關於咖啡豆-咖啡豆拼配基礎 Coffee Blending Basics

Coffee Blending Basics

咖啡豆拼配基礎

原文地址:http://www.sweetmarias.com/blending.html (原文附後)

翻譯:asdanika，journy

聲明:轉載請註明出處(包括原文作者和譯文作者);不得用於任何形式的商業活動。

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拼配咖啡基礎

By Sweetmarias

人們因諸多理由將世界各地的咖啡拼配起來，目的大概是希望能夠作出一杯比任何拼配組分都可口的咖

啡。高品質的 Arabica 因其純凈的口味，香味，醇度(body)以及餘韻(aftertaste)而不用來拼配。所以，商業

上拼配咖啡的原因之一就是低品質咖啡的使用。另外可能的原因則是希望創造出能讓消費者獨特的品牌

拼配口感——人們一般會說「來一杯星巴克咖啡」來代替實際使用的那些品種，彷彿它就代表了這類深度炭

味烘焙的口感。日常中，也有為了獲得作物沒有的 consistency(一致性/稠度)而拼配咖啡。拼配咖啡一般是

由希望不依賴於特定源咖啡的口味的商家在做，如此，他們便能從最便宜的地方購入咖啡。這些拼配導

致所有使用的咖啡都降低到共同的標準。唔......我們就不去關注那些不怎麼有趣的拼配咖啡的理由了，

直接來看看高品質烘焙所涉及的一些因素吧!

拼配好咖啡前除必須先清晰地把握各種單品咖啡的口味外，還需明確由任何單品咖啡的任何烘焙方式都

無法呈現的你所追求的口味。用非常好的咖啡來做拼配太可惜了，畢竟拼配是希望能讓咖啡口味更上一

層樓，而頂尖的單品咖啡不大可能再如何好。拼配中不會需要超過五種單品成分——我所知道的大部分

咖啡買賣專家都不會看好這樣過於混雜的咖啡。

不拼配的情況

儘管咖啡拼配需要有對各種咖啡組分的深刻感悟，需要有明確的口味為目標，並且還得知道如何做出這

樣的口味，拼配咖啡也並非比一般的咖啡要更高一個品質——如前一節所說，相反的事情到常有。我個

人更加喜歡享受由單品咖啡都完美烘焙出來的咖啡——非常普通的單品咖啡亦會比拼配的更讓我神往，

就算那拼配的咖啡已經無可挑剔。為何?在與我親密接觸時，單品咖啡呈現的是從作物到飲料的不由其

他人修飾的最原初的體驗，我會在品味這杯咖啡時 入對那 過程以及養育它的土壤的遐想——我樂

於此道。

拼配之前，拼配之後

拼配咖啡前後有很多問題，哪種選擇才更好?

如果你已經有了一套拼配方法，那大可以用生豆拼配好再一同烘焙;如果還在試驗各種組分和比例，那

么最好還是單獨預烘焙好各種咖啡，如此才方便調整，不至於每次都重新烘焙一次。單獨烘焙的情況有

很多，特 是接下來要提到的 Melange 拼配，其他的還有 Robusta 在 espresso 拼配中的用量等。有些單品

咖啡相對較重，有一些的尺寸變化很大，相比標準濕法處理得到的 arabica，這些豆更需要單獨烘焙，全

干法處理的 arabica 需要烘焙到略高一般的溫度。實際上大多數情況下不同咖啡是可以一起烘焙的，我的

建議是，只要不失敗，就不單獨烘焙。每一種咖啡在烘焙時都會略有差 ，不過實際上很多變化都是一

樣的，尤其是鼓式烘焙系統(drum roast systems).葉門，衣索比亞 DP 咖啡以及其他一些品種不需均勻烘

焙，不均勻的烘焙色彩不是瑕疵。只有濕法處理的 arabica 豆才應烘焙至同一程度(有時也不必須)。

滴濾式咖啡拼配:The Melange

Melange 是最有趣的拼配咖啡之一，其中的各種成分的烘焙程度不一，因而需要單獨烘焙。例如同時擁有

深度烘焙的炭味以及淺烘焙的中美咖啡中活潑的淡酸味(acidy snap)。

以下給出一種拼配，深烘焙口味，優秀的醇度以及一些活潑的淡酸味:

