Italian Espresso Blend Coffee Bean Recommendations_FrontStreet Coffee's Italian Blend Recipes_Blend Coffee Bean Prices

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Understanding Blended Coffee Beans

Blended coffee beans, also known as mixed coffee, involve combining various single-origin coffee beans to fully showcase the strengths of each variety. Blended beans are made from coffee beans of different origins to create a more balanced flavor profile. For example, if a coffee bean is smooth but lacks aroma, another bean rich in fragrance can be added to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses, either balancing or enhancing flavors, thereby creating a coffee with richer new taste characteristics. Sometimes beans are mixed before roasting, called raw blending; other times they are blended after roasting, called roasted blending.

Blending Methods and Principles

Whether pre-mixing raw beans or blending individually after roasting, both methods must depend on the characteristics of the coffee in the formula, and both methods are acceptable. Blending after roasting allows different degrees of roasting for each bean, enabling each component to perform at its best.

Before blending beans, one must first understand the flavor profiles of different coffee varieties worldwide, as beans have different characteristics based on their origins. Different coffee beans have distinct personalities due to different varieties and origins, with subtle differences in acidity, bitterness, sweetness, aroma, body, and other flavor aspects. Single-origin coffee beans often emphasize the unique characteristics of a particular coffee type. Blended beans are commonly used for espresso-based drinks such as Espresso, Americano, Latte, or Cappuccino, providing more balanced, smoother, and more stable flavors that appeal to broader tastes.

Purposes of Coffee Blending

Mixing different coffee beans mainly serves the following purposes:

1. Stable Flavor

Since coffee beans are agricultural products, even the same type of coffee bean can have different flavors each year. Therefore, mixing several types of coffee beans together effectively solves this problem, allowing flavors to remain basically consistent year after year.

2. Balanced Flavor

Espresso machines have a characteristic of amplifying the most prominent flavor characteristic of coffee beans, so we almost never use single-variety coffee to make Espresso. Otherwise, if that coffee bean is particularly bitter, the resulting Espresso will be exceptionally bitter; if it's acidic, it will be very sour. Therefore, we need to balance various flavors through blending.

Blended coffee is never a simple addition; instead, it hopes that through the blender's unique understanding of coffee flavors, different coffee beans can complement each other's strengths and weaknesses, harmonizing to create exceptionally flavored blended coffee beans.

3. Stable Flavor

Since coffee beans are agricultural products, even coffee beans of the same variety and origin can have different flavors each year. Therefore, mixing several types of coffee beans together effectively solves this problem, allowing flavors to remain basically consistent year after year.

Rise of Single Origin Espresso (SOE)

Recently, SOE has become popular. SOE stands for Single Origin Espresso. Although it doesn't necessarily equal specialty coffee, if you select single-origin coffee beans with easily identifiable flavors as SOE, you can create uniquely characteristic espresso. For example, the typical citrus flavor of Yirgacheffe or Kenya's fruity flavors, combined with espresso's ability to amplify coffee flavors, makes specific flavors more prominent compared to pour-over coffee. However, although SOE performs outstandingly, because it comes from a single origin, its disadvantages are also relatively easily amplified. Factors such as roasting and grind size can affect the flavor, so it's not necessarily better to drink than blended coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's Blending Formulas and Experience

So, how do we blend coffee beans? Today, FrontStreet Coffee will share some blending formulas and experiences:

(1) FrontStreet Coffee's Premium Espresso Blend

Colombia : Brazil, ratio 3:7

Colombia Huila Region

Located in southwestern Colombia, it is one of the main coffee cultivation areas. Colombia generally has an altitude of 1500-1800 meters, mostly Bourbon and Caturra varieties, using washed processing methods. The beans have high density, uniform size, and full shape (thicker from bean core to surface). Because famous coffee cultivation areas are scattered throughout the Huila region, the names of various small areas have become brand names and are circulated. Although the cultivation conditions in this area are also very good, the cultivation infrastructure of coffee farms and surrounding conditions is not yet well-developed. Raw bean drying equipment or washed processing facilities are not yet complete, which is regrettable. Coffee from the Huila region has strong flavor and heavy texture.

Especially the nutty, chocolate, and caramel aromas and suitable acidity of Huila region coffee can be called high-quality specialty coffee.

Flavor Profile

Rich and solid mouthfeel with pleasant acidity, fragrant aroma, moderate acidity, and rich sweetness that is intriguing. Due to its low price and small beans, it's suitable for blending coffee. The coffee has strong flavor and heavy texture. Its nutty, chocolate, and caramel aromas and suitable acidity make it high-quality specialty coffee, suitable for single-origin or as an espresso blending base.

