It’s pretty self-explanatory but a coffee blend is a coffee that is sourced from two or more producers. The main goal is to create a consistent flavor profile time after time while navigating the changing availability, and flavors developed by varied weather or soil conditions. They can be created from several different countries too. Blending is truly an art form with almost endless combinations to experiment with, combining balanced notes of ripe stone fruit with maple syrup sweetness to create the perfect shot of espresso.
Blending coffee is not a new trend, it’s been happening since the eighteenth century. The world’s oldest recorded coffee blend is Mocha-Java. It was a blend made with coffee from Mocha, a place in the Arabian peninsula (now in the Republic of Yemen) with Java, a former Dutch colony (now part of Indonesia). Mocha-Java was the world’s most popular for centuries, merging together coffee grown on opposite sides of the world. It also kick-started a coffee principle based on combining opposite flavor profiles to develop a well-rounded cup. Working off of the fruity acidity of the dry-processed Mocha helped to give a little more zip to the deeper, smoother profile of Java. Coffee blending’s core value is about finding synergy.
