原文地址:http://www.sweetmarias.com/blending.html (原文附后)
翻译:asdanika，journy
声明:转载请注明出处(包括原文作者和译文作者);不得用于任何形式的商业活动。
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拼配咖啡基础
By Sweetmarias
人们因诸多理由将世界各地的咖啡拼配起来，目的大概是希望能够作出一杯比任何拼配组分都可口的咖
啡。高品质的 Arabica 因其纯净的口味，香味，醇度(body)以及余韵(aftertaste)而不用来拼配。所以，商业
上拼配咖啡的原因之一就是低品质咖啡的使用。另外可能的原因则是希望创造出能让消费者独特的品牌
拼配口感——人们一般会说“来一杯星巴克咖啡”来代替实际使用的那些品种，仿佛它就代表了这类深度炭
味烘焙的口感。日常中，也有为了获得作物没有的 consistency(一致性/稠度)而拼配咖啡。拼配咖啡一般是
由希望不依赖于特定源咖啡的口味的商家在做，如此，他们便能从最便宜的地方购入咖啡。这些拼配导
致所有使用的咖啡都降低到共同的标准。唔......我们就不去关注那些不怎么有趣的拼配咖啡的理由了，
直接来看看高品质烘焙所涉及的一些因素吧!
拼配好咖啡前除必须先清晰地把握各种单品咖啡的口味外，还需明确由任何单品咖啡的任何烘焙方式都
无法呈现的你所追求的口味。用非常好的咖啡来做拼配太可惜了，毕竟拼配是希望能让咖啡口味更上一
层楼，而顶尖的单品咖啡不大可能再如何好。拼配中不会需要超过五种单品成分——我所知道的大部分
咖啡买卖专家都不会看好这样过于混杂的咖啡。
不拼配的情况
尽管咖啡拼配需要有对各种咖啡组分的深刻感悟，需要有明确的口味为目标，并且还得知道如何做出这
样的口味，拼配咖啡也并非比一般的咖啡要更高一个品质——如前一节所说，相反的事情到常有。我个
人更加喜欢享受由单品咖啡都完美烘焙出来的咖啡——非常普通的单品咖啡亦会比拼配的更让我神往，
就算那拼配的咖啡已经无可挑剔。为何?在与我亲密接触时，单品咖啡呈现的是从作物到饮料的不由其
他人修饰的最原初的体验，我会在品味这杯咖啡时 入对那 过程以及养育它的土壤的遐想——我乐
于此道。
拼配之前，拼配之后
拼配咖啡前后有很多问题，哪种选择才更好?
如果你已经有了一套拼配方法，那大可以用生豆拼配好再一同烘焙;如果还在试验各种组分和比例，那
么最好还是单独预烘焙好各种咖啡，如此才方便调整，不至于每次都重新烘焙一次。单独烘焙的情况有
很多，特 是接下来要提到的 Melange 拼配，其他的还有 Robusta 在 espresso 拼配中的用量等。有些单品
咖啡相对较重，有一些的尺寸变化很大，相比标准湿法处理得到的 arabica，这些豆更需要单独烘焙，全
干法处理的 arabica 需要烘焙到略高一般的温度。实际上大多数情况下不同咖啡是可以一起烘焙的，我的
建议是，只要不失败，就不单独烘焙。每一种咖啡在烘焙时都会略有差 ，不过实际上很多变化都是一
样的，尤其是鼓式烘焙系统(drum roast systems).也门，埃塞俄比亚 DP 咖啡以及其他一些品种不需均匀烘
焙，不均匀的烘焙色彩不是瑕疵。只有湿法处理的 arabica 豆才应烘焙至同一程度(有时也不必须)。
滴滤式咖啡拼配:The Melange
