Fundamentals of Coffee Bean Blending: Steps, Principles, and Comparison Between Espresso Blends and SOE Coffee Beans

Many people don't understand how coffee blending formulas are created. Now FrontStreet Coffee will guide you through the thinking process behind coffee blending and how to blend coffee.

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Reasons and Purposes of Blending

People blend coffee from different origins for several different purposes. The ideal goal is to create a coffee that tastes better than any of its individual components. However, single-origin Arabica coffee is often sufficient to make quite good coffee—with fresh aromas, smooth texture, and sweet aftertaste. Therefore, "blending" (combining beans from different origins) isn't always necessary.

The main commercial purpose of coffee blending is to reduce costs—using less desirable coffees to create a relatively balanced flavor profile to increase profit margins. Another possible purpose is to create a unique flavor profile, so customers who enjoy this particular taste can only purchase from this specific manufacturer and cannot obtain it from other suppliers. Another advantage of this approach is that regardless of how coffee flavors from certain origins change across different years, this blended coffee's flavor profile remains consistent.

Here, we won't focus on other possible commercial purposes but instead concentrate on blending specifically aimed at improving coffee flavor quality.

Before blending any coffee, FrontStreet Coffee believes you must first understand the flavor characteristics of each coffee type and have a clear vision of the flavor profile you want to create—one that cannot be achieved by any single-origin coffee. If the blended coffee doesn't taste better than some or all of its individual components, wouldn't that be a pity? It would be better not to blend at all. If you use relatively high-quality coffees for blending, this is often the result.

While some fixed coffee varieties can be consumed directly as single-origin coffees, most coffees have more or less flavor deficiencies—such as lacking distinctive flavors, insufficient depth, inadequate strength, or certain flavors being too intense. To compensate for these shortcomings, several coffee beans with different characteristics are blended to create a harmonious and deep flavor profile. Some people believe that the joy of coffee lies in the roasting and blending processes, with drinking coffee being merely about enjoying the fruits of their labor. Coffee blending is not simply mixing coffee beans together.

Sometimes, blending two single-origin coffees can actually suppress each other's distinctive flavors, so blending isn't just simply combining several single-origin coffees. Blending is like an artist mixing captivating colors on a palette—blenders can also use coffee beans to create alluring flavors. Therefore, it's no exaggeration to say that blending is an art form. As artists, blenders need not only experience and inspiration but also certain scientific calculations. The creation of art is never accidental but rather the culmination of long-term accumulation. Generally, blended coffee doesn't need to use more than five types of coffee beans. Because if there are too many types of coffee beans, the situation can become very complex. This is something only very special experts can handle without being confused by so many different coffee beans.

FrontStreet Coffee specializes in fresh-roasted coffee and also offers different types of blended coffee for different customer needs. For customers seeking cost-effectiveness, FrontStreet Coffee recommends the Basic Blend—an all-Arabica espresso coffee bean blend from Brazil and Yunnan that offers excellent value with outstanding flavor. FrontStreet Coffee also offers the Sunflower Warm Sun Blend for customers with more refined flavor preferences—a product combining Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry and Honduras Sherry, beloved by many customers for its极致酒心巧克力风味 (extreme chocolate liqueur center flavor).

The Relationship Between Blending and Roasting

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

FrontStreet Coffee believes that if you have a fixed formula, the simplest method is to blend the different coffee beans first, then roast them together. However, if you're experimenting with and comparing different blending components and their corresponding ratios, you'd naturally want to roast each type of coffee bean first before conducting various trials. Otherwise, every time you change the components and ratios of the blend, you'd need to re-roast again.

In the roasting world, blending first then roasting is generally called "raw blending," while roasting first then blending is called "cooked blending." Actually, neither method is superior to the other. The advantage of raw blending is that roasting all beans in the same batch tends to create consistent roast levels throughout, resulting in stable flavors, but when selecting beans, you should choose those with similar screen sizes to avoid uneven roasting. Cooked blending, on the other hand, allows you to achieve the optimal roasting characteristics for each individual coffee bean before combining them to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Generally, all coffee beans can be roasted together. Only when roasting results are not ideal should you consider using independent roasting methods. In such cases, independent roasting usually achieves better results. Especially for drum roasters, a relatively moderate roast level can generally be found.

General Steps and Principles of Blending

Before blending coffee beans, we should clarify the following points:

1. The theme of the blend – What kind of flavor do you want to create, i.e., determine 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 level and coffee flavor. All of this can only be achieved through cupping.
3. Determine the role of each coffee bean in the blend – Since multiple coffee beans are used in the blend, you must be clear about each bean's role: whether it should highlight smooth bitterness, bright acidity, or rich body.

