Why Does Coffee Blending Sometimes Beat a Single Origin?

Coffee blending combines beans from different origins, and its goals fall into a few categories. The ideal is a flavor better than any single origin, though single-origin Arabica already delivers fresh aroma, smooth mouthfeel and a sweet finish, so blending is not always necessary. More often the motivation is commercial: holding costs down while keeping a balanced taste.

Another aim is a signature flavor that customers can only get from one supplier, which also keeps the taste stable no matter how a given origin's crop fluctuates year to year. Blending can be done before roasting or after, and the sequence affects how each component performs. Understanding each bean's flavor first is the practical starting point for blended coffee beans.

For friends who are just getting into coffee, the formulation logic of blended beans often seems mysterious. From the perspective of Front Street Coffee, this article systematically sorts out the purpose and commercial considerations of blending, the sequence between blending and roasting, the specific steps and principles of blending, and introduces one by one the four blended coffee beans launched by Front Street—Sunflower Warm Sun, Specialty Blend, Commercial Blend, and Black Cocoa Blend—covering ratios, blending methods, and flavor characteristics, to help coffee lovers build a complete cognitive framework for blended coffee.

Many beginner coffee enthusiasts are confused about how the plans for blended beans are determined. Today, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) will talk with everyone about the underlying logic of blended coffee beans, and specifically how blending should be done.

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Motivations and Goals of Blending

Combining coffee beans from different origins is often driven by several different considerations. The most ideal situation is, of course, to create a flavor that is better than any single origin. However, under normal circumstances, single-origin Arabica coffee can already present quite good quality: fresh aroma, smooth mouthfeel, and a sweet finish. Therefore, from a purely flavor perspective, blending is not necessarily required.

The main commercial motivation for blended coffee beans is to reduce costs, using coffee beans of average quality to create a relatively balanced taste, thereby increasing profit margins. In addition, another possible goal is to create a unique taste so that consumers who prefer this flavor can only buy it from a specific manufacturer and cannot obtain the same product from other suppliers. This also has an added benefit: regardless of how the coffee flavors of certain origins fluctuate in different years, the taste of this blended coffee can remain relatively stable.

Here we will first set aside other commercial considerations and focus on blending aimed at improving coffee flavor quality.

Before starting to blend, Front Street believes the first step is to understand the flavor characteristics of each coffee, and at least to be clear in your mind: the taste you want to blend is something that no single-origin coffee can achieve. If the blended result turns out to be worse than one or several of the beans performing alone, that would be a pity, and it would be better not to blend at all. And if all the coffee beans you choose are of quite excellent quality, the likelihood of such a result is actually very high.

Although some fixed varieties of coffee can be consumed directly as single-origin coffee, most coffees have more or less shortcomings in flavor, such as lacking distinctiveness, insufficient layering, insufficient strength, or having a certain taste that is too prominent. To repair these defects, it is necessary to combine several coffee beans with different characteristics to create a harmonious and deep mouthfeel. Some people feel that the fun of coffee lies precisely in the two stages of roasting and blending, and that drinking coffee is merely enjoying the fruits of one's own efforts. Blended coffee is absolutely not simply mixing beans together.

Sometimes when two single-origin coffees are blended together, they instead suppress each other's unique flavors, so blending cannot be understood as simply superimposing several single-origin coffees. Blending is like a painter mixing attractive colors on a palette; a blender can likewise use coffee beans to mix an alluring taste. It is not an exaggeration at all to say that blending is an art. As an art, in addition to experience and inspiration, it also requires a certain amount of scientific calculation. The birth of a work of art is not accidental, but an eruption after long-term accumulation. Generally speaking, blended coffee does not need to use more than five kinds of coffee beans. Because once there are too many bean types, the situation becomes very complicated, and probably only a very few experts will not be confused by such a complex mix of beans.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) focuses on freshly roasted coffee and has also launched a variety of blended coffees for different customer needs. For example, for customers seeking cost-effectiveness, Front Street recommends the espresso coffee beans recommended by many baristas—Front Street Black Cocoa Blend. This is an all-Arabica espresso coffee bean blended from Brazil and Yunnan, combining price advantage with excellent flavor. For customers with higher flavor requirements, Front Street has launched the Sunflower · Warm Sun Blend. This product is made by combining Yirgacheffe natural red cherry and Honduras Sherry, and is deeply loved by many customers because of its ultimate liqueur chocolate flavor.

The Sequence Between Blending and Roasting

Should you roast first and then blend, or blend first and then roast? Which method is better?

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)'s view is: if you already have a fixed formula, then the simplest way is naturally to mix different coffee beans first and then roast them together. But if you are trying and comparing different blending components and ratios, then of course you want to first roast each kind of coffee bean separately, and then conduct various combination tests. Otherwise, every time you adjust a component or ratio, you have to roast again.

In the field of roasting, blending first and then roasting is usually called "raw blend," while roasting first and then blending is called "roasted blend." These two methods actually have no inherent superiority or inferiority. The advantage of raw blending is that the same batch of beans is roasted together, so the roast degree of the whole batch tends to be more consistent and the flavor more stable; however, when selecting beans, you need to try to choose beans with similar screen sizes for mixing, otherwise uneven roasting is very likely to occur. Roasted blending, on the other hand, allows you to master the optimal roasting attributes for each coffee bean, and when mixing later, it is better able to make up for shortcomings by drawing on strengths.

Under normal circumstances, all coffee beans can be roasted together. Only when the roasting effect is unsatisfactory do you need to consider adopting the method of roasting separately. At this time, separate roasting often achieves better results. Especially for drum roasters, a relatively moderate roast level can generally be found.