Melange 是最有趣的拼配咖啡之一，其中的各种成分的烘焙程度不一，因而需要单独烘焙。例如同时拥有
深度烘焙的炭味以及浅烘焙的中美咖啡中活泼的淡酸味(acidy snap)。
以下给出一种拼配，深烘焙口味，优秀的醇度以及一些活泼的淡酸味:
40%哥伦比亚 Tuluni 全城市烘焙——提供醇度(或者其他类的哥伦比亚，尼加拉瓜 La Illusion，Brazil Monte
Carmelo)
30%墨西哥 Tres Flechas 法式烘焙——提供轻快的(sharp)炭味(或者其他类的墨西哥)
30%肯尼亚豆城市烘焙——提供明亮的(bright)活泼的淡酸味(或者其他有明亮的口感的哥斯达黎加，中美
豆)
如果想要一份有很好醇度，良好的苦甜味(bittersweet)，同时仍有酸度，没有炭味的 Melange，配方如下:
60%哥伦比亚全城市烘焙
40%肯尼亚或者中美豆(bright central American)城市烘焙
如果想要一份有平衡口感的，酸度醇度都适中的中美咖啡，你可以用同一咖啡的不同烘焙来拼配:
60%哥伦比亚 Tuluni 或者尼加拉瓜 La Illusion 等 全城市烘焙
40%同种咖啡，城市烘焙——刚过一爆就可
我们协会的内部预品(trade show)是一个品尝由烘焙大师(big roasters)陈列的流行拼配咖啡(他们提供这些
咖啡给讨论组)以及由一些咖啡烘焙师认定的基准拼配的绝好场所。1998 年专业咖啡协会(Specialty Coffee
Association SCAA)于费城的活动中，有数不清的以 30%-40%肯尼亚豆提供活泼淡酸味的 Melange 拼配参
与。这是一个比较(dimension)杯中口味的好方法，突出了酸度与深度的苦甜味，比一般的肯尼亚咖啡有更
好的口感。
滴滤式咖啡拼配:The Mokha-Java
考虑咖啡拼配与咖啡作为饮品是否同时出现是很有趣的事情。The full body, low-toned Java from Dutch
estates was combined with the medium-bodied, enzymatic (floral-fruity), more acidy Mokha coffees from day
one it seems, and those were the only two coffees in existence.(这句失败了...大概就是说，在哪里有且只有两
种咖啡)这只是习俗?或者这仅仅是为了口味提高?实际上两者拼配起来会相得益彰，成为更为复杂多样
的一杯咖啡。在当时那种简陋的烘焙，萃取条件下，人们可以考虑这样一种拼配是多么的奇妙。用两种
优秀咖啡拼配出另一种口感良好的咖啡不难，而更商业化的拼配则旨提高软的，一般的甚至有缺陷的咖
啡的品质。
最初的 Mokha-Java 拼配以也门摩卡和爪哇豆为组分。Mokha-Java，一般也就顾名思义，也有时候是由印
度尼西亚与埃塞俄比亚或者也门豆的拼配。两种组分各占一半，或者印度尼西亚豆稍微多一些，例如 40-45
的非洲豆，55-60 的印度尼西亚豆。我们已经有很多非常好的搭配，也门 Hirazi 或者 Dhamari,，埃塞俄比
亚 Harar 与 Sumatra Batak Mandheling (washed[洗过的]) 或者 Sulawesi Toraja (washed[洗过的]).