40%哥倫比亞 Tuluni 全城市烘焙——提供醇度(或者其他類的哥倫比亞，尼加拉瓜 La Illusion，Brazil Monte

Carmelo)

30%墨西哥 Tres Flechas 法式烘焙——提供輕快的(sharp)炭味(或者其他類的墨西哥)

30%肯亞豆城市烘焙——提供明亮的(bright)活潑的淡酸味(或者其他有明亮的口感的哥斯大黎加，中美

豆)

如果想要一份有很好醇度，良好的苦甜味(bittersweet)，同時仍有酸度，沒有炭味的 Melange，配方如下:

60%哥倫比亞全城市烘焙

40%肯亞或者中美豆(bright central American)城市烘焙

如果想要一份有平衡口感的，酸度醇度都適中的中美咖啡，你可以用同一咖啡的不同烘焙來拼配:

60%哥倫比亞 Tuluni 或者尼加拉瓜 La Illusion 等 全城市烘焙

40%同種咖啡，城市烘焙——剛過一爆就可

我們協會的內部預品(trade show)是一個品嘗由烘焙大師(big roasters)陳列的流行拼配咖啡(他們提供這些

咖啡給討論組)以及由一些咖啡烘焙師認定的基準拼配的絕好場所。1998 年專業咖啡協會(Specialty Coffee

Association SCAA)於費城的活動中，有數不清的以 30%-40%肯亞豆提供活潑淡酸味的 Melange 拼配參

與。這是一個比較(dimension)杯中口味的好方法，突出了酸度與深度的苦甜味，比一般的肯亞咖啡有更

好的口感。

滴濾式咖啡拼配:The Mokha-Java

考慮咖啡拼配與咖啡作為飲品是否同時出現是很有趣的事情。The full body, low-toned Java from Dutch

estates was combined with the medium-bodied, enzymatic (floral-fruity), more acidy Mokha coffees from day

one it seems, and those were the only two coffees in existence.(這句失敗了...大概就是說，在哪裡有且只有兩

種咖啡)這只是習俗?或者這僅僅是為了口味提高?實際上兩者拼配起來會相得益彰，成為更為複雜多樣

的一杯咖啡。在當時那種簡陋的烘焙，萃取條件下，人們可以考慮這樣一種拼配是多麼的奇妙。用兩種

優秀咖啡拼配出另一種口感良好的咖啡不難，而更商業化的拼配則旨提高軟的，一般的甚至有缺陷的咖

啡的品質。

最初的 Mokha-Java 拼配以葉門摩卡和爪哇豆為組分。Mokha-Java，一般也就顧名思義，也有時候是由印

度尼西亞與衣索比亞或者葉門豆的拼配。兩種組分各佔一半，或者印度尼西亞豆稍微多一些，例如 40-45

的非洲豆，55-60 的印度尼西亞豆。我們已經有很多非常好的搭配，葉門 Hirazi 或者 Dhamari,，埃塞俄比

亞 Harar 與 Sumatra Batak Mandheling (washed[洗過的]) 或者 Sulawesi Toraja (washed[洗過的]).

