Espresso blending advice needed.

[kenja]

I've selected a nice Brazilian SO espresso that I've been using religiously. I've decided to start blending and have a few questions on how to start. I've ordered 6-7 different beans that I plan to mix with my SO beans as the base and follow various recipes I've read about in the forums. Rather than just trying to reproduce the recipes, I really want to understand which beans are adding which flavors. I also want to develop a feel for the flavors of each region. I'd like to be able to start understanding how to mix the flavors to generate something I would really like rather than just trying to find something someone else has created.

So the question is, how do I do that? Do I roast each unique set of beans as SO beans and create espresso out of them to determine/characterize the flavor independent of the blend and then add them to the blend? I have a very good feel for the flavor of the Brazilian base. I know a lot of people cup the beans, but I have no experience with that and how it relates to the flavors extracted in the espresso process.

Does anyone have any advice or links to other posts that address this?

Thanks,
Kenja

[another_jim]

There are as many rules for blending espresso as there are espresso blenders. But here are a few basics:

"A nice Brasil" simply doesn't cut it as a description of a bean that is in any way useful to yourself or others. If you roast it to a rolling second crack, does it taste ashy or not? If you stop your roast just as the beans clear their throat for the first pops of the second, does the brasil taste creamy and nutty, or floral and slightly tart? Pay attention to what you are smelling and tasting, and especially pay attention to what you really don't like.
-- If any hint of ashy or peaty taste is anathema; don't ever roast beyond the first pops of the second crack
-- If you don't like tangy citrus flavors, don't use washed East African, Central or South American beans unless they are roasted dark
-- If you don't like woody or toasted grain flavors, avoid long, light roasts, especially of Indian or Indonesian beans.

Set up your grinder for single dose use, so you can blend the beans for each shot on a scale, and then grind them.

If you do have an intensely acidic or roasty coffee that cannot be used on its own for espresso, try the shot diluted in water (Americano), or "dilute" the bean by blending it with a neutral tasting coffee, like a Brasil from green beans a year old.

For the initial vetting of beans for a blend, keep your doses lower, and your roasts lighter, than usual.

You can't make purses out of sows ears. If you've roasted a bean a few times, and it still sucks, dump it.

[mrgnomer]

Good guide on blending. After 3 years of experimenting my best blends come from following the advice in the 'Choosing Green Beans' chapter.

http://www.lucidcafe.com/homeroast.html

[Abdon]

The soul of blending is knowing your beans, and being able to answer a single question: why?

Take any bean, they will have unique characteristics. For any given method of brewing, said characteristics will vary depending on the roast level, type of roasting, and how old the roasted beans are. The different is so drastic that sometimes all you need for a blend is a single type, roasted at different levels.

So let's say you have a Kenyan bean, that is fresh clean, acidic, and reminds you of tropical fruits. Then the question is why would you blend it? The simple answer is because you want to change it. Sounds like a stupid question and a yet more stupid answer, but what they imply is that there has to be a purpose to your blending. Maybe you think the coffee is too clean, maybe it lacks a backbone, or you like a more nutty flavor, or more crema, maybe more complexity, etc ad nausea. The point is, you have a purpose as opposed to throwing things together to see what happens.

To be a good blender learn your beans. This pisses my wife off to no end because she knows I can roast exactly as she likes it, yet I keep going darker and lighter for no other purpose than to see the same beans under as many lights as possible. Once you know your beans you can start changing things tiny steps at a time. Your goal then is to know where you want to go (why am I adding this particular bean at this particular roast level). You should be able to predict what a particular mix ought to do before you taste it, and once tasting it, where one starts and the other ends.

Then you can look at creating a blend to stand the test of time, which means that every component gets profiled so that the next year you can recreate it from scratch. What that means is that if last year's Ethiopian Harrar's earthy character is now more on the wet & swampy side of the flavor scale, that you can look at your short list of coffees that may best fulfill that role (Yemeni? a funky Sumatran?) and sample 'till you can find a match. I used to go to a small shop in Maryland where their house blend was like an old friend, consistent year after year, because the owner went to great lengths to profile and re-blend as needed. Chances are if I could go back there now, their house blend will taste just like it did years ago when I left.

[another_jim]

Welcome to the board, Abdon. That was a terrific first post.

[Abdon]

Thanks. I was afraid I wasn't really answering the question of 'espresso' blending but wanted to chime in as far as the approach.

I came over because after many years of lusting over espresso machines I finally purchased my own (Achille Gaggia, DOA and in the process of being exchanged). Now I need to figure out how to modify my own roasting and blending for espresso brewing.

- Abdon

[Scotto]

I recommend what you yourself suggested - roast the beans individually and taste SO shots. Once your palate understands them, start blending at various ratios and take notes. Over time you'll be able to distinguish more and more what you like. It is a fun series of experiments.

I have been playing around a lot with decaf blends for espresso. I roasted up 3 coffees (Sumatra, Brazil, DP Sidamo) to different roast levels and then spent a couple of weeks tasting dozens of combinations. Very interesting experience. Even more fascinating is that after I found a ratio I liked, I tried roasting the beans together and got a totally different, and unpleasant blend. Although it is a lot more work, it can be very revealing to roast each component to a different level and blend after. In particular, I really like the effect of the Ethiopia roasted lightly, to the tune of 15-20% in my blends. That same percentage pre-roast blended and taken into second crack is objectionable.

Perhaps the biggest outcome of all this is an increased respect for professional roasters and blenders. It is not easy.

-Scotto

[Abdon]

...after I found a ratio I liked, I tried roasting the beans together and got a totally different, and unpleasant blend...

I'll say that dark roast are more forgiving with pre blending, but it is just about pointless to pre blend on the light roasts.

Right now I have a nice Harrar with a finicky sweet spot around the beginning of first crack. Before the sweet spot, you have fruitiness, spiciness, and of course body and acidity. On the sweet spot the fruitiness start to turn to tartness, not long after that, the tartness gets burned away, turning into a more nutty roast character while still maintaining spiciness, body, and acidity. Some may find the tartness (I call it tart, others would call it sour) a flaw to avoid and would get annoyed to find it on their cup. If you ask me, it is the best aspect of the bean On a French press it is full body, muddy, acidic, spicy, and sour'y; basically coffee flavored yogurt

What I'm trying to say is that nuance on light roasts rides on a very fine edge; pre blending them will give you at best very uneven results. I gave the example above because it is roasted for a particular character (flaw?); I go fast to first crack and cruise into second for about 10 minutes*. Even if deemed as a character flaw, blending in a little bit could go a long way in adding dimensionality to an otherwise flat coffee. Heck, blending it with itself may even work; Harrar roasted fast to full city roast will clean it up, turning it nutty and spicy. Blending it back with the sour roast could add such an interesting twist. Heck, I may try to see how it unfolds on a vacuum brewer

Darker roasts are more forgiving. Two years ago I used to pre blend most of my dark roast Kenyan with Harrar. The Kenyan was a wonderful lot that was extremely clean and bright, too clean is you asked me It was either great as a light roast for tea and acidic characters, or darker roasted with Harrar for a fuller, more balanced cup.

- Abdon


* Sometimes there is something interesting in slowing down second roast, sometimes there isn't. I guess there is only one way to find out