Principles to Follow When Blending:

1. Selection of original beans – Use coffee beans with distinct characteristics and avoid using beans with similar flavors. When selecting original beans, consider three aspects:

• Green bean processing method – Whether the green beans are washed or natural processed, as the processing method has a significant relationship with coffee flavor.
• Green bean origin – Coffee origins are generally divided into three major regions: Central and South America (including Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, Jamaica, Peru, and about 20 other countries); Southeast Asia (including India, Indonesia - including Java and Sumatra islands, Papua New Guinea, and about 10 other countries); and Arab and African regions (including Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Arabia, Uganda, and about 25 other countries). As mentioned, the most commonly used original beans on the market are Brazilian and Colombian.

2. Number and proportion of coffee bean varieties in the blend

Since it's blending, it naturally refers to combining two or more types of original beans, but you can also blend the same coffee bean variety with different roast levels, or even blend new crop with aged coffee or old crop of the same coffee bean variety. Therefore, the "types" referred to in blending are no longer narrowly defined coffee varieties but extend broadly to coffee flavors.

Generally, 2-6 types of coffee beans are used in blending, because too many varieties can make it difficult to express coffee's unique flavors. Blended coffee generally doesn't use a 1:1 blending ratio, as this might suppress each other's distinctive flavor characteristics. Therefore, blending should have primary and secondary components to create a flavor more wonderful than single-origin coffee. If you want the blended coffee to have complex and varied flavors, you can reduce the proportion of the theme bean, and vice versa.

3. Blending relies on continuous experimentation

Before blending, you should create a blending plan using mathematical combinations, then determine the optimal solution through the blending and cupping process. Don't think this is a passive or clumsy method—in fact, only through the blender's experience, inspiration, and such tireless experimentation can a good cup of coffee be created.

FrontStreet Coffee offers 4 distinctive blended coffee beans based on different requirements:

[Sunflower Warm Sun Espresso Beans]

Composition: Honduras Sherry : Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry, ratio 7:3, cooked blend

Flavor characteristics: Noticeable fruit acidity with lingering light berry aroma, rich wine and chocolate flavors, comfortable sweet aftertaste.

The Sherry coffee beans bring rich whiskey aroma and chocolate liqueur center aftertaste with intense fragrance. The Natural Red Cherry brings fermentation qualities and berry aromas, with a smooth entry. This Warm Sun blended coffee bean comes in half-pound packages, suitable for coffee shops that require distinctive espresso flavors and high bean quality, or espresso enthusiasts with lower consumption.

[FrontStreet Coffee Specialty Blend]

Composition: Colombia : Brazil, ratio 3:7, cooked blend

Flavor characteristics: Comfortable bittersweet taste, extremely smooth entry with light grassy aroma, fresh fragrance with slight bitterness, sweet and smooth, pleasant aftertaste.

Colombian Huilan region coffee beans have pleasant acidity, mellow aroma, moderate acidity, and rich sweetness that is intriguing. Brazilian Cerrado region coffee beans have comfortable bittersweet taste with extremely smooth entry. This specialty blend coffee is suitable for various specialty coffee shops.

[FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Blend]

Composition: Colombia : Brazil : Robusta, ratio 3:6:1, raw blend

Flavor characteristics: Classic taste with caramel sweetness, nutty and cocoa-like dark chocolate flavors, balanced sweet and sour, slight bittersweet note, persistent aftertaste.

Colombian Huilan region coffee beans have pleasant acidity, mellow aroma, moderate acidity, and rich sweetness that is intriguing. Brazilian Cerrado region coffee beans have comfortable bittersweet taste with extremely smooth entry. Robusta provides rich crema. This commercial blend coffee is suitable for coffee shops and beverage shops of various scales.

[FrontStreet Coffee Basic Blend]

Composition: Yunnan AA : Brazil, ratio 3:7, cooked blend

Flavor characteristics: Gentle fruit acidity with caramel sweetness, nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, but relatively light taste.

Yunnan's natural conditions are very similar to Colombia's—high altitude, large day-night temperature differences, with mellow aroma-type flavor, moderate acidity, rich and mellow taste, uniform particles, high oil content, and fruity aroma. Its quality and taste are similar to Colombian coffee. Brazilian Cerrado region coffee beans have comfortable bittersweet taste with extremely smooth entry. This basic blend coffee bean is suitable for small coffee shops, bakeries, or beverage shops.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473