There is an abundance of information on espresso blending out there on the Internet. But over time, despite the volumes of information (or maybe because of the volumes!) the questions that comes up over and over again are the same: I'm a beginner, how do I get started in espresso blending? What roast level? What beans? What proportions? I address these questions, and in the process walks you through my favorite blend and how I got there.

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Thanks for the article Mike,

I am curious to know how you chose to roast the 2 types of beans at the same.

Why the Brazil/Yemen and Sulawesi/Nicaragua?

do you change the combinations with different batches of green beans?
What is the basis for this choice?

do you ever use cupping to inform your roasting? or do you just experiment with blends?

cheers,
geoff

I've become more busy with my two boys, so I'm not roasting as often anymore, but I'll try to answer your questions. Even here in NC the outside temps can be challenging for my small roaster, but the spring should see me getting busy again.

Answers briefly:

1. Because in the case of the sul and the nic, they have approx the same density and they roast at about the same rate and finish at about the same roast level, which is what I want. In the case of the brazil and yemen I want a finish at different roast levels; the yemen will roast substantially slower, so it will finish at a much lighter and fruitier roast while the brazil is nice and chocolaty.

2. Because I like them. Simple as that. I've done many dozen different blends, and found many that I like. The only way to learn is by doing, and you'll find your favorites too.

3. Yes. The nature of the greens. You really just have to learn through experimentation.

4. I never cup, it is pointless to do anything in isolation. However, I suggest only changing one variable at a time. For example, my accent bean might be Harrar, and I'll decide that it might be causing a bitter edge, so I'll swap in a Yemen to see if my theory is right. Many times I tweak blends for taste or changing greens by swapping a green, or altering a percentage.

unidonburi wrote:Thanks for the article Mike,

I am curious to know how you chose to roast the 2 types of beans at the same.

Why the Brazil/Yemen and Sulawesi/Nicaragua?

do you change the combinations with different batches of green beans?
What is the basis for this choice?

do you ever use cupping to inform your roasting? or do you just experiment with blends?

cheers,
geoff

I just came across this older thread. I am glad I did because I am now trying my hand at blending. It's not as easy as I thought it would be!

I just finished a batch of 50% Brazil 25% Sumatra Mandheling and 25% Yirgacheffe. It's still degassing, but it smells nice. We'll see if it tastes as good as good as it smells!

Last week I tried several blends with 50% Brazil 25% Colombian and 25% various Centrals. I found that the Colombian was a bit too acidic for my tastes. Perhaps increasing roasting time would tone it down? ... or maybe adding Indonesians, as I am now doing, will do the trick.

Here's a question: Is it unusual to blend espresso without any Brazils at all? Could a good espresso be blended from African and Indonesian beans only? How would the tastes compare?

Just a few quick thoughts here.

I'm a little surprised that the Colombian gave you brightness, that should be relatively mellow, but there are more Colombians coming into the market with that upward tilt, so OK. Roasting deeper will reduce acidity on most coffees, but a lot of times their character will still show through. I like a bit of central in my blends, and I put them into a load that I take into Vienna. They still kick brightness, but it is dimmed.

As far as whether a blend of all this or that would be good, it is really personal preference. I like the classic espresso taste of Brazil based blends. Some people can drink the brightest Centrals as a single-origin, light roasted shot. When somebody asks me whether a blend is "good", I end up saying that it will "taste like the beans you picked". In a contest many years ago somebody brought an espresso blend of all aged, monsooned and Indonesian coffees. It tasted like a shoveful of dirt from a forest, but he loved the taste.

My advice is to blend as many blends as you can think of and keep careful notes as you go along. Try to find something that you like, and then tweak it by changing out just one bean, or alter the percentages each time until you get it to where you want it.