What is a coffee blend and why do we blend coffees?

Howdy Space Cadets,

As we continue our search through the cosmos at times we find ourselves coming across a blend of coffee, or a holiday blend etc. We find ourselves using blends for specific purposes. The coffees that we typically share and have available year around are single origin and often times micro or nano-lot, but when you come across a blend at times you may ask yourself why did we blend these coffees. We will share with you the intention of what we do below.

What is a blend?

As you would imagine a blend is when you take coffees from different lots and mix them together. You can take coffees from different parts of the same farm, different parts of the same country, or different parts of the world and mix them together in the final product. There two main ways of blending coffee. One which we call pre roast which is when you take the coffees before they are roasted and mix them together so that they get roasted together. The second is post roast which is when you take two or more coffees that have already been roasted and mix them together before brewing or packaging the coffees. Overall you get a final product that has two or more coffees in it, and the percentages can vary based on how the roaster is putting together the blend.

What is the purpose of blending coffee?

Every coffee has a different flavor profile based on where is was produced, how it was treated from being harvested and prepared for roasting, and how the roaster profiles and roasts the coffee. Certain coffees based on the type or varietal, and the process in which took place after it was picked tend to yield and taste better with a light roast. For example if you take our Colombia Geisha this coffee has a delicious tea like quality and when roasted light you are able to pick up the notes perfectly and produces a nice light brew. What this coffee could lack is body, and a caramelized sweetness. If you would like to brew this in espresso it may be okay, but it could lack the body and sweetness. This is where blending would take place. A coffee like our Chiapas, Mexico tastes very sweet and has more body than the geisha. This coffee has a nice caramelized sweetness and a sweet milk chocolaty like body. Now on the cupping table we can mix the two coffees and find the right ratio that delivers a blend with the sweetness and body that we are looking for, along with the bright complexity that we enjoy, and this would make for a delicious blend that would serve a nice consistent espresso. The application of the coffee will also determine how the coffee is blended. If you are looking to produce a delicious espresso blend, then you could work according to your preferred profile. The application also works if you are creating a drip blend, a cold brew blend, or simply a holiday blend to be prepared to enjoy with all the sweet treats around the holidays.

Cosmic Bloom Blends

At Cosmic Bloom we currently have an Espresso Blend. This blend is carefully crafted to reflect the espresso that is served in the cafe. Although we may run special seasonal coffees at the cafe, the flavor profile is always the same. We offer what we call a more modern profile. Our espresso offers a delicious chocolaty sweet body which tastes wonderful in milk drinks, along with a punchy red fruit like sweetness. Everyone loves chocolate covered strawberries or cherries and our espresso often times mimics that flavor. We are also currently developing a Cold Brew Blend. Our Cold Brew was the last first place winner in the Cold Brew Championships and it shows. Every week we come close to selling out of our delicious cold brew. After many requests we are curating a blend for our customers to prepare their cold brew at home.

Cheers,

See you space cowboy…