Harar 50%, Sulawesi 50% 城市烘焙(出油前的最后一个阶段):卓越的 Mokha-Java 拼配，绝妙的花香，
带有水果味的酸，以及 medium-full body(中等丰满的醇度).J
ava 是我们提供的印度尼西亚豆中最洁净的，最细腻的豆种。这样的一杯咖啡口感丰富多彩，有从 low tones
到芬芳的 high tones 交替呈现的美感。
Harar 50%, Sumatra 50% 全城市烘焙:更加强烈的一款 Mokha-Java，深厚的醇度，更多的泥土气息 in the
bass note(无能......)。烘焙的苦甜味丰富了口感，一定程度上减少了 Harar 的酸度。
Harar 50%, Sulawesi Toraja 50%:干净的 Sulawesi 与更强烈的曼特宁的卓佳拼配，Sulawesi 在头发的酶花香
基础上提供了很好的回味(backdrop)。
Yemen 25%, Sulawesi Toraja 75%: 以上这些中最好的拼配，Mattari coffee 几乎好到可以用来做调味剂了，
它太过于强烈，我不是很喜欢直接烘焙这种。Sulawesi 提供一种甜味的醇感，deep tones，Hirazi 在味道的
上方带入一些浆果的口味以及强烈的芳香。
Ethiopian Djimma 15%, Harar 35%, Sumatra 50%: Djimma 酸度不高，口感明亮，更多巧克力和泥味，它在
这一拼配里导向着这些口感
Espresso 的拼配
一般来说，espresso 的拼配目的不同于滴虑式咖啡(有些人或许会说还有些拼配是专用于法式加压法或者
搭配奶油或牛奶)。滴虑式咖啡的拼配旨在丰富或平衡咖啡的口味，但是 espresso 的拼配必须更加平衡或
拼配出特殊的品质，因为有些豆喝滴虑式可以，用来冲煮 Espresso 就完全不行。
大部分 Espresso 是由一种或多种高品质巴西阿拉比卡豆拼配而成，有水洗豆也有干燥法处理豆。通常也
会加入一些非洲咖啡豆以获得葡萄酒味的酸或酶化的花香/水果香，又或是加入一些中美洲烘焙豆以凸显
酸味。
在萃取的一系列化学反应中，干燥法处理豆是为了萃取出丰富的 crema，湿洗的中美洲咖啡豆能够增加诱
人的香气，而罗布斯塔或肯尼亚豆则用于较便宜的咖啡豆拼配中以增加 crema 和醇度，它们增加了咖啡
里的 crema 和苦味。有种观念认为真正的大陆式 espresso 拼配中有罗布斯塔豆，这纯属无稽之谈。事实上
意大利一些小型烘焙商给我所提供的咖啡豆样品口味都显得相当温和，是由 40%巴西干燥法处理豆，40%
哥伦比亚以及 20%中美洲豆(如危地马拉)组成的带有甜味的拼配。如果想要苦一点或有土味，你可以
用一些埃塞俄比亚 DP，如 Sidamo 和 Djimma。混拼罗布斯塔是件有趣的事，但我个人很不喜欢，因为我
并不乐享有过多咖啡因的咖啡。
以哥伦比亚豆为主的 espresso 拼配口味较冲且更甜但不会产出丰富的 crema。这有一组我们曾经尝试的有
趣的 espresso 拼配。
要做好拼配，首先从其基底开始，如咖啡豆的质体感，烘焙度和 crema，尽管哥伦比亚和墨西哥是不错的
选择，但我建议用巴西豆。
尝试将以上的基底咖啡豆烘焙至不同程度，然后用其做 espresso，先熟悉它的味道再设想如何做些改进(如
果已达到理想程度，则无需改变。)
想不想让你的咖啡风味更足，更甜且香味更浓?也许你会想加入中美洲豆，注意比例不要超过 25%，特
是如果你喜欢浅焙的 espresso，否则会失去质体感和 crema。
想不想让你的咖啡又甜又有质体感?用一些印尼豆，比如苏拉威西或者顶级苏门答腊豆，尝起来会少些
冲的感觉，比例可以添加至 50%。100%会更好!
