I am hoping to get some feedback on blending for espresso and my recent attempts to recreate the well received Ophiolite Blend from Sweet Marias. If I am a beginner at making espresso then I am a real novice at blending. I've read a bit online and the basic stuff on Sweet Marias website but my feeling is that there is nothing to take the place of doing it yourself and tasting the results under different roasts and extraction conditions. The Ophiolite Blend was composed of Brazilian and Ethiopian beans and its characteristic profile was chocolate covered cherries.

I have played around a bit with almost all of my beans using them as SO espresso. I am under the assumption that the best blends should come from the best coffees and those distinct SO flavor profiles can be modified and melded by proper blending. With that in mind I tried the following not to mimic Ophiolite but to make a good blend. 95% of the components here make excellent SO espresso (for my tastes)

1- 60% Brazil Moreninha Formosa (green coffee buying club) - this is absolutely fantastic stuff - rich chocolate with orange peal and thick creamy body -
2- 10% Java Kejumas Curah Tatal (Sweet Maria) - bittersweet giradelli chocolate bar with sweet candy undertones as SO - extremely low acid - by itself somewhat bland.
3- 15% Nicaragua Limoncello Java Longberry (Sweet Maria) - milk chocolate with lemon cookie flavors - cleaner then Island coffees -
4- 10% Ethiopia Idido Misty Valley - (I have 07 from Sweet Maria and 08 harvest from green coffee buying club) my favorite SO espresso when it's right - bright winey fruit with strawberries and the 08 harvest has blueberry components.
5- 5% Ethiopia wet process Koratie (Sweet Maria) - not tried as SO but sweet lemon drop flavor in a French press.

Well this turned out to be fantastic espresso and about as good and most anything I've tried. It has a deep chocolate body with port wine-like fruit. It could be a touch brighter and I'm trying to tweak it in that direction (any suggestions?) but I am happy with this one. I was expecting the rich thick chocolate base but I wasn't thinking the IMV would contribute (if that's what's doing it) a port-wine component. I was expecting fresh-ripe fruit components.

The second blend to present was more to try to clone the Ophiolite with some Brazil and Ethiopian beans I have in my stash.
1- 35% Brazil Moreninha Formosa
2- 20% Brazil Cachoeira Bourbon
3- 30% Ethiopia Idido Misty Valley
4- 15% Ethiopia Harrar Horse

This is very nice as espresso but it is not quite "in balance" compared with the blend above. The tastes don't blend together certainly not like a chocolate covered cherry. I think I had a better base with the first components (Brazil Moreninha, Java and IMV) but I need a compatible component contributing cherry flavors.

I have modified the first blend based on this second one but its resting and I'll report in a week or so.

I don't know how much interest this topic will garner but if someone has any ideas I'm listening.

Thanks.

Just a small note about blending in general. Dr. John of Malabar Gold fame has made this point in a number of papers. A shot of espresso, depending on dose and bean size, has somewhere in the rough neighborhood of fifty beans, and since you are grinding fresh before pulling a shot, you have an integral number of beans, more or less, in each shot. So if you have a component at 5% in a blend, in our example, your shots will at minimum have two or three of that bean, not 2.5 which would be 5%. Statistically, the variation will usually be higher. So you have to make sure that this coffee tastes good to you over that broad a range, and accept that you will have significant shot-to-shot variation. That's why it's rare to see commercial blends, where consistency is one of the goals, with more than three or at most four components.

Best,
David

David

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for your input.

The GCBC Brazil Moreninha Formosa makes a truly great base for espresso and that isn't likely to change for me in the near future though lowering the amount (%) might be worth trying especially since I'm not thrilled with my other Brazil offering at least in espresso (Cachoeira Bourbon).

I love the Ethiopia Idido Misty Valley as a SO and so far in blends too. It stays

The Java Kejumas Curah Tatal was an experiment to keep the chocolates and lower the acidity. I'll try one leaving it out and see what happens. However, I'm running out of the Nicaragua Limoncello Java Longberry which is/was a Java-like substitute with a bit more acid so maybe the Java is worth playing with since I can sustain that blend longer.

The WP Koratie was an effort to jack up the berry fruit flavors but as you mention 5% isn't really statistically significant in any one shot.

I'll think about simplifying. Thanks again

You're at the "secret formula" stage of espresso blending. This is fun way to start; but you can do better.

You probably once stood over the chili, goulash, or stew pot; and added a pinch of this and a pinch of that until it was just right. The final recipe took up a few pages, and so you are not scared of cooking up a complex espresso blend.