Harar 50%, Sulawesi 50% 城市烘焙(出油前的最後一個階段):卓越的 Mokha-Java 拼配，絕妙的花香，

帶有水果味的酸，以及 medium-full body(中等豐滿的醇度).J

ava 是我們提供的印度尼西亞豆中最潔凈的，最細膩的豆種。這樣的一杯咖啡口感豐富多彩，有從 low tones

到芬芳的 high tones 交替呈現的美感。

Harar 50%, Sumatra 50% 全城市烘焙:更加強烈的一款 Mokha-Java，深厚的醇度，更多的泥土氣息 in the

bass note(無能......)。烘焙的苦甜味豐富了口感，一定程度上減少了 Harar 的酸度。

Harar 50%, Sulawesi Toraja 50%:乾淨的 Sulawesi 與更強烈的曼特寧的卓佳拼配，Sulawesi 在頭髮的酶花香

基礎上提供了很好的回味(backdrop)。

Yemen 25%, Sulawesi Toraja 75%: 以上這些中最好的拼配，Mattari coffee 幾乎好到可以用來做調味劑了，

它太過於強烈，我不是很喜歡直接烘焙這種。Sulawesi 提供一種甜味的醇感，deep tones，Hirazi 在味道的

上方帶入一些漿果的口味以及強烈的芳香。

Ethiopian Djimma 15%, Harar 35%, Sumatra 50%: Djimma 酸度不高，口感明亮，更多巧克力和泥味，它在

這一拼配里導向著這些口感

Espresso 的拼配

一般來說，espresso 的拼配目的不同於滴慮式咖啡(有些人或許會說還有些拼配是專用於法式加壓法或者

搭配奶油或牛奶)。滴慮式咖啡的拼配旨在豐富或平衡咖啡的口味，但是 espresso 的拼配必須更加平衡或

拼配出特殊的品質，因為有些豆喝滴慮式可以，用來沖煮 Espresso 就完全不行。

大部分 Espresso 是由一種或多種高品質巴西阿拉比卡豆拼配而成，有水洗豆也有乾燥法處理豆。通常也

會加入一些非洲咖啡豆以獲得葡萄酒味的酸或酶化的花香/水果香，又或是加入一些中美洲烘焙豆以凸顯

酸味。

在萃取的一系列化學反應中，乾燥法處理豆是為了萃取出豐富的 crema，濕洗的中美洲咖啡豆能夠增加誘

人的香氣，而羅布斯塔或肯亞豆則用於較便宜的咖啡豆拼配中以增加 crema 和醇度，它們增加了咖啡

里的 crema 和苦味。有種觀念認為真正的大陸式 espresso 拼配中有羅布斯塔豆，這純屬無稽之談。事實上

義大利一些小型烘焙商給我所提供的咖啡豆樣品口味都顯得相當溫和，是由 40%巴西乾燥法處理豆，40%

哥倫比亞以及 20%中美洲豆(如瓜地馬拉)組成的帶有甜味的拼配。如果想要苦一點或有土味，你可以

用一些衣索比亞 DP，如 Sidamo 和 Djimma。混拼羅布斯塔是件有趣的事，但我個人很不喜歡，因為我

並不樂享有過多咖啡因的咖啡。

以哥倫比亞豆為主的 espresso 拼配口味較沖且更甜但不會產出豐富的 crema。這有一組我們曾經嘗試的有

趣的 espresso 拼配。

要做好拼配，首先從其基底開始，如咖啡豆的質體感，烘焙度和 crema，儘管哥倫比亞和墨西哥是不錯的

選擇，但我建議用巴西豆。

嘗試將以上的基底咖啡豆烘焙至不同程度，然後用其做 espresso，先熟悉它的味道再設想如何做些改進(如

果已達到理想程度，則無需改變。)

想不想讓你的咖啡風味更足，更甜且香味更濃?也許你會想加入中美洲豆，注意比例不要超過 25%，特

是如果你喜歡淺焙的 espresso，否則會失去質體感和 crema。

想不想讓你的咖啡又甜又有質體感?用一些印尼豆，比如蘇拉威西或者頂級蘇門答臘豆，嘗起來會少些

沖的感覺，比例可以添加至 50%。100%會更好!

