I bring this back up with an idea and hopefully some comments

Many very knowledgeable folks have really liked the first workshop blend, Ophiolite. I am among the ones (not necessarily so knowledgeable) who think its the best home roast blend I've ever tried. Tom's notes on this blend state that it consists on Brazilian and Ethiopian varieties.

Moka Kadir is a regular in my espresso rotation. It's basically a red sea blend of Ethiopian and Yemeni coffees and its to me an in your face bold blend with rich chocolates covered with flowery fruit.

I just recently went back to look at the cupping scores for a variety of blends and single origins I use for espresso trying to get some ideas for how to blend with some intelligence. The spiderweb patterns can give some ideas about what one can expect when brewing. I then noticed that you could literally superimpose the spiderwebs of Ophiolite and Moka Kadir.

My thoughts are that addition of a nice Brazilian bean(s) in some unknown to be discovered ratio with Moka Kadir would possibly represent a blend that would while not the same as Ophiolite make an espresso similar in balance to what so many enjoyed with Ophiolite.

Maybe, but why not just get some Workshop Blend #7?

Adrian

I will try #7 if any is left when I place an order for another of those great digital kettles for my office coffee bar in my new lab being built for me now. I also want some additional Guatemala La Maravilla but what does that have to do with trying to reproduce a blend I liked better then any other?

Look at the spiderweb profiles of Moka Kadir and Ophiolite (I don't want to copy them here as they may be a copyright of SM). They are strikingly alike and suggest to me that a brazil bean added for body, mouthfeel and possibly to tone down the overall intensity might yield something similar in a drink. Is this a reasonable hypothesis. I do intend to separately roast some moka kadir and a brazilian this weekend to do the "experiment" but thought a bit f feedback might be useful. I will report the results in a week or so.

Well, I think Espresso Workshop Blend #7 is so swell, you might just forget your desire to make another Ophiolite. Just buy a 20# bag now before it sells out.

More to the point, I agree that you might be right, but the caveat is that the blend is NEVER what you think it is going to be. In the case of Moka Kadir, I personally would use Kona or even Breccia Blend in the mix, but Brazilian is a reasonable idea especially since it is already in Moka Kadir. I would probably ask Tom what Brazilian bean he used and use the same one if possible. I would also add a few beans of the Rwanda Robusta to the mix, just so people would call me a heretic.

I assume you will be roasting them seperately. I will be interested to see how it goes.

Maybe I will roast up some Ophiolite next week. It has been a while.

Adrian

Moka Kadir has no brazilian beans in it. It consists of ethiopian and yemeni coffees (a red sea blend). I like it a lot and try to always keep some around for a nice change of pace week.

As for your suggestion to buy 20# of blend #7 and be done with it - I did buy 10# immediately after reading about dextral strike and I still have 6# left. I've experimented to where I've found a nice cup from it but it was real work and lots of too bright espresso days to want to go through that again any time soon. On the other hand, I have seen enough of your reviews to trust them and to see some similarities in tastes so perhaps I'll up my purchase quantity of #7 a bit.

Bottom line is that I'm enjoying my home blending experiences. Some have been quite good and others not so good. I have not gone as far as using Rwanda Robusta but I can recommend Nicaragua Limoncillo Pacamara Dry-Process as a totally off beat but delicious SO or blending addition to substitute for east african beans. Experiments are part of the fun. However, I do have some Ophiolite set for next week but the last pound is vauum packed and saved for the holidays.

What about Melange the Moka Kadir? I roasted some last week - I thought I went too dark - a lot of 2nd crack snapping - but turned out nice intense flavor (I do not remember the Ophiolite flavor too well now - though it did seem a lot like Moka Kadir)

Mix A somewhat darker Moka Kadir roast with a somewhat lighter - just at 2nd crack roast (along with some of your Brazil)

Howard

GC7 wrote:Moka Kadir has no brazilian beans in it. It consists of ethiopian and yemeni coffees (a red sea blend).

Maybe it is a misprint. I just double checked the SM website, where it says:

"SM Moka Kadir Blend
Country: Blend, Yemen, Ethiopia, Brazil"

I wonder how a blend of Dextral Strike and Moka Kadir would fare. I mentioned the Kona and Robusta, as I have done that before and it worked out well.

Always have fun blending!

I recently tried the Sermon Blend from Verve. I liked it a lot and seemed somewhat similar to Ophiolite as I remember it. The Sermon is Brazil, Ethiopian, and Sumatran. I'm going to start adding different Indonesians to my blends of Brazil and Ethiopian to see if I can come close to what I remember.

drdna wrote:Maybe it is a misprint. I just double checked the SM website, where it says:

"SM Moka Kadir Blend
Country: Blend, Yemen, Ethiopia, Brazil"

I wonder how a blend of Dextral Strike and Moka Kadir would fare. I mentioned the Kona and Robusta, as I have done that before and it worked out well.

Always have fun blending!

Adrian

THat is a very interesting find as I was 100% sure that the blend was solely Ethiopian and Yemeni coffees. So, I went into the Blend archives and lo and behold Moka Kadir Blend is there as an archived blend of Ethiopian and Yemeni beans! Tom must have changed it recently. I have noticed this bag which I have only one roast experience is less "in your face".

I wonder why the change in MK and close to an Ophiolite spiderweb profile?