想不想让你的咖啡带点泥土般强烈的苦味或者更辣?可以试试埃塞俄比亚的干燥法处理豆。Harar 比较清
亮且有更多的水果香和酵香。深焙的 Sidamo 口感很尖锐刺激，浅焙的则有水果香。Djimma 没有丰富的
水果味也没有那么清亮，但能增加土味。这些都能产生丰富的 crema，我经常直接喝这样的豆子，大部分
的拼配比例保持在 25%左右。
想不想使你的咖啡有辛辣的刺激感?试试也门豆子。它们也可以增加发酵口感和丰富的 crema。我经常在
拼配时加入 50%或少一些(一般为 25%左右)的这种豆子。
想喝到特苦的咖啡吗?试试存放较久的豆子，比如季风豆或罗布斯塔。陈豆或季风豆能增加些许你会喜
欢的胆战心惊的味道。你只需尝试以下，这毕竟是件挺有趣的事。罗布斯塔，我是不会尝试的，我个人
不喜欢它们带来的过多的咖啡因。它们会增加 crema，但也必须将拼配比例保持在 20%以下，我个人拼配
时从不多于 15%。季风罗布斯塔可以加至 25%的比例。
阿拉比卡 vs.罗布斯塔
阿拉比卡豆能够产生丰富的 crema,诱人的香气以及淡淡的褐色。
罗布斯塔能产生大量的 crema，但会有泡沫且消散的更快。罗布斯塔的咖啡因 量是阿拉比卡的 2 倍，较
之阿拉比卡的 1.1~1.3%，罗布斯塔为 2.2~2.4%。在 Espresso 的拼配时罗布斯塔太多会有较强的药香味。
拼配比例在 10%~15%时会有不错的苦味，其缺点也会被最小化。
什么豆我不会用在 Espresso 的拼配呢?肯尼亚豆过酸，我不会选择，对其它东非豆子也不是很感兴趣。
对我来说，它们是滴滤式咖啡和压泡法的选择。水洗印尼豆也可以用，但不足以增加 crema，也没有中美
洲豆的甜香。那么重点是什么?Island coffees:why?
有很多方法能够作出不错的 Espresso。尝试是很有趣的，不知道这些点子能否帮你作出完美的 Espresso。
当然这些建议仅仅是我的个人偏好。
我喜欢的一些拼配
这里有一个初学拼配的配方，能够拼配出较甜且干净的 espresso。缺少北美洲豆和也门豆会有点苦也可
能会少点水果香。这些较甜的豆子拼配在罗马街头的咖啡厅是很常见的。
他们用危地马拉的安提瓜岛豆:
50%巴西干燥法处理豆
25%危地马拉或较浅的中美洲豆λ
25%哥伦比亚水洗豆
我认为哥伦比亚豆在此拼配没有那么重要(尽管许多人将其作为基底)，如喜欢用一些苏门答腊豆。
50%巴西 Cerrado 干燥法处理豆
25%危地马拉或较浅的中美洲豆
25%苏门答腊顶级豆，如 Triple-Pick, Lintong 等
许多尖锐的甜味(中美洲豆)隐藏于坚果味的巴西豆和美妙的也门豆香之中，曼特宁增加质体感和厚度。
用也门豆拼配 Espresso 很有趣，他们像香料一样能增加香甜的风味和酵香。烘焙至 Agtron35 至 40.因为
有许多干处理豆所以会有不错的 crema。
40%巴西 Cerrado 干处理豆
20%巴拿马或其它浅焙的中美洲豆
20%也门豆
20%苏门答腊曼特宁
太甜，太单调?想要味道更刺激吗?巧克力味怎样?
50%巴西 Cerrado 干处理豆
25%埃塞俄比亚 Sidamo 豆或也门豆
25%的苏门答腊曼特宁干处理豆
当然你也可以按照这个方法再添加其它豆子(季风豆，陈豆或罗布斯塔)来看看它们为你的咖啡增加或
减少了什么。
拼配浓烈的印度季风豆可以按以下配方:
60%印度季风 Malabar 豆—这个高比例会有霉味
20%高品质罗布斯塔:水洗印尼或印度豆
20%水洗阿拉比卡豆，从香气和口味平衡来说选用:印度，Timor，爪哇或 Sulawesi。
拼配浓烈的陈豆可以按以下配方:
40%陈苏门答腊豆
30%苏门答腊或 Sulawesi 豆
30%危地马拉或其它浅焙中美洲豆以取得香味和平衡口味(陈爪哇豆非常浓烈拼配时不应超过比
例的 1/3)
无因 Espresso?低咖啡因 Espresso?那是为什么我们储存一些巴西低咖啡因咖啡豆作为基底。拼配 50%
这些豆子能减少一半的咖啡因，然后加入平常会加入的特色豆子。如果想要完全无咖啡因的拼配，可以
参照我的做法如下:
50%巴西低咖啡因豆
50%苏门答腊低咖啡因豆
或者:
50%巴西低 SWPλ Decaf
25%墨西哥 Esmeralda decaf
25%苏门答腊 SWP decaf
Coffee Blending Basics
Blending Basics
Coffees from different origins are blended together for several reasons. Presumably the goal is to
make a coffee that is higher in cup quality than any of the ingredients individually. But high quality
arabica coffee should be able to stand alone; it should have good clean flavor, good aromatics, body
and aftertaste. So one reason coffees are blended in the commercial world might be the use of
lower-quality coffee in the blend. Another reason might be to create a proprietary or signature blend that
leads consumers to equate a particular coffee profile with a particular brand image; consumers don't
often call Starbucks by the origin names used in the coffee but simply as "a cup of Starbucks" as if the
dark carbony roast tastes were somehow exclusive to that brand. Coffees are also blended to attain
consistency from crop year to year. This is done with major brands that do not want to be dependent on
any specific origin flavor so they can source coffee from the least expensive sources. Such blends
generally reduce all the coffees included to the lowest common denominator. But let's put aside the
less-than-noble reasons that coffee is blended and focus on details that concern the quality-oriented
roaster.