想不想讓你的咖啡帶點泥土般強烈的苦味或者更辣?可以試試衣索比亞的乾燥法處理豆。Harar 比較清

亮且有更多的水果香和酵香。深焙的 Sidamo 口感很尖銳刺激，淺焙的則有水果香。Djimma 沒有豐富的

水果味也沒有那麼清亮，但能增加土味。這些都能產生豐富的 crema，我經常直接喝這樣的豆子，大部分

的拼配比例保持在 25%左右。

想不想使你的咖啡有辛辣的刺激感?試試葉門豆子。它們也可以增加發酵口感和豐富的 crema。我經常在

拼配時加入 50%或少一些(一般為 25%左右)的這種豆子。

想喝到特苦的咖啡嗎?試試存放較久的豆子，比如季風豆或羅布斯塔。陳豆或季風豆能增加些許你會喜

歡的膽戰心驚的味道。你只需嘗試以下，這畢竟是件挺有趣的事。羅布斯塔，我是不會嘗試的，我個人

不喜歡它們帶來的過多的咖啡因。它們會增加 crema，但也必須將拼配比例保持在 20%以下，我個人拼配

時從不多於 15%。季風羅布斯塔可以加至 25%的比例。

阿拉比卡 vs.羅布斯塔

阿拉比卡豆能夠產生豐富的 crema,誘人的香氣以及淡淡的褐色。

羅布斯塔能產生大量的 crema，但會有泡沫且消散的更快。羅布斯塔的咖啡因 量是阿拉比卡的 2 倍，較

之阿拉比卡的 1.1~1.3%，羅布斯塔為 2.2~2.4%。在 Espresso 的拼配時羅布斯塔太多會有較強的葯香味。

拼配比例在 10%~15%時會有不錯的苦味，其缺點也會被最小化。

什麼豆我不會用在 Espresso 的拼配呢?肯亞豆過酸，我不會選擇，對其它東非豆子也不是很感興趣。

對我來說，它們是滴濾式咖啡和壓泡法的選擇。水洗印尼豆也可以用，但不足以增加 crema，也沒有中美

洲豆的甜香。那麼重點是什麼?Island coffees:why?

有很多方法能夠作出不錯的 Espresso。嘗試是很有趣的，不知道這些點子能否幫你作出完美的 Espresso。

當然這些建議僅僅是我的個人偏好。

我喜歡的一些拼配

這裡有一個初學拼配的配方，能夠拼配出較甜且乾淨的 espresso。缺少北美洲豆和葉門豆會有點苦也可

能會少點水果香。這些較甜的豆子拼配在羅馬街頭的咖啡廳是很常見的。

他們用瓜地馬拉的安提瓜島豆:

50%巴西乾燥法處理豆

25%瓜地馬拉或較淺的中美洲豆λ

25%哥倫比亞水洗豆

我認為哥倫比亞豆在此拼配沒有那麼重要(儘管許多人將其作為基底)，如喜歡用一些蘇門答臘豆。

50%巴西 Cerrado 乾燥法處理豆

25%瓜地馬拉或較淺的中美洲豆

25%蘇門答臘頂級豆，如 Triple-Pick, Lintong 等

許多尖銳的甜味(中美洲豆)隱藏於堅果味的巴西豆和美妙的葉門豆香之中，曼特寧增加質體感和厚度。

用葉門豆拼配 Espresso 很有趣，他們像香料一樣能增加香甜的風味和酵香。烘焙至 Agtron35 至 40.因為

有許多干處理豆所以會有不錯的 crema。

40%巴西 Cerrado 干處理豆

20%巴拿馬或其它淺焙的中美洲豆

20%葉門豆

20%蘇門答臘曼特寧

太甜，太單調?想要味道更刺激嗎?巧克力味怎樣?

50%巴西 Cerrado 干處理豆

25%衣索比亞 Sidamo 豆或葉門豆

25%的蘇門答臘曼特寧干處理豆

當然你也可以按照這個方法再添加其它豆子(季風豆，陳豆或羅布斯塔)來看看它們為你的咖啡增加或

減少了什麼。

拼配濃烈的印度季風豆可以按以下配方:

60%印度季風 Malabar 豆—這個高比例會有霉味

20%高品質羅布斯塔:水洗印尼或印度豆

20%水洗阿拉比卡豆，從香氣和口味平衡來說選用:印度，Timor，爪哇或 Sulawesi。

拼配濃烈的陳豆可以按以下配方:

40%陳蘇門答臘豆

30%蘇門答臘或 Sulawesi 豆

30%瓜地馬拉或其它淺焙中美洲豆以取得香味和平衡口味(陳爪哇豆非常濃烈拼配時不應超過比

例的 1/3)

無因 Espresso?低咖啡因 Espresso?那是為什麼我們儲存一些巴西低咖啡因咖啡豆作為基底。拼配 50%

這些豆子能減少一半的咖啡因，然後加入平常會加入的特色豆子。如果想要完全無咖啡因的拼配，可以

參照我的做法如下:

