I roasted some Kenya AA last week. it was my second roast and i started drinking it like 48 hours after. I didnt think much of it and then attacked it again after about 4 days. It tastes awsome today at about 6 days and there is hardly any left

[greenman]

Re: Another what to blend thread

Its good to taste them each day as they degas and taste the improvements.
I roasted some Malawi AA+ Pamwamba and Peru Villa Rica Grace Estate 50/50 and after 4 days it was great, I just added some Honduras Barrios AA to them in the grinder (50/50) and made a short black, the combination was amazing, smooth, no bitterness the mouthfeel was rich, chocolately, bit of fruit and the aftertaste is still there as I type this post in..............my Indian Monsoon Malabar are 5 days post roast now, will try them on Friday, I dont know what to expect some people rave about them others......................I will find out on Friday!!!

[Big_Steve]

Re: Another what to blend thread

Gday Jeremy,

My .2 cents worth, I have tried

Brazilian 50%
Guatemalan 30%
Ethiopian 20%

Really nice chocolate flavours in mine, I would say each to their own with this one as many people dont like to use that much brazillion in the blend.

Another one I have tried for a really smooth blend was equal parts of

Brazilian
Guatemalan
Kenya AA
Colombia Supremo (Use slightly less percentage of this one than the others)

And lastly, try:-

Sumatran
Brazillian
Kenyan
Ethiopian

I tried 40/30/20/10 Percent in the order above but didnt really have any luck with it, but the beans worked well together, I just ran out of beans before I could get the percentages optimal.

In my limited experience, its worth roasting the Yirg seperately (I usually roast it just shy of second crack)... and probably the Kenyan as well (I roast a little darker than the others).

Like I said, just my thoughts... enjoy!

[BamBam]

Re: Another what to blend thread

Hi Guys,

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I have been drinking the Mandheling since tuesday (bout day 4) and i have found that i have only been able to get gushers out of my machine until really today (although it still tasted really good). I gotta say that i love this coffee by itself or with milk. The wife wouldnt let me touch the blend until this weekend as she knows that i will drink it all before it peaks. I will taste it tomorrow and report back.

Thanks for the suggestions Big Steve. It is actually along the lines of what i was intending on trying this weekend. Very similar to a few on the Sweet Marias site. I havent tried the brazilian yet so i think that i will def make this the base for this weeks roast to get an idea of what it will be like.

Have a great weekend.

[greenman]

Re: Another what to blend thread

Ive been testing the Indian Monsoon Malabar and have been very pleased with it, I roasted some Kenya A this morning and have some Honduran Marcala AA roasted to I am thinking of doing a blend of maybe:--
Monsoon Malabar 40%
Kenya A 25%
Honduran Marcala 35%
how do you think that combination would go?

[Andy]

Re: Another what to blend thread


Personally I think that Kenya-A was a stunning single origin. I shot 3 doubles in half an hour and had to walk jitter away from the machine as I was thinking about another.
;-)

I would only blend like you have suggested if you dont like the acidity of the Kenya and wanted to soften it with the other two.

[greenman]

Re: Another what to blend thread

Thanks for the input Andy!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[BamBam]

Re: Another what to blend thread

Hi Guys,

Just an update. It is now about day 9. The blend is very nice but i think it might be a bit to acidic or somthing? (dont have the pallet to descibe yet) I really love the Mandheling SO and will be doing this one again for sure.

Cheers.