Before blending any high-quality coffees you should know the flavors of the individual coffees and
have some goal for an ideal cup that cannot be attained by a single origin or single degree of roast. It
would be a shame to blend a fantastic Estate coffee ...after all, you are supposedly trying to attain a cup
that exceeds the components and its not likely you can do this with top coffees. And given that you
have both a reason to a blend and a logical process for doing it, there will be little need for more than
around 5 coffees in the blend. Blends with more than 5 coffees are considered to be fanciful, or
indulgent, or confused by more than a few expert coffee tradespeople I know.
The Case Not to Blend
While blending requires the expert skill of knowing each ingredient coffee, having a clear cup profile
as the goal in mind, and knowing how to achieve it, blends should not be considered a "higher" form of
coffee by any standard. As indicated above, the opposite case is often true. For me personally there is
much more satisfaction in enjoying single-origin and estate coffees roasted to their peak of flavor. In my
opinion, even a so-so single-farm coffee is more intriguing than a blended cup ...even if the blend is
admittedly superior! Why? Because when I taste an unblended coffee it is the end result of a long road
from crop to cup, without any one person deciding what I will be experiencing. While I enjoy that cup, I
like to think about that process, and it informs my opinion about that region or that specific farm. I enjoy
feeling connected to the origin of the coffee and the process in this way...
Blending Before or After Roasting
I get a lot of questions about blending before or after roasting ...which is better? Well, if you have an
established blend it certainly is easier to blend the coffee green and roast it together. If you are
experimenting with blend ingredients and percentages you will want to pre-roast each separately so
you can experiment with variations without having to make a new roast with each change. The case for
roasting coffees individually is strong with the Melange type blend (see below) and with a handful of
particular coffees, such as Robusta in espresso blends. Some coffees are more dense, or have
extreme size variations. These will roast differently than standard wet-processed arabicas. All
dry-processed arabicas require roasting to a slightly higher degree of temperature. But in most cases
the coffees can be roasted together and I would advise this: roast the coffee together until you
encounter a situation where the results are disappointing and for success you must roast them
separately. Every coffee roasts a bit differently but there is a great deal of averaging that occurs
between coffees in the roast chamber, especially in drum roast systems. And then there's the coffees
that do not roast evenly as single origins either: Yemeni, Ethiopian DP coffees, etc. Uneven roast color
is not a defect, and only when it occurs in a wet-processed arabica that should roast to an even color
(and sometimes not even in this case) is it of any consequence.
Blending for Filter-Drip Brewing: the Melange
One of the most compelling reasons to blend coffee is the Melange. This is a blend of coffees
roasted to different degrees of roast, so they must be roasted individually. In particular, you may want
the carbony flavors of a dark roast but also want the acidy snap of a lighter roasted Kenya or Central
American coffee.