50%巴西低咖啡因豆

50%蘇門答臘低咖啡因豆

或者:

50%巴西低 SWPλ Decaf

25%墨西哥 Esmeralda decaf

25%蘇門答臘 SWP decaf

Coffee Blending Basics

Blending Basics

Coffees from different origins are blended together for several reasons. Presumably the goal is to

make a coffee that is higher in cup quality than any of the ingredients individually. But high quality

arabica coffee should be able to stand alone; it should have good clean flavor, good aromatics, body

and aftertaste. So one reason coffees are blended in the commercial world might be the use of

lower-quality coffee in the blend. Another reason might be to create a proprietary or signature blend that

leads consumers to equate a particular coffee profile with a particular brand image; consumers dont

often call Starbucks by the origin names used in the coffee but simply as "a cup of Starbucks" as if the

dark carbony roast tastes were somehow exclusive to that brand. Coffees are also blended to attain

consistency from crop year to year. This is done with major brands that do not want to be dependent on

any specific origin flavor so they can source coffee from the least expensive sources. Such blends

generally reduce all the coffees included to the lowest common denominator. But lets put aside the

less-than-noble reasons that coffee is blended and focus on details that concern the quality-oriented

roaster.

Before blending any high-quality coffees you should know the flavors of the individual coffees and

have some goal for an ideal cup that cannot be attained by a single origin or single degree of roast. It

would be a shame to blend a fantastic Estate coffee ...after all, you are supposedly trying to attain a cup

that exceeds the components and its not likely you can do this with top coffees. And given that you

have both a reason to a blend and a logical process for doing it, there will be little need for more than

around 5 coffees in the blend. Blends with more than 5 coffees are considered to be fanciful, or

indulgent, or confused by more than a few expert coffee tradespeople I know.

The Case Not to Blend

While blending requires the expert skill of knowing each ingredient coffee, having a clear cup profile

as the goal in mind, and knowing how to achieve it, blends should not be considered a "higher" form of

coffee by any standard. As indicated above, the opposite case is often true. For me personally there is

much more satisfaction in enjoying single-origin and estate coffees roasted to their peak of flavor. In my

opinion, even a so-so single-farm coffee is more intriguing than a blended cup ...even if the blend is

admittedly superior! Why? Because when I taste an unblended coffee it is the end result of a long road

from crop to cup, without any one person deciding what I will be experiencing. While I enjoy that cup, I

like to think about that process, and it informs my opinion about that region or that specific farm. I enjoy

feeling connected to the origin of the coffee and the process in this way...

Blending Before or After Roasting

I get a lot of questions about blending before or after roasting ...which is better? Well, if you have an

established blend it certainly is easier to blend the coffee green and roast it together. If you are

experimenting with blend ingredients and percentages you will want to pre-roast each separately so

you can experiment with variations without having to make a new roast with each change. The case for

roasting coffees individually is strong with the Melange type blend (see below) and with a handful of

particular coffees, such as Robusta in espresso blends. Some coffees are more dense, or have

extreme size variations. These will roast differently than standard wet-processed arabicas. All

dry-processed arabicas require roasting to a slightly higher degree of temperature. But in most cases

the coffees can be roasted together and I would advise this: roast the coffee together until you

encounter a situation where the results are disappointing and for success you must roast them

separately. Every coffee roasts a bit differently but there is a great deal of averaging that occurs

between coffees in the roast chamber, especially in drum roast systems. And then theres the coffees

that do not roast evenly as single origins either: Yemeni, Ethiopian DP coffees, etc. Uneven roast color

is not a defect, and only when it occurs in a wet-processed arabica that should roast to an even color

(and sometimes not even in this case) is it of any consequence.

Blending for Filter-Drip Brewing: the Melange

One of the most compelling reasons to blend coffee is the Melange. This is a blend of coffees

roasted to different degrees of roast, so they must be roasted individually. In particular, you may want

the carbony flavors of a dark roast but also want the acidy snap of a lighter roasted Kenya or Central

American coffee.

