Zach And Dani's Coffee roaster Instructional Manual - page 9
Category 4: Base-note coffees
These add richness and body to a blend, and combine well with other coffees.
Their deep-toned acidity will anchor and add resonance to the lighter, brisker
coffees of category 2, and balance without blunting coffees in categories 1 and 3.
Don’t be put off by their occasional mildly mildewed, fermented or earthy notes.
These qualities may not please in a single origin coffee, but can contribute to a
blend.
• Sumatra (Mandheling, Lintong, and Aceh natural or traditionally processed)
• Sulawesi/Celebes
• New Guinea organic and Y-grade
• Timor
• India Monsooned Malabar
Blending for Taste and Variety
There are two ways to approach blending: by system or by improvisation.
One systematic approach
would be to start with a base coffee from category 2
above, roast and drink it long enough to really know it, then experiment with
adding other coffees to it - a highlight coffee, a base coffee, etc. - keeping notes as
you go along. Another approach might be to choose a coffee from each of the four
categories. Combine them in equal proportions, and then substitute one at a time
from coffees of the same category until you achieve a combination that pleases
you.
Or you can start the way professional cuppers do, by cup blending. Roast
several coffees, say two from each of the four categories above, then brew them all
and let them sit on a table at room temperature and combine them in varying
proportions, using a soupspoon. One spoonful of this, another of that, and so on,
experimenting with various combinations until you arrive at a formula that
pleases you. Then roast the coffees that made up your preferred-cup blend.
Combine them in proportions that please you, brew up a pot, and see how it
tastes.
Although most blends are composed of coffees brought to roughly similar
degrees of roast, you also can experiment blending coffees brought to dramatically
different degrees. A good way to start is by roasting the same coffee to two very
different degrees, to a medium roast and to a dark, for example, then blend the
two in varying proportions. If you enjoy the result, try varying the identity of the
two coffees, then add a third, then perhaps a fourth.
As for blending by improvisation,
obviously no instruction is needed. Buy
coffees from two or three of the categories I noted above and combine them as
moment and mood suggests. It probably still is a good idea to use one or two
familiar coffees as a consistent base for your caprice, however.
Zach & Dani’s™ Instructional Guide and Roasting Journal
15
Blending at Home: Getting Started
The goal of blending is simple: achieve a more complete, complex, and pleasing
coffee experience than can be achieved from brewing one single coffee. It is
probably easiest to get a feel for the process by combining very different but
complementary coffees: a brisk, dry, acidy coffee with a fuller, deeper-toned coffee,
for example.
To help that process along, here is a list dividing some well-known coffees into
categories according to the qualities they can contribute to a blend:
Category 1: Big classic coffees
These coffees contribute body, powerful acidity, and classic flavor and aroma to
a blend. They may make too strong a statement for use as a base for blends, but
are excellent for strengthening and energizing coffees with softer profiles.
• Guatemala (Antigua, Coban, Huehuetenango, other high-grown Guatemala
coffees)
• Costa Rica (Tarrazu, Tres Rios, other high-grown Costa Rica coffees)
• Colombia
Category 2: Softer classic coffees
These are “good blenders”; they establish a solid, unobtrusive base for a blend,
and contribute body and acidity without competing with more individualistic
coffees. When brought to a darker roast they often confer a satisfying sweetness
and pleasing chocolate notes, making them favorites for espresso blends.
• Mexico (Oaxaca, Coatepec, Chiapas, Tapachula)
• Dominican Republic/Santo Domingo
• Peru (Chanchamayo)
• Brazil Santos
• Panama
• El Salvador
• Nicaragua
• India washed or wet-processed coffees
Category 3: Highlight and exotic coffees
Their powerful fruit- and wine-like acidity makes these coffees a distracting
base for a blend, but exciting contributors.
• Ethiopia Harrar (this wild-tasting, complex dry-processed coffee contributes
sweetness, fruit and berry notes, and rich acidity)
• Yemen Mocha (similar to Harrar but less intense)
• Ethiopia wet-processed coffees (Yirgacheffe and Sidamo add extraordinary
high-toned floral and citrus notes that survive even into a dark roast)
• Kenya (adds powerful acidity and fruit, berry and wine notes)
• Zimbabwe (same as Kenya but less intense)
• Ugandan Bugishu (same as Kenya but less intense)
• New Guinea AA (adds powerful acidity and complex citrus notes)
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Zach & Dani’s™ Instructional Guide and Roasting Journal