Here's an idea for a blend that has dark roasts flavors, good body, and an acidy snap to it:
40% Colombian Tuluni roasted Full City -to preserve body (var. other Colombian, Nicaragua La Illusion,
or perhaps Brazil Monte Carmelo)
30% Mexican Tres Flechas roasted French -for sharp, carbony flavors (var. other Mexican)
30% Kenya Estate roasted City -for bright acidy snap (var. bright Costa Rican or other Central
American)
If you want a Melange that has good body, good bittersweet flavors, but still has acidity, and without the
carbony flavors:
60% Colombian roasted Full City
40% Kenya or bright Central American roasted City
With a really good Central American that has nice balance, acidity and body, you can even blend two
roasts of the same coffee with each other:
60% Colombian Tuluni, or Nicaragua La Illusion, etc. roasted Full City +
40% of the same coffee roasted City, just past the finish of first crack.
Our association trade shows are a great place to taste popular blends that are showcased by bigger
roasters (they pay to serve their coffee between seminars) and taste what some roasters consider as
benchmark quality blends. At the 1998 Specialty Coffee Assoc. (SCAA) trade show in Philadelphia it
was amazing how many Melange blends that feature 30%-40% Kenya for acidy snap were put forth. It's
an easy way to create dimension in the cup, and highlight acidity against the depth of bittersweet roast
tastes and better mouthfeel (body) than Kenyas normally exhibit.
Blending for Filter-Drip Brewing: the Mokha-Java Blend
It is provocative to contemplate the fact that blending is as old as domesticated coffee production
itself. The full body, low-toned Java from Dutch estates was combined with the medium-bodied,
enzymatic (floral-fruity), more acidy Mokha coffees from day one it seems, and those were the only two
coffees in existence. Was it only done by habit? Or was it done solely to improve taste, the fact that the
two complimented each other and resulted in a more complex cup than either provided by itself. With
the crude roasting and brewing devices of the time, isn't it amazing that they could taste the improved
complexity of the Mokha-Java blend! It's not difficult to take 2 excellent coffees and make an decent
blend from them. Much commercial blending occurs to improve the "cup quality" of a coffee made from
soft, uninspiring coffees or defective coffees.
The original blend, the Mokha-Java, with Yemen Mokha and estate Java as the constituents.
Mocha-Java can be interpreted literally, or, as is usually the case, as a blend of some Indonesian coffee
with either a Ethiopian or Yemeni coffee. They are commonly blended in equal parts 50-50, or with a
little bias towards the Indonesian, like 40-45 African, 55-60 Indonesian. We have had excellent results
with blending our Yemen Hirazi or Dhamari, Ethiopian Harar and either Sumatra Batak Mandheling
(washed) or Sulawesi Toraja (washed).
• Harar 50%, Sulawesi 50% brought to a City Roast (last dry stage before oil appears): Excellent
delicate version of the Mokha-Java blend, with a wonderful floral aroma, fruity acidity, and a
medium-full body. Java is the cleanest Indonesian coffee we offer, and the most nuanced. This is a
superbly complex cup, that alternates between its low tones and the fragrant high notes.
• Harar 50%, Sumatra 50% brought to a deep Full City roast: A more aggressive Mokha-Java, with a
deeper, fuller body, and more earthiness in the bass notes. The roast's bittersweet adds to the
complexity, and reduces the lovely Harar acidity somewhat.
• Harar 50%, Sulawesi Toraja 50% : The cleaner taste of the Sulawesi vs. the more aggressive
Mandheling results in a better, more focused blend. Sulawesi provides a better backdrop to the Hair's
enzymatic flowery aromatics.
• Yemen 25%, Sulawesi Toraja 75%: By far the best Mokha-Java blend, the Mattari is a great coffee to
use almost as a spice ...it is so powerful that straight roasts of it can be a little "too much" for me. The
Sulawesi provides a syrupy body and deep tones, the Hirazi just sits atop that and "does what it does",
berry-like fruitiness and intense aromatics.
• Ethiopian Djimma 15%, Harar 35%, Sumatra 50%: Djimma less acidy and bright and more chocolate
and earth. It swings the blend in that direction...
