Espresso Enthusiasts

[Scepticalscribe]

Old dogs new tricks. Trying a blend of 50% Colombian (Arabica) and 50% Ugandan (Robusta). Full bodied with dark chocolate notes. The robusta beans add a little zest to the profile and helps me wake up. Not my usual fair but still quite enjoyable.

Was this a blend of your own devising, or, a blend that you bought?

Personally, when I put together a blend, - and this is simply something that experience has taught me, along with the French principle that wines of a region tend to go well with food (or produce) from the very same region - I generally blend coffees from the same general region, rather than coffees from different continents, as I never thought that the latter worked all that well, frequently finding something unbalanced in the finished taste - or flavour - profile.

Thus, to my mind, coffees from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda can blend together well (I try not to blend Ethiopian coffee, my own personal favourite, with anything unless it is with other Ethiopian coffees - I will blend two or three Ethiopian coffees, perhaps differing as to whether they are washed or natural process - unless it is by far the greatest component of the blend, as it tends to be lightly roasted, and fairly subtle, and thus, easily overpowered by other flavours), as can coffees from central (and, indeed, south) America, thus, I would blend any of El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala together, or blend any of those with a good Colombian.

 

[Madhatter32]

Was this a blend of your own devising, or, a blend that you bought?

Personally, when I put together a blend, - and this is simply something that experience has taught me, along with the French principle that wines of a region tend to go well with food (or produce) from the very same region - I generally blend coffees from the same general region, rather than coffees from different continents, as I never thought that the latter worked all that well, frequently finding something unbalanced in the finished taste - or flavour - profile.

Thus, to my mind, coffees from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda can blend together well (I try not to blend Ethiopian coffee, my own personal favourite, with anything unless it is with other Ethiopian coffees - I will blend two or three Ethiopian coffees, perhaps differing as to whether they are washed or natural process - unless it is by far the greatest component of the blend, as it tends to be lightly roasted, and fairly subtle, and thus, easily overpowered by other flavours), as can coffees from central (and, indeed, south) America, thus, I would blend any of El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala together, or blend any of those with a good Colombian.

I was given this blend as a gift. I rarely blend my beans voluntarily unless required by lack of supply. Your strategy does make sense to me. Although, if I were to buy Robusta beans, I think I would look to blend them as a matter of course.

 

[Lioness~]

Don't think mixing beans are in a particular way. Test and try have always worked good for me.
I've mixed all kinds of beans. If it's good beans, you can't go that wrong. if you do, you learned something valuable.

When my brother got me into the serious 'bean-business’ and sent home beans from all corner of the world, I mixed and roasted and enjoyed it all 🥳

I've had good result with blending various Lavazza beans too.
Although the origin are generally specified, they also specify intensity of the beans and usually how much of what kinds of beans - or some mix of it.
So when I had bought or got a a 9/10 intensity Lavazza bag, it was no problem to mix it up with some 100% Arabica beans.
So generally speaking, we can mix from how we buy our beans, as we should know what we are actually buying, and why 😉

Things usually depends on who we are, and our sensitivity for certain things are not always the same.
As long as it is Espresso and made from espresso-beans it more or less works for me. But don’t serve me some ’dish-water’ as espresso-drinker call weak coffee.

 

[Dervla]

Was this a blend of your own devising, or, a blend that you bought?

Personally, when I put together a blend, - and this is simply something that experience has taught me, along with the French principle that wines of a region tend to go well with food (or produce) from the very same region - I generally blend coffees from the same general region, rather than coffees from different continents, as I never thought that the latter worked all that well, frequently finding something unbalanced in the finished taste - or flavour - profile.

Thus, to my mind, coffees from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda can blend together well (I try not to blend Ethiopian coffee, my own personal favourite, with anything unless it is with other Ethiopian coffees - I will blend two or three Ethiopian coffees, perhaps differing as to whether they are washed or natural process - unless it is by far the greatest component of the blend, as it tends to be lightly roasted, and fairly subtle, and thus, easily overpowered by other flavours), as can coffees from central (and, indeed, south) America, thus, I would blend any of El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala together, or blend any of those with a good Colombian.

Hi, What and how? What do you use for organic milk and how do you get it hot? Thank you.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Hi, What and how? What do you use for organic milk and how do you get it hot? Thank you.

For organic milk, I rely on local producers and my local store.

My local store delivers a litre of (locally sourced) organic milk each week, and sometimes, in addition, I will also buy another litre of organic milk, from a different supplier, perhaps in the cheesemonger's, when I visit to buy cheese.