Heres an idea for a blend that has dark roasts flavors, good body, and an acidy snap to it:

40% Colombian Tuluni roasted Full City -to preserve body (var. other Colombian, Nicaragua La Illusion,

or perhaps Brazil Monte Carmelo)

30% Mexican Tres Flechas roasted French -for sharp, carbony flavors (var. other Mexican)

30% Kenya Estate roasted City -for bright acidy snap (var. bright Costa Rican or other Central

American)

If you want a Melange that has good body, good bittersweet flavors, but still has acidity, and without the

carbony flavors:

60% Colombian roasted Full City

40% Kenya or bright Central American roasted City

With a really good Central American that has nice balance, acidity and body, you can even blend two

roasts of the same coffee with each other:

60% Colombian Tuluni, or Nicaragua La Illusion, etc. roasted Full City +

40% of the same coffee roasted City, just past the finish of first crack.

Our association trade shows are a great place to taste popular blends that are showcased by bigger

roasters (they pay to serve their coffee between seminars) and taste what some roasters consider as

benchmark quality blends. At the 1998 Specialty Coffee Assoc. (SCAA) trade show in Philadelphia it

was amazing how many Melange blends that feature 30%-40% Kenya for acidy snap were put forth. Its

an easy way to create dimension in the cup, and highlight acidity against the depth of bittersweet roast

tastes and better mouthfeel (body) than Kenyas normally exhibit.

Blending for Filter-Drip Brewing: the Mokha-Java Blend

It is provocative to contemplate the fact that blending is as old as domesticated coffee production

itself. The full body, low-toned Java from Dutch estates was combined with the medium-bodied,

enzymatic (floral-fruity), more acidy Mokha coffees from day one it seems, and those were the only two

coffees in existence. Was it only done by habit? Or was it done solely to improve taste, the fact that the

two complimented each other and resulted in a more complex cup than either provided by itself. With

the crude roasting and brewing devices of the time, isnt it amazing that they could taste the improved

complexity of the Mokha-Java blend! Its not difficult to take 2 excellent coffees and make an decent

blend from them. Much commercial blending occurs to improve the "cup quality" of a coffee made from

soft, uninspiring coffees or defective coffees.

The original blend, the Mokha-Java, with Yemen Mokha and estate Java as the constituents.

Mocha-Java can be interpreted literally, or, as is usually the case, as a blend of some Indonesian coffee

with either a Ethiopian or Yemeni coffee. They are commonly blended in equal parts 50-50, or with a

little bias towards the Indonesian, like 40-45 African, 55-60 Indonesian. We have had excellent results

with blending our Yemen Hirazi or Dhamari, Ethiopian Harar and either Sumatra Batak Mandheling

(washed) or Sulawesi Toraja (washed).

? Harar 50%, Sulawesi 50% brought to a City Roast (last dry stage before oil appears): Excellent

delicate version of the Mokha-Java blend, with a wonderful floral aroma, fruity acidity, and a

medium-full body. Java is the cleanest Indonesian coffee we offer, and the most nuanced. This is a

superbly complex cup, that alternates between its low tones and the fragrant high notes.

? Harar 50%, Sumatra 50% brought to a deep Full City roast: A more aggressive Mokha-Java, with a

deeper, fuller body, and more earthiness in the bass notes. The roasts bittersweet adds to the

complexity, and reduces the lovely Harar acidity somewhat.

? Harar 50%, Sulawesi Toraja 50% : The cleaner taste of the Sulawesi vs. the more aggressive

Mandheling results in a better, more focused blend. Sulawesi provides a better backdrop to the Hairs

enzymatic flowery aromatics.

? Yemen 25%, Sulawesi Toraja 75%: By far the best Mokha-Java blend, the Mattari is a great coffee to

use almost as a spice ...it is so powerful that straight roasts of it can be a little "too much" for me. The

Sulawesi provides a syrupy body and deep tones, the Hirazi just sits atop that and "does what it does",

berry-like fruitiness and intense aromatics.

? Ethiopian Djimma 15%, Harar 35%, Sumatra 50%: Djimma less acidy and bright and more chocolate

and earth. It swings the blend in that direction...