Espresso Blends
In general, the goal of espresso blending differs from the goal of filter coffee blends (and some may
argue that there are blends specific for French Press brewing or for serving with cream/milk). Filter
coffees may be blended for complexity or for balance, but an espresso blend usually must be blended
for balance or particular varietal qualities that would be favorable in a filter coffee brew might
overwhelm the espresso extract.
Most espresso blends are based on one or several high quality Brazil arabicas, some washed,
some dry-processed. They often involve some African coffees for winey acidity or enzymatic flowery
/fruitiness, or a high grown Central American for a cleaner acidity.
Dry processed coffees are responsible for the attractive crema on the cup, among other mechanical
factors in the extraction process. Wet-processed Central Americans add positive aromatic qualities.
Robustas, or coffea canephora, are used in cheaper blends to increase body and produce crema and in
a few decent blends. They add crema and a particular bite to the cup. The notion that true
"continental"espresso blends have Robusta. Nonsense! In fact the coffee samples from small Italian
roasters I have (in green form) appear to be very mild, sweet blends with about 40% Brazil Dry-process,
40% Colombian and 20%+ Centrals, like Guatemalan. For bite and earthiness you can use a DP
Ethiopian like Sidamo or Djimma. Its fun to play with Robusta but I personally don't like it too much
beyond experimentation and I personally don't enjoy having more caffeine in my coffee than is
necessary,
A Colombian-based espresso blend offers a sharper, sweeter flavor but won't result in as much
crema production. Here are a couple interesting espresso blends we have fooled around with.
Either you can blend by the seat of your pants (not recommended) or make your process of
establishing the coffees and the percentages logical. Start by developing the base, the backdrop in
terms of flavor and a coffee that provides the kind of body, roast flavor and crema you like. I suggest
Brazils, although Colombian or Mexican are viable options.
Practice roasting this base coffee to different degrees of roast, and pulling straight shots of
espresso. Get familiar with this cup and imagine what you would like to improve in it (because if you find
it just fine as is, then you have no need to continue!)
Do you want it to be sharper and sweeter, with more aromatics: perhaps you will want to add
Central American coffees. Watch out with percentages above 25%, particularly if you like a lighter
espresso roast. You will be losing some crema and body.
Do you want more body and sweetness: use a clean Indonesian like a Sulawesi or a premium
Sumatra. You will be losing some sharpness. You can go up to 50% with one of these ...heck, they are
nice at 100%!
Do you want an earthy aggressive bite and more pungency: try a dry-processed Ethiopian. Harar is
brighter and more aromatic with fruitiness and ferment. Sidamo has great pungency in the darker roasts,
fruitier in the lighter roasts. Djimma is not so fruity and less bright but adds earthiness. These produce
great crema. I often enjoy straight shots of these coffees, but keep it to 25% or so in most blends.
Do you want spicy pungency: try a Yemeni coffee. These add ferment too, and great crema. I keep
this to 50% or less (normally 25% or so) in blends.
Do you want extreme bite: try an Aged coffee, a Monsooned coffee (Indian or better yet the
Sulawesi Rantepao) or Robusta. Aged coffees and Monsooned add certain funky tastes that you will
love, or perhaps hate. You just have to give them a try to find out but that is part of the fun. Robusta --- I
would not go there unless you have too. I personally do not like the added caffeine they bring. They
increase crema, but you also need to keep them below 20% in the blend, I personally never go above
15% with them. The Monsooned Robusta can get up to 25% it seems...
Arabica vs. Robusta?
Arabica coffees (that means every coffee we sell except those at the VERY end of our list under the
Premium Robusta heading) produce a fine crema, with good aromatics, and a lighter brown-yellow
color.
Robusta coffees (from the species coffea canefora) make a greater volume of crema, but it has
larger "bubbles" and dissipates faster. Robusta has about 2x the caffeine of arabica, 2.2 to 2.4%
compared to 1.1 to 1.3% in arabica. It can have a very rubbery-medicinal flavor when there is too much
in the espresso blend. At a low percentage, 10% to 15%, it delivers a nice bite and it's negative features
can be minimized.
