Coffee Blends - The More, the Better

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There is a popular school of thought which expounds "the more the better" which influenced the creation of Coffee Blends. Presumably, having more than one type of coffee bean in a cup can produce a higher quality drink with better tasting aroma, flavor, texture, and aftertaste than just using a single variant of bean. It is commonly known that coffee are divided into two main categories namely Arabica and Robusta, with the earlier having strong exclusive flavor while the latter rather less expensive with higher caffeine content. Although Arabica coffees are usually brewed stand-alone, these can be mixed with lower-quality beans either to save costs or to create a unique taste to satisfy individual budgets or preferences. After all, it is a consumer driven market and everyone deserve to have their fair share of exposure to exclusive coffee.

Another common reason for creating these blends is to identify a particular recipe so that people can remember it. Coffee boutiques from across the world such as the well-known Starbucks and Coffee-Bean franchises often create signature blends which provide an easy way for its customers to order a consistent cup of coffee which they love. Some of these blends are so popular that they are strongly associated to the coffee boutique which contributes positively to brand image. Although a little hard to fathom, it also makes sense to create blends just to maintain a consistent taste over periods in which crop conditions can vary due to weather or land fertility. This strategy ensures the drink's taste is unaffected even though there is not enough production yield of a particular type of coffee plant.

Producing Coffee Blends require intimate knowledge of each ingredient in a cup of coffee. Each blend is created with a clear goal in mind, knowing how it will taste and how to achieve it. Different blends are made depending on what types of coffee beans are used, the sequence of blending over roasting, roasting process, brewing techniques, and whether additional condiments are added to augment its flavor. For example, you might want to create a cup of bittersweet coffee without the carbon flavors of a dark roast, but would still fancy the slight sour tinge of a lighter roast. In this case, you would blend approximately 60% of Colombian coffee beans and 40% of Kenyan coffee beans, each roasted separately beforehand, and the resulting concoction is called the Mélange blend. Attaining the correct ratio will require experience and close attention to be paid when blending, thus making it very difficult and exclusive to the most brilliant baristas. Different roasting processes will cause the sugars on the outside shell of a coffee bean to caramelize differently thus creating unique tastes.