Espresso Blends

In general, the goal of espresso blending differs from the goal of filter coffee blends (and some may

argue that there are blends specific for French Press brewing or for serving with cream/milk). Filter

coffees may be blended for complexity or for balance, but an espresso blend usually must be blended

for balance or particular varietal qualities that would be favorable in a filter coffee brew might

overwhelm the espresso extract.

Most espresso blends are based on one or several high quality Brazil arabicas, some washed,

some dry-processed. They often involve some African coffees for winey acidity or enzymatic flowery

/fruitiness, or a high grown Central American for a cleaner acidity.

Dry processed coffees are responsible for the attractive crema on the cup, among other mechanical

factors in the extraction process. Wet-processed Central Americans add positive aromatic qualities.

Robustas, or coffea canephora, are used in cheaper blends to increase body and produce crema and in

a few decent blends. They add crema and a particular bite to the cup. The notion that true

"continental"espresso blends have Robusta. Nonsense! In fact the coffee samples from small Italian

roasters I have (in green form) appear to be very mild, sweet blends with about 40% Brazil Dry-process,

40% Colombian and 20%+ Centrals, like Guatemalan. For bite and earthiness you can use a DP

Ethiopian like Sidamo or Djimma. Its fun to play with Robusta but I personally dont like it too much

beyond experimentation and I personally dont enjoy having more caffeine in my coffee than is

necessary,

A Colombian-based espresso blend offers a sharper, sweeter flavor but wont result in as much

crema production. Here are a couple interesting espresso blends we have fooled around with.

Either you can blend by the seat of your pants (not recommended) or make your process of

establishing the coffees and the percentages logical. Start by developing the base, the backdrop in

terms of flavor and a coffee that provides the kind of body, roast flavor and crema you like. I suggest

Brazils, although Colombian or Mexican are viable options.

Practice roasting this base coffee to different degrees of roast, and pulling straight shots of

espresso. Get familiar with this cup and imagine what you would like to improve in it (because if you find

it just fine as is, then you have no need to continue!)

Do you want it to be sharper and sweeter, with more aromatics: perhaps you will want to add

Central American coffees. Watch out with percentages above 25%, particularly if you like a lighter

espresso roast. You will be losing some crema and body.

Do you want more body and sweetness: use a clean Indonesian like a Sulawesi or a premium

Sumatra. You will be losing some sharpness. You can go up to 50% with one of these ...heck, they are

nice at 100%!

Do you want an earthy aggressive bite and more pungency: try a dry-processed Ethiopian. Harar is

brighter and more aromatic with fruitiness and ferment. Sidamo has great pungency in the darker roasts,

fruitier in the lighter roasts. Djimma is not so fruity and less bright but adds earthiness. These produce

great crema. I often enjoy straight shots of these coffees, but keep it to 25% or so in most blends.

Do you want spicy pungency: try a Yemeni coffee. These add ferment too, and great crema. I keep

this to 50% or less (normally 25% or so) in blends.

Do you want extreme bite: try an Aged coffee, a Monsooned coffee (Indian or better yet the

Sulawesi Rantepao) or Robusta. Aged coffees and Monsooned add certain funky tastes that you will

love, or perhaps hate. You just have to give them a try to find out but that is part of the fun. Robusta --- I

would not go there unless you have too. I personally do not like the added caffeine they bring. They

increase crema, but you also need to keep them below 20% in the blend, I personally never go above

15% with them. The Monsooned Robusta can get up to 25% it seems...

Arabica vs. Robusta?

Arabica coffees (that means every coffee we sell except those at the VERY end of our list under the

Premium Robusta heading) produce a fine crema, with good aromatics, and a lighter brown-yellow

color.

Robusta coffees (from the species coffea canefora) make a greater volume of crema, but it has

larger "bubbles" and dissipates faster. Robusta has about 2x the caffeine of arabica, 2.2 to 2.4%

compared to 1.1 to 1.3% in arabica. It can have a very rubbery-medicinal flavor when there is too much

in the espresso blend. At a low percentage, 10% to 15%, it delivers a nice bite and its negative features

can be minimized.