What coffees won't I use in espresso? Kenyas are just too much acid for my purposes. Other East
Africans don't make any sense to me either. They are really filter-drip or press-pot coffee to me.
Washed Indonesians could certainly be used but they are not adding as much to crema, and they are
not going to lend the sweet aromatics of a Central American, so what's the point? Island coffees: Why?
There's a lot of ways to achieve great espresso. Its fun to experiment and I don't know if there is
some terminal point where you achieve the perfect trans-subjective espresso. These recommendations
reflect my biases, of course.
Some Blends I Like
I would recommend you try our Sweet Maria's Espresso Monkey Blend to see what you think. It will
definitely give you a basis for comparison. The Malabar Gold blend is a very exotic pre-blended
espresso, and if thats what you like you might want to look into Aged coffees and Robustas for your
own blends, and obviously you would want to be using Indian Monsooned Malabar. The Moka Kadir is
a very fruity-winey North African and Yemen blend. So these three span the gamut of blends and can
give youi a good idea what direction to take with your own blend. Many people also buy my Espresso
Money blend and modify it by, for example, adding 15% robusta or adding 25% Aged coffee.
Here's a great starter blend for a sweeter, cleaner espresso. The absence of North African or
Yemeni coffee takes out a little bite from the cup and possibly some lurking fruity ferment flavor. this is,
as noted above, a sweet blend used at a street level roasterie/caffe in Rome.
They use a Guatemala Antigua for the Central:
• 50% Brazil Dry-process
• 25% Colombian Wet-process
• 25% Guatemala or other brighter Central American
I don't think Colombians really pull their weight in a blend (though many people use them as a base
or part of their blends), and like using some Sumatra better:
• 50% Brazil Cerrado Dry-process
• 25% Guatemala or other bright Central American
• 25% Sumatra -Premium like Triple-Pick, Lintong ...,
Some sharp sweetness (Central American) hides behind the nutty Brazil flavors and the wonderful
Yemeni aromatics. Mandheling adds body and depth. Yemeni coffees are fun for espresso blends,
where they can be used like spice to give zest the aromatically or enzymatically flat blends. Roast to
Agtron 40 to 35. Good crema production from this blend due to the many dry-processed coffees
• 40% Brazil Cerrado Dry-process
• 20% Panama or other bright Central American
• 20% Yemen
• 20% Sumatra Mandheling
Ah, too sweet, too boring. You want something more aggressive, chocolatey? Drop the Centrals:
• 50% Brazil Cerrado Dry-process
• 25% Ethiopian Sidamo or Yemen
• 25% Sumatra Mandheling Dry-Process
You can certainly keep going along this route by adding other coffees (monsooned, aged, robusta)
to discover what they add and what they subtract from the blend.
For an potent Indian Monsooned-type blend you could do something like this:
• 60% Indian Monsooned Malabar -this high percentage will cup very musty
• 20% High Quality Robusta: Wet-processed Indonesian or Indian
• 20% Wet-processed Arabica, for aroma and balance: perhaps Indian, Timor, Java or Sulawesi.
For an potent Aged coffee blend you could do something like this:
• 40% Aged Sumatra
• 30% Sumatra, or Sulawesi
• 30% Guatemala or other bright Central American for aroma and balance (Aged Java is very potent
and should probably not exceed 1/3 of the blend or so...)
Decaf Espresso? Low-caffeine espresso? That is why we stock the Brazil SWP Decaf as a base. Use it
as 50% of your blend to cut the caffeine in half, then add your main "character" coffees as usual. If you
wanted an all-decaf blend I would do one of these:
• 50% Brazil SWP Decaf
• 50% Sumatra SWP Decaf
Or this:
• 50% Brazil SWP Decaf
• 25% Mexican Esmeralda Decaf
• 25% Sumatra SWP Decaf
We also offer our own Sweet Maria's Decaf Espresso Blend ready to roast, and the Indonesian
Komodo Organic SWP Decaf blend works great for espresso too!
• Decaf Ethiopian is excellent in espresso. Try 50% Sumatra Decaf and 50% Ethiopian Decaf for a
fantastic decaf espresso blend!
