Blending coffee can be deeply satisfying when you hit upon the perfect combination. Fine coffee is a lot like wine—coffee is judged on acidity, sweetness, body and finish.
The degree of roasting often determines depth of body, and subtle flavors are more likely to manifest in lightly roasted beans.
Coffee aficionados (like you) can experiment to find flavors that suit individual tastes. Home baristas can experiment with coffee blends to discover great combinations.
The top 5 blended bean tips for home baristas include the following:
1. Learn to roast your own beans to achieve the right notes in your coffee blends. The freshness of the roast greatly improves flavor. Once roasting is complete, coffee immediately begins to lose flavor. Beans should be roasted in small patches and ground immediately for freshest flavor.
Professional blenders argue over whether beans in a blend should be roasted together or separately. You should experiment to determine your preference.
Remember that the same bean could provide a very different flavor if roasted for a longer period of time. The same bean at different roasting times might bring out all the inherent qualities, and a god blend may not require any additional beans.
2. Start out with your favorite beans. Introduce additions gradually until you get the hang of roasting and blending. Find out what effect different proportions have on the blend before jumping to add new beans. The perfect blend for your palate may take just a little more of one bean and a little less of the other.
3. Learn to identify the individual characteristics of body, acidity, sweetness and finish. Often region determines how sweet a coffee will be, and sweetness is enhanced by longer roasting times, in the same way caramelization increases the sweetness of foods.
Balance is important, and sweetness is balanced by acidity. Acidity determines the brightness of coffee. The body determines how robust a coffee blend tastes or the fullness of flavor, which is enhanced by longer roasting times.
Darkest roasts have the most body and sweetness, and lightly roasted beans provide acidity and brightness.
Finish is the overall taste that remains after drinking coffee, and a powerful finish can remain for hours.
4. Achieve Consistency. If you want to achieve consistency in a blend, then use multiple beans roasted together in the same proportion to achieve a fairly consistent flavor. Just make sure it is a flavor you enjoy.
5. Experiment. Espresso bean blends require extra-find grinding, and the foam or crema is highly prized by aficionados. Experiment with blends to achieve the gourmet crema touch and drink immediately after brewing before the crema subsides.
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