What coffees wont I use in espresso? Kenyas are just too much acid for my purposes. Other East

Africans dont make any sense to me either. They are really filter-drip or press-pot coffee to me.

Washed Indonesians could certainly be used but they are not adding as much to crema, and they are

not going to lend the sweet aromatics of a Central American, so whats the point? Island coffees: Why?

Theres a lot of ways to achieve great espresso. Its fun to experiment and I dont know if there is

some terminal point where you achieve the perfect trans-subjective espresso. These recommendations

reflect my biases, of course.

Some Blends I Like

I would recommend you try our Sweet Marias Espresso Monkey Blend to see what you think. It will

definitely give you a basis for comparison. The Malabar Gold blend is a very exotic pre-blended

espresso, and if thats what you like you might want to look into Aged coffees and Robustas for your

own blends, and obviously you would want to be using Indian Monsooned Malabar. The Moka Kadir is

a very fruity-winey North African and Yemen blend. So these three span the gamut of blends and can

give youi a good idea what direction to take with your own blend. Many people also buy my Espresso

Money blend and modify it by, for example, adding 15% robusta or adding 25% Aged coffee.

Heres a great starter blend for a sweeter, cleaner espresso. The absence of North African or

Yemeni coffee takes out a little bite from the cup and possibly some lurking fruity ferment flavor. this is,

as noted above, a sweet blend used at a street level roasterie/caffe in Rome.

They use a Guatemala Antigua for the Central:

? 50% Brazil Dry-process

? 25% Colombian Wet-process

? 25% Guatemala or other brighter Central American

I dont think Colombians really pull their weight in a blend (though many people use them as a base

or part of their blends), and like using some Sumatra better:

? 50% Brazil Cerrado Dry-process

? 25% Guatemala or other bright Central American

? 25% Sumatra -Premium like Triple-Pick, Lintong ...,

Some sharp sweetness (Central American) hides behind the nutty Brazil flavors and the wonderful

Yemeni aromatics. Mandheling adds body and depth. Yemeni coffees are fun for espresso blends,

where they can be used like spice to give zest the aromatically or enzymatically flat blends. Roast to

Agtron 40 to 35. Good crema production from this blend due to the many dry-processed coffees

? 40% Brazil Cerrado Dry-process

? 20% Panama or other bright Central American

? 20% Yemen

? 20% Sumatra Mandheling

Ah, too sweet, too boring. You want something more aggressive, chocolatey? Drop the Centrals:

? 50% Brazil Cerrado Dry-process

? 25% Ethiopian Sidamo or Yemen

? 25% Sumatra Mandheling Dry-Process

You can certainly keep going along this route by adding other coffees (monsooned, aged, robusta)

to discover what they add and what they subtract from the blend.

For an potent Indian Monsooned-type blend you could do something like this:

? 60% Indian Monsooned Malabar -this high percentage will cup very musty

? 20% High Quality Robusta: Wet-processed Indonesian or Indian

? 20% Wet-processed Arabica, for aroma and balance: perhaps Indian, Timor, Java or Sulawesi.

For an potent Aged coffee blend you could do something like this:

? 40% Aged Sumatra

? 30% Sumatra, or Sulawesi

? 30% Guatemala or other bright Central American for aroma and balance (Aged Java is very potent

and should probably not exceed 1/3 of the blend or so...)

Decaf Espresso? Low-caffeine espresso? That is why we stock the Brazil SWP Decaf as a base. Use it

as 50% of your blend to cut the caffeine in half, then add your main "character" coffees as usual. If you

wanted an all-decaf blend I would do one of these:

? 50% Brazil SWP Decaf

? 50% Sumatra SWP Decaf

Or this:

? 50% Brazil SWP Decaf

? 25% Mexican Esmeralda Decaf

? 25% Sumatra SWP Decaf

We also offer our own Sweet Marias Decaf Espresso Blend ready to roast, and the Indonesian

Komodo Organic SWP Decaf blend works great for espresso too!

? Decaf Ethiopian is excellent in espresso. Try 50% Sumatra Decaf and 50% Ethiopian Decaf for a

fantastic decaf espresso blend!

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