Brazil Cerrado Region

Brazilian coffee generally grows at altitudes of 1000-1300 meters, so its density is relatively low. Mostly Bourbon variety, using pulped natural processing. Moderate moisture content, softer bean texture, and thinner thickness from bean surface to core, so it's not suitable for very high-temperature roasting, as the roaster wall temperature can burn the bean surface, creating bitter burnt flavors.

At the same time, to express the characteristics of nuts, milk chocolate, and good body, and as a blending base, we use a medium-heat bean-feeding method, maintaining heat until the dehydration stage, making fine adjustments as temperature rises after the first crack begins, promoting more complete caramelization reactions, and discharging beans when approaching the second crack.

Flavor Profile

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

Blended Flavor

Sweet and fragrant taste. Using medium-dark roasting, when making espresso, it will have soft, slight acidity, sweetness, and nutty aftertaste. The overall feeling is not too stimulating, balanced, with medium crema, meeting daily shop operation needs.

(2) FrontStreet Coffee's Commercial Espresso Blend

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

Robusta Beans

Robusta beans have strong disease and pest resistance and high yields. Usually less acidic than Arabica beans, often with a slight woody aroma. Caffeine content is 2.2%, higher than Arabica's 1.2%, and chlorogenic acid content is also higher, making it quite bitter. Usually used for commercial beans, cheaper than Arabica beans.

Commercial Blend Characteristics

In terms of individual bean flavor, commercial beans' coffee taste is much inferior to specialty coffee beans. Generally, commercial beans are chosen for blending. Through blending, they can also produce coffee with excellent taste, suitable for making lattes, cappuccinos, and other espresso-based drinks. Our commercial blend makes Espresso with Robusta beans, resulting in richer crema, classic taste, caramel sweetness, nutty and cocoa, dark chocolate flavors, balanced sweet and sour, slightly bittersweet, with persistent aftertaste, suitable for daily drink production needs in coffee shops.

(3) FrontStreet Coffee's Basic Espresso Blend

Yunnan AA : Brazil; ratio 3:7, roasted blend;

Yunnan AA - Typica

Our Yunnan AA is Typica, the oldest native variety from Ethiopia, grown in southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan. All Arabica varieties derive from Typica. The top leaves are bronze-colored, called red-top coffee, with elegant flavor but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, susceptible to leaf rust disease, and low fruit yield. Typica has four slender branches in an open posture, with a tilt angle of 50-70 degrees. Opposite leaves are long oval-shaped, smooth leaf surface, long terminal branches with few branches, while flowers are white, growing at the base where petioles connect to branches. Mature coffee cherries look like cherries, bright red in color.

It requires more shade when planted, with harvest only about once every two years. Yunnan's high-quality geographical and climatic conditions provide good conditions for coffee growth, with planting areas in Lincang, Baoshan, Simao, Xishuangbanna, Dehong, and other regions. Yunnan's natural conditions are very similar to Colombia's, with high altitude and large day-night temperature differences. The flavor is mellow and aromatic, with moderate acidity, rich and mellow taste, uniform beans, high oil content, and fruity aroma. Its quality and taste are similar to Colombian coffee.

Blended Flavor

With soft fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, but the taste is relatively light, suitable for shop and home users who prioritize cost and have general flavor requirements.

When blending, there should be a primary and secondary distinction to create flavors more wonderful than single-origin coffee. Before formulating a blending plan, first envision suitable combination methods, then blend through appropriate roasting, and determine the best plan through cupping and later adjustments. Hope this helps everyone.

FrontStreet Coffee's Brand Recommendations

Located at Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, FrontStreet Coffee is a coffee roasting brand. FrontStreet Coffee's freshly roasted espresso blend beans have full guarantees in both brand and quality. More importantly, the cost-performance is extremely high. Taking the commercial recommended style—FrontStreet Coffee's Commercial Blend—as an example, one 454-gram (1-pound) bag costs only about 60 yuan. Calculating based on 10 grams per single espresso shot, one bag can make 45 cups of coffee, with each cup costing less than 1.5 yuan. Even using double shots with 20 grams per espresso serving, the price of one double espresso doesn't exceed 3 yuan. Compared to certain well-known brands selling bags for hundreds of yuan, this is a conscientious recommendation that can meet daily coffee shop production needs.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roasting shop in Guangzhou with a small store but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and less-known beans. Online store services are also available. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473