Basic Steps and Principles of Blending

Before blending coffee beans, the following points should first be clarified:

1. The theme of the blend—what kind of taste you hope to create, that is, determining the goal of the blend.

2. Understand the characteristics of each coffee bean—to blend coffee, you must first be thoroughly familiar with the characteristics of each single-origin coffee, and understand the subtle relationship between roast degree and coffee flavor, and all of this can only be achieved through cupping.

3. Determine the respective roles that the coffee beans participating in the blend will play. Since multiple coffee beans are used in combination, it is necessary to be clear about the task of each bean: whether it is to make it highlight a mild bitterness, a bright acidity, or a heavy body, etc.

When blending, the following principles should generally be followed:

1. The raw beans used in the blend are required to each have their own characteristics; avoid using coffee beans with similar flavors. The selection of raw beans can be considered from three aspects:

Green bean processing method: that is, whether the green beans are processed by the washed method or the natural method. The processing method has a great relationship with the flavor of the coffee beans.

Green bean origin: coffee origins are generally divided into three major regions, including Central and South America, namely about 20 countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, Jamaica, and Peru; Southeast Asia, namely about 10 countries such as India, Indonesia (including islands such as Java and Sumatra), and Papua New Guinea; and the Arabia and Africa region, namely about 25 countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Arabia, and Uganda. As mentioned earlier, the most commonly used raw beans on the market are Brazil and Colombia.

2. The number and proportion of coffee bean types participating in the blend

Since it is a blend, it naturally refers to a combination of two or more raw beans, but coffee beans of the same kind at different roast levels can also be blended together, and even new beans and aged or old beans of the same coffee bean can be blended. Therefore, in blending, the so-called "type" is no longer limited to the narrow sense of coffee variety, but broadly extends to the level of coffee flavor.

When blending, generally 2 to 6 kinds of coffee beans are used, because too many types make it difficult to express coffee's unique flavor. Blended coffee generally does not use a 1:1 ratio, as this may mutually suppress the other's distinctive flavor tonality. Therefore, when blending, there must be a distinction between primary and secondary so that a taste more wonderful than single-origin coffee can be created. If you want the blended coffee to have a complex and varied taste, you can reduce the proportion of the theme raw beans, and vice versa.

3. Blended coffee depends on continuous experimentation

Before blending, you should draw up a blending plan table in a mathematical combination manner, and then determine the best plan through the process of blending and cupping. Do not think this is a passive and clumsy method. In fact, only by relying on the blender's experience, inspiration, and this tireless repeated experimentation can a good cup of coffee be blended.

Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has launched 4 distinctive blended coffee beans according to different needs:

[Sunflower Warm Sun Espresso Coffee Beans] Honduras Sherry : Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry, ratio 7:3, roasted blend;

Flavor characteristics: obvious fruit acidity, a faint berry aroma lingering, rich wine aroma and chocolate flavor, and a comfortable sweet aftertaste.

The Sherry coffee beans bring this coffee a rich whisky aroma and the lingering finish of liqueur chocolate, with a rich fragrance. The natural red cherry brings this coffee a fermented feel and berry aroma, and it is smooth on the palate. Because this Warm Sun Blend coffee bean comes in a half-pound package, it is suitable for coffee shops that require a special espresso flavor and somewhat higher bean quality, or for espresso lovers with relatively small usage.

[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Specialty Blend] Colombia : Brazil, ratio 3:7, roasted blend;

Flavor characteristics: a comfortable bittersweet taste, extremely smooth on the palate, with a faint grassy aroma, a light fragrance with slight bitterness, sweet and smooth, and a finish that makes one feel relaxed and pleasant.

Coffee beans from Colombia's Huila region have a pleasant acidity, an aromatic smell, moderate acidity, and rich sweetness that is very thought-provoking. Coffee beans from Brazil's Cerrado region have a comfortable bittersweet taste and are extremely smooth on the palate. This Specialty Blend coffee is suitable for use in various specialty coffee shops.

[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Commercial Blend] Colombia : Brazil : Robusta, ratio 3:6:1, raw blend;

Flavor characteristics: a classic taste, with caramel sweetness, flavors of nuts and cocoa-type and dark chocolate, balanced acidity and sweetness, slightly bittersweet, and a lasting finish.

Coffee beans from Colombia's Huila region have a pleasant acidity, an aromatic smell, moderate acidity, and rich sweetness that is very thought-provoking. Coffee beans from Brazil's Cerrado region have a comfortable bittersweet taste and are extremely smooth on the palate. Robusta provides rich crema. This Commercial Blend coffee is suitable for coffee shops and beverage shops of all sizes.

[Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) Espresso Coffee Beans Recommended by Many Baristas—Front Street Black Cocoa Blend] Yunnan AA : Brazil, ratio 3:7, roasted blend;

Flavor characteristics: with mild fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, flavors of nuts and dark chocolate, smooth and viscous, but the taste is on the lighter side.

Yunnan's natural conditions are very similar to those of Colombia, with high altitude and a large temperature difference between day and night. Its flavor belongs to the mellow-aroma type, with moderate acidity, a rich and mellow taste, uniform beans, high oil content, and fruity aroma. Its quality and mouthfeel are similar to Colombian coffee. Coffee beans from Brazil's Cerrado region have a comfortable bittersweet taste and are extremely smooth on the palate. This espresso coffee bean recommended by many baristas—Front Street Black Cocoa Blend coffee bean—is suitable for small coffee shops, bakeries, and beverage shops.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.