As for hot, I simply pour some into a saucepan (a copper saucepan, as it happens), and heat it gently until it is sufficiently warm, which is when I will pour it into my coffee mug.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

It is high time to prepare a Sunday afternoon coffee, as we pass the day of the summer solstice.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Sipping a washed coffee from Thailand, with organic hot milk.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Time to prepare another mug of coffee.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

My coffee from Thailand was finished yesterday, thus, today, a rather lovely coffee from El Salvador took its place.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Enjoying an afternoon coffee from El Salvador, a washed Bourbon, served with organic hot milk.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Ethiopian coffee is now out of season, a small local coffee store (who import coffee from small producers and roasters) informed me, earlier today, but - having hunted in a back room, they very kindly offered me one of the very last packets of Ethiopian coffee (from Sidamo) that they had in stock.

While there, (the building is glorious, dating from the 16th century), I enjoyed a flat white and some sparkling mineral water.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

And, now that I am home, a mug of coffee from El Salvador (washed Bourbon) is being prepared, served with organic hot milk.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Have returned to the Australian Aldi Medium Roast. I don't know why I left, it is a really nice, smooth, comforting coffee.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Have returned to the Australian Aldi Medium Roast. I don't know why I left, it is a really nice, smooth, comforting coffee.

Where is the coffee from - in other words, where were the beans grown, or cultivated?

Do enjoy.

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Where is the coffee from - in other words, where were the beans grown, or cultivated?

Do enjoy.

According to the pack --

 

[Scepticalscribe]

According to the pack --

View attachment 2523605

Ah, hm, interesting.

As it doesn't mention the country (or, any country, or any set of countries), this leads me to conclude that the coffee in question is, most likely, a blend of coffee from a number of different countries.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

An afternoon coffee - a washed coffee from El Salvador - is in the process of being prepared.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

An afternoon coffee (washed, from El Salvador), served with organic hot milk, is sitting on a coaster, by my elbow.

 

[adrianlondon]

Ah, hm, interesting.

As it doesn't mention the country (or, any country, or any set of countries), this leads me to conclude that the coffee in question is, most likely, a blend of coffee from a number of different countries.

There's a coffee I buy from a department store food hall that is 70% Arabica and 30% Robusta, which for me is a good ratio for a blend I can make both espressos and cappuccinos with.

There is no info - like the Aldi coffee above - regarding where the beans are sourced. Every time I buy a pack, I'm hoping they haven't changed anything and it's still good.

One day, my luck is probably going to run out, but it's good value so I accept the risk.

 

[decafjava]

There's a coffee I buy from a department store food hall that is 70% Arabica and 30% Robusta, which for me is a good ratio for a blend I can make both espressos and cappuccinos with.

There is no info - like the Aldi coffee above - regarding where the beans are sourced. Every time I buy a pack, I'm hoping they haven't changed anything and it's still good.

One day, my luck is probably going to run out, but it's good value so I accept the risk.

Which department store may I ask? Since I may want to try it myself.

 

[adrianlondon]

Which department store may I ask? Since I may want to try it myself.

Manor. Bottom shelf (dark blue packet) as the other shelves are all full of the trendy 100% Arabica stuff 😁

100% Arabica is good for most other types of coffee, but I don't like espressos made with it.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

There's a coffee I buy from a department store food hall that is 70% Arabica and 30% Robusta, which for me is a good ratio for a blend I can make both espressos and cappuccinos with.

It is always wonderful to find a coffee that you like.

There is no info - like the Aldi coffee above - regarding where the beans are sourced. Every time I buy a pack, I'm hoping they haven't changed anything and it's still good.

I can completely relate to this.

One day, my luck is probably going to run out, but it's good value so I accept the risk.

Indeed.

Personally, if I am to drink a blend, I prefer to do my blending myself.

However, in general, my preferences tend to lie with single origin coffees.

 

[adrianlondon]

Personally, if I am to drink a blend, I prefer to do my blending myself.

However, in general, my preferences tend to lie with single origin coffees.

When making coffee in a cafetière I also use single origin coffees.

I've never tried blending my own. A lack of knowledge and no lack of laziness stops me 😁

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

Ah, hm, interesting.

As it doesn't mention the country (or, any country, or any set of countries), this leads me to conclude that the coffee in question is, most likely, a blend of coffee from a number of different countries.

According to this article, the beans come from Brazil, Peru, Honduras and Colombia.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

When making coffee in a cafetière I also use single origin coffees.

That makes complete sense.

I've never tried blending my own. A lack of knowledge and no lack of laziness stops me 😁

My rule - or principle - when blending is to blend coffees from the same general region together, and tweak the relative percentage of each respective coffee as needed, so that milder coffees are not overpowered, or overwhelmed in any way in such a blend.

For example, this can be a risk with the Ethiopian coffees that I love, as they tend to be roasted lightly, and thus, are, or, can be, easily over-whelmed, unless one tweaks the relative percentages so that you use a greater amount of Ethiopian coffee in a blend, than you might use with a more robust, or a dark roast coffee.

This means that, for example, taking coffees from East Africa: I would blend coffees from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, or Rwanda together, or, to take another region, I would blend coffees from central/south America - such as coffees from Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, or, perhaps also coffees from Bolivia, Colombia and Peru together, much in the same way as the principle that food and wines from the same region in France tend to go well together.