The Big White Rabbit blend by Vincent at Manta Ray Coffee Roasters and Alicia from Calere Coffee is amazing. Has been my daily driver for over a year. The most consistent flavour, hazelnut, KitKat, white chocolate eat your heart out.
So many similarities with blended whiskey... in the end, when a "single malt" becomes too expensive, we rediscover the qualities of blended... it's a back and forth, I guess it happens to coffee too.
@@danymeeuwissen5973 To be honest blends are a mixture of malt and grain alcohol. Single malts are only malt and also from a single distillery. Single origin coffee can be from different productions in a single farm, so i believe the single malt is a good analogy. They are blends of different lots of the same coffee.
@@virior Agreed. Single Origin in coffee is most similar to Single Malt in whiskey. The next step in traceability is Single Estate, which in whiskey would be Single Barrel. Looking at my own consumption, I’ve got Blends, Single Origin, and Single Estate in my pantry to enjoy. I’m glad to have all three as they’re “something tasty”.
Came down here to post the same thought. I'm deep down into the scotch whisky rabbit hole and there's a lot of similarities to what's explained in the video. Small scale independent producers are increasingly exploring blended whisky (be it blended malt - a mix of single malts from different distilleries - or blended scotch - a mix of malt and grain whisky) as a way to produce a great, more consistent product at an affordable price point, since proper blending will result in a product that is greater than the sum of its parts. And when done with transparency and a focus on the quality of the end product it really can be a win win situation. But since the category of blended whisky has been abused by large producers to pump out low quality bottom shelf products with no transparency at all, many enthusiasts are understandably cautious when it comes to blends.
@@danymeeuwissen5973a single malt is not a blend. Malt blends are malts from different distilleries, scotch are malt and grain from different distilleries. Of course unless its single cask a release does include multiple casks but theres no other way of doing it. Companies like compass box, adelphi, thompson bros and turn table have been doing great things with blends recently. As opposed to mixing cheap and nasty stuff, they mix the good stuff. The output of that is… also something good. I wish someone took a stance and did this in coffee also.
You’re a single origin honey processed content creator and I appreciate everything you do for the coffee community. Love waking up Wednesday’s to a new video.
Blends are most of what I drink, for the reasons you mentioned. They tend to be cheaper, they're more consistent, and I usually am not out to carefully craft an artisan beverage when I just woke up. I just want something that tastes pretty good that I can rely on day to day.
I'm in the same boat, especially for making espresso. I've been cycling through blends from 4-5 roasters for my home espresso for the past few years and really enjoying the consistency. I still mostly do single origins for my pour overs, though.
Good job explaining the term 'single origin'....prefer the term 'single estate' when coffee comes from 1 farm, like ours for example. We gave up selling green years ago, dealing with roasters/green buyers was truly a unpleasant experience to say the least, won't get into details, not my favorite people. Decided to take over the entire process of making coffee right here on our farm... growing, harvesting, processing, drying, storing, 'skinning' (parchment removal), roasting, packaging, & finally shipping directly to customers twice a month. Best decision ever. Quality control from start to finish, no long chain of changing hands or time/travel, farm to cup at it's finest. Oh, cacao & chocolate too. We work with a 'partner' farm in a prime cacao growing area that supplies us with the raw cacao who also grow/harvest/process/dry/roast themselves. Raw products comes to us (cacao mass/powder) we stone grind ('melange') and turn into delicious chocolate along with making cacao powder/blends. Husband (me) handles all things coffee, wife handles all things chocolate. Farm direct at it's finest;) Keep up the good work!
I see you are in Colombia. I only have on coffee plant, so home roasting does not make economic sense to me! I had trouble with the skinning part! Do you have experience shipping to México? Saludos!
@@impulsesystems Right now we only ship to the US bi-monthly via FedEx (sometimes DHL). But we 'could' ship anywhere, we use a small company as a exporter/shipper in town, mother & son team, mother has been doing this for decades...can ship anywhere basically. Just comes down to costs and how much is ordered. We have a min. of 2 bags of coffee per order because of shipping costs, 1 bag doesn't quite cut it;) Some areas might require much more depending on costs. We're happy to look into shipping to anyone/anywhere...if it works out for us both;)
I like buying single origins and blending them myself; it gives a lot of control over flavor and you can make crazy combos that no roaster could afford to take risks on.
