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Blending is an art that is mastered after years of cupping. A blend will consist of two or more coffees and can contain any number of beans.
The aim of blending differs. Usually the aim is to increase the complexity of the flavour. Thus by combining two parts Ethiopian Yirgacheffe - with sweet, floral notes – to one part Colombian La Esperanza Estate – a bright, fruity coffee – one can create a sweet coffee with notes of bergamot, blueberries and honey. The second aim of the blender is to ensure consistency. The blender can cup each individual bean before blending or blend to a rough ratio and then cup and adjust. We use a combination of the two as it very important that the blends not differ from that expected by our customers. Another reason that coffee companies blend is to cheapen the coffee. Thus by combining one part Jamaican Blue Mountain with nine parts Brazilian commercial they create a very cheap Jamaican Blue Mountain blend. We don’t have any cheap coffees to blend and only blend to create spectacular blends. Blending for espresso is a special art that most coffee roasters in Europe haven’t mastered. We roast all our beans separately, ensuring each type is roasted to the 'right' level, and blend after roasting. Blending before roasting makes packing much easier, but is a short-cut that inevitably leads some roasteries to burn their beans in order to ensure no under-roasted beans are present. |