But the the pinch of this and pinch of that approach has two problems for espresso blending:

-- First, the technical problem that Dr John talks about: when you do this with a coffee blend , 1/8 or 12.5% is about the lowest limit for a blend component before it's contribution becomes very inconsistent.

-- Second, there's also a design problem. When you are cooking a stew or soup, you add a pinch of this or that, then taste, then add another pinch. The process is controlled by feedback at each step. Your blends are not based on such detailed taste feedback.

When you blend, start by roasting the coffees separately. Brew them, and make shots separately, get to know each of them well. Then brew all the coffees at once, and use a spoon and spare cup to mix them in pairs and trios. Now you know how they work together. Finally, do single dose grinding, and create different blends by adding a few grams of one bean and a few grams of another, etc. That will give you the detailed taste feed back you need. It's also very likely that when you do this, your blends will be far less complex than the ones you listed.

Jim

Thanks for your input to my espresso blending education.

Except for the WP Ethiopia Koratie I have enjoyed each of the coffees mentioned as a SO espresso and that was the basis for my initial trials. Your proposed "experiment" with mixing and tasting is a logical way to test my taste preferences and desired flavors.

THanks again for taking the time to give your input.

While I agree with everything posted, I think this is the Acme of Irony! I mean, here you are trying to replicate a flavor profile of a particular espresso blend that was created to escape the problems and limitations of continually replicating a flavor profile of a particular espresso blend. I mean... wow! It has kind of blown my mind.

Instead, what I would do in your shoes is to try to follow the Intent of the Sweet Maria's Espresso Workshop Blends (which include the Ophiolite Blend). Roast up several different SO beans and try to blend them together to achieve the best balance the individual components can create together -- that is, a real synergy. I mean this would be really fantastic, because you would have something unique which would be specifically tailored exactly to YOUR tastes in espresso.

One of the limitations of all commercial espresso blends is that they reflect what somebody else thinks is good. Even the awesome Espresso Workshop Blends reflect Tom's idiosyncratic tastes. Further, all commercial blends will be based on beans that can be had in large quantities. You could use some really tiny micro-lots and create blends that would never even be considered simply on that basis. Instead of making an inadequate copy, you could really make a blend that would be, for you, the world's most perfect blend. Man that sounds pretty good. I am going to try some blending now.

Adrian

What you said is all well and good and as a scientist like you new discoveries are what we strive for - BUT - I like the flavors of Ophiolite - I REALLY like those flavors. Therefore, being a customer base of one person, I choose to try to see if I can make something that will substitute.

I have another 7# of Dextral Strike which is OK as a change of pace but not an espresso that I crave regularly. I routinely rotate blends and SO's to keep things fresh. What's wrong with attempting to learn how to satisfy a taste you really like with available greens? I've already learned a bit and the replies with substance in them have served to teach me (and others perhaps). Blend #6 is currently available. Give us a review.

When playing with new beans I will often roast each and keep them separate. Then I can blend them together for a couple of shots, then change the percentages and mix a couple more shots worth of beans. That way I can see how the flavors change without having to commit to a all in batch, then hate it. As a general rule I dont go lower than %15 of any one bean in a blend for the reasons stated above.

Ah, the irony is painful, but not as painful as never tasting that espresso blend again!! I remember thinking to myself that I'm glad I'm not the only one so disappointed when someone made an "ode to the ophiolite blend" thread when it was retired! (I think it was IMAWriter.... post was a while ago). That blend was just so damn tasty... lol. Blend away!! You certainly have a challenge ahead of you, but hopefully you'll learn something along the way, and hopefully you'll share it with us as well : )

Good luck!
-Bill

GC7 wrote:I like the flavors of Ophiolite - I REALLY like those flavors.

Yeah, me, too. Part of the fun is discovering something new you might love just as much, though. For me, as great as Ophiolite Blend is (yes, I still have a few pounds of it), I love it when every new grind is a little surprise.

GC7 wrote:Blend #6 is currently available. Give us a review.

I don't know if I can do that. It sounds so dreadful. The last few have all been unbearably Tom-styled, way way too bright and high-toned for my taste.

Why don't you try:
40% Kenya Kirinyaga AA -Gakuyu-ini Factory
40% Sulawesi Toraja Sapan-Minanga
20% Aged Sumatra Grade One Lintong

I am drinking that now, and extracted at 96 degrees it is an incredibly balanced well-rounded flavorful cup. Kind of reminds me of Ophiolite.