@@sebaba001 I cannot confirm that. Melange usually refers to a coffee with milk, the most famous being the Wiener Melange, it's the Viennese version of the cappuccino. Beans labeled Melange are sold for Wiener Melange or a different Melange, like café creme beans are intended for café creme
I completely agree with you. Coffee blends have their place in gastronomy as much as any other delicacy. I believe coffee roasters can take their art to another level if they put their heart into making great specialty blends.
I was anti-blend when I fell down the rabbit hole like you said, but after seeing how delicious craft roasters can make Espresso blends, I've started to come around.
I'm glad I saw this video. I'm a home roaster, and I've been seriously considering starting to blend some of the green coffees that I have. Not only because I'll sometimes be left with too small an amount to do a full batch with, but also because I've find myself wondering how two different coffees might taste together. I certainly see the need for blends in the specialty world, especially with cafes. However, I think the one thing I want to see more of is transparency in those blends. I don't necessarily need to know the specific micro lots going into it, but knowing rough percentages of origins and how the coffees were sourced would be great. It's part of why I enjoy roasting my own coffee. While I certainly don't have any sort of relationship with farmers, I can buy green coffee and know which farms it came from and how it was sourced.
I work in a roastery that has a lot of blends in their lineup. These are generally geered towards the classic coffee consumer. I would say that they make up atleast 85% of our whole roasted beans. I think that this is totally fine because the people that we serve are mostly your standard coffee drinker. Whenever I try to make people aware of our second option, which is usally a microlot and therefore a much more special cup they tend to be either interested or completely blocking off the idea of trying something new. I also drank the unicord blend ealier this year and was surprised by the taste. Thanks for this vid Lance! I share most of your opinions!
Lance, Before I got deeply interested in coffees, I was a scotch drinker. In the world of Scotch, we prize single origin liquor for striking originality, and we appreciate how a single brand will vary from year to year. I was never a single-origin snob. There are fine scotch blends (my favorite is Johnny Walker green). The blends tend to be more consistent and more middle-of the road in taste. I entered the coffee world assuming that single origin is better, but I have always tried blends as well (I drink espresso). I'd say the mix has been almost 2 to 1 single origin. I thank you for making me feel more comfortable about enjoying blends! I rarely have the opportunity to buy espresso at a good cafe (I live in middle NJ, USA), but when I do, unless it's a place I can trust (Like Terroirs in Massachusetts), I'll avoid their blends. -toby
10:15 cutter showing us you are still human 😄 I love my rosters blend as a baseline and coffee for friends and family. Always a bag in the freezer. edit: I probably drink it 60% of the time
As a specialty coffee consumer who enjoys bright acidity and fruitiness in filter coffee, I’m not usually a fan of espresso, as it tends to be too acidic for my taste. For that reason, at Naga, we have created an Asian blend using fine Canephora from Vietnam and Arabica from Myanmar. This blend perfectly balances the flavors, highlighting their best qualities while muting any undesirable notes. Now, we have a great coffee option for both espresso and automatic machines.
Hey Lance! Single origin should be IMO 1 single variety in 1 agroecological area According to FAO, agroecological zones are defined as having similar combinations of climate and soil characteristics, and the same biophysical potential for agricultural production, presenting a specific range of constraints and potentials for land use. I know, its complicated, but for me blending should refer to blending at least one of these 2 factors (ie. variety or agroec. area). My best coffees are usually single producer / single variety coffees, that is a "Café de Finca" here in Colombia. Also I like this concept of Farm Coffee because of its traceability and because I suppose it allows to give a bigger space to farmers within the value chain. Cheers!
I am an agnostic when it comes to single origin vs blend. Whenever I run low on coffee, I just look for something interesting, (usually honey / natural process), with the flavour profile that I enjoys (usually sweet / floral / fruity), that fits my budget at the time. The key thing for me is to find a seller whose description of coffee consistently matches my own experience. That way I get to try a new coffee pretty much every time buying a new bag, while still avoiding getting something too far our of left field.
1. Very insightful also on what the definitions are (and are not!) 2. I have not had a lot of blends, but I love Prodigal's Boulder Blend. It is affordable and very fruit-forward. 3. Hugo did an amazing job again with the flow and feel of this video!!
Thanks Lance! Very thought provoking. I tend to drink espresso blends and single o throughout the day, and have just started to view them as two completely different beverages. I love the richness and mouth feel of a good long blank. However, I also appreciate and enjoy immensely, sipping on a fruity nuanced Yirgascheffe. Have seriously never contemplated that my regular roasters would take such short cuts, but it makes sense. Guess I always figured they just blended the single O's in their range. Cheers!
With home roasting we don’t have to deal with same commercial realities, and can focus more on what we like. Playing with and perfecting SO help make better blends. Both are great and necessary
Good video, Lance. In our café we had a blend brazil/Ethiopia which worked very well as straight espresso AND in milk. This made the process in the café much more streamlined, and most single origins don't offer this flexibility. Also, as you said, there was a need for consistency across the years which blends can offer better then SO.
I started buying Onyx's Southern Weather blend for my fiance, she likes very different coffee from me, so for her I make a French press instead of a V60. That said, every time I have a mind to drink some of her coffee, I'm always impressed. It truly is delicious and it's probably my favorite blend. Thanks for the great video Lance, very thoughtful and insightful as always.
This is a great point, I bought a sample roaster at SCA 2024, so I am noticing the variation in the beans in green coffee (more noticeable with Ethiopia Coffee than the Nicaragua that I have), even though it is a single origin. But in the end, I am drinking delightful coffee, so all part of the learning curve, which never seems to end.
That slow zoom in on the basket as the shot progressed was mint, I bet Hugo was proud of that camera shot (as well he should be). As far as blends go I have a rule that I spend (or roast my own) specialty SO coffee for filter/cold brew, and I buy a half-decent Italian espresso blend (sometimes with Robusta *gasp*) for the Gaggia. I've spent enough time/money running great coffee through that machine to settle on a classic Italian espresso blend (with a dash of milk) as the daily driver - no need to flush money down the drain.
I have never thought of different beans from the same farm as blends. Kenya for instance, sl28, sl34, Batian. When i think of blends i think of different origins mixed together by the roaster to get a certain flavour profile 😅 Thanks for adressing that at the very end of the video!
My first contact with coffee was coffee available in the (Austrian) supermarket. So actually it is thanks to e.g. Illy (who have done a tremendous job to create decade-long consistency with their blends) that my interest in coffee was born. As a consumer and coffee nerd, every bag I buy, every cup I drink is a little journey along the adventure to find interesting, tasty or sometimes irritating taste experiences. As a self-identified coffee nerd, looking behind the label to find out about the origin of the beans or elements like sustainability or fair pay is very important to me. So to me, it's not about the label (single/blend), but about what is inside and behind the bag. There are so many beautiful (and also disappointing) blends out there. However, locally here in Vienna, prefs are e.g. Pump from Cafe Couture or Bohnissimo (for my guests with more traditional taste) from Corretto. Thank you Lance for this video!
I just found that Marua Kenya from Sey yesterday and, between this video and the last, I am so excited to try a coffee that I just learned a lot about! these videos have been fantastic thanks Lance
My favorite blend came from Maas Coffee Roasters in Fort Walton Beach, FL!! Up until then, I was largely ignoring blends. But I was only there for a short visit, and their House Blend had received some awards, so I thought I'd grab a pound to take home. And...wow. Totally shocked me how good the flavor profile was! Now, I look for the local blend to try whenever I get new beans :-)
Great stuff! Love the jazz love the feel, do more videos, like this, pls! As a filter guy, I mostly consume SO, but I am open to blends. Interesting food for thought, thanks Lance!
Just had the latest CC espresso blend on my buddies E65S and GS3 setup and it tasted amazing. It was a bit ‘classic’-espresso focused, but still super refreshing and bright for an espresso. Loved it ✌🏼
Ok, I absolutely learned some interesting and worthwhile things. I think I’m still a single origin guy, because I actually like the occasional odd tastes and sharp corners they can have, but I will reconsider the next time a reputable roaster I like offers a new blend. Cheers!
I Loved this video! I have been thinking on this just of late and had been one of the people “moving up” to single origin coffees and then was like, wait a minute. I sometimes buy a nice wine in a particular varietal, but mostly Love a good field mix both on taste and on price…. So, yes all of what you are saying has been so very on the mark. Recently I have found some very pleasing coffee blends and totally have left any thinking that this is anything but a great way to go. Currently go too for espresso is Stumpton Holler Mtn. and for French Press Stumptom French Roast. I also have an Ethiopian blend I am trying for use for grinding my own reusable K-Cups
Great info Lance! I’m still new in the specialty coffee scene so it’s nice to get some information that I can look into. And I’ll definitely be checking out those recommendations as well.
I would never consider myself a coffee expert, I would consider myself a “home barista” with a dream of one day opening my own coffee shop. I love single origins, light and medium roasts. I love pulling espresso shots with light roasts! I don’t mind blends, but if the blends contains different roast level then no, I just can’t… that’s why I prefer staying with single origins 🤷🏼♂️😂
Some of the best coffees I‘ve had were blends. Kaffeemacher‘s flaneur is a nice showcase of how two different coffees from two different continents can really balance and compliment each other. I blieve it‘s an Ethiopian natural and a Mexican washed, but don’t remember the variatals anymore.
I bought a blend from a local-ish roastery to put in my wife's latte, and it turned out to be more worthy of drinking black. It was not crazy cheap but cheaper than single origins, and had some common notes with one of my favourite coffees. Definitely made me reconsider.
The Ternura blend from Little Waves in North Carolina is my favorite blend. Whenever I’m there, I bring home a couple of bags of beans! Definitely worth a shot if you’re into medium roasts.
I stuck with single O for years and can completely agree with you're observation of the speciality coffee circles prejudice regarding blends. I recently tried Peoplepossessions PHB and other blends. Mostly colombia + ethiopia. I was sceptical first. After all, columbian and ethiopian beans usually extract pretty differently. But after I tried a small amount it currently is my "funky coffee" of choice. Watching at the Peoplepossessions HP and the missing sourcing infos, I wonder if what I'm drinking is more about the margin for the roaster than about sustainable coffee. That leaves a "aftertase" in every cup. Anyways, thank you for your recent controversial presentations. I really like them.
All good points. It’s the very same in the scotch industry and the wine industry. High-quality blends are welcome in my life whether it be coffee or one of those other two.
When I was shopping around for a roaster after moving away from the city. I would always order the blend and a single origin, I figured if I trusted both, I could trust the roaster. This is what led me to Ruby. Since I started my subscription 6 years ago, they have added the August blend which focuses on Ethiopian coffees, which tends to be my favorite country of origin.
I started to make a blend out of SO coffees I buy at a local roaster. It's fun! This blend is used in my office and by my wife at home. It's a nice way to smuggle some fruitiness in for people that normally would touch a "fruity" SO espresso with a ten foot pole. They seam to enjoy that. At least that's what I'm told.
My roaster is well established in the area, and the majority of their coffees are wonderful blends of fantastic coffee. They also do offer single origin, and they're transparent about where the beans come from. By single origin, I mean that they offer some coffees from specific farms in specific regions. They do also offer the same "single origin" you refer to in the video, but again, they're transparent about where the coffee is from. If it's from a particular country/region and processor, you know; if it's from a particular farm, and that's of significance, you know. BTW, my favorite blend of theirs is a dark roast blend of washed and sun dried Ethiopian. It's rich, chocolatey, fruity... so wonderful. And it's seasonal.
I recently had an Ethiopian blend from Maru in LA. It was a blend of a natural Ethiopian and a washed Ethiopian. Juicy, full body, and floral at the same time. A great use of blending!
When I just started to get into specialty, I couldn't spend too much money on coffee. My palette was also not fully aclimated to lighter, non-commodity style roasts, either. I'd get a nice specialty medium and then I'd get a decent quality grocery store commodity blend (peets big bang), and then I'd mix the two together to stretch the good stuff further. That was the most I had ever enjoyed any coffee up to that point- especially the espresso I'd make with it. I'd do it again today if I needed to, but luckily I can drop $80/mo on specialty now 😅
Thx for this great provokative Video. I am totally in for blends. More by accident I blended myself multiple times: remainder of two bags mixed for a brew. Often made me memorize heterosis effect: from two great (prototypical) profiles you generate an amazing one. Washed Kenya/Washed Ethiopia or washed Kenia/washed Columbia can become really amazing. Ethiopia Natural with El Salvador Natural, too. At least for filter it is super easy and can totally recommend to play
You are right, as long as the coffee blended have al least the same age, humidity, proces, etc, just to ensure the coffee will react in the same way during the coffee cup preparation. Regards from Lima Perú
I’m getting into home roasting on the Nucleus link and love blends for milk-based espresso - especially love thick, chocolatey, ristretto shots with just a touch of the fruity after taste… the nuance and imperfection is what makes coffee special imho.
As a longtime home roaster, I’ve always believed SO were great for teaching me about….well, varying origins and terroir (processing too). But for just plain ol’ day to day enjoyment, geekery, and fun?? blending FTMFW! Learning about the first, gave me a good platform to fully dive deeply into the latter😊
I like the adventure of finding new coffees so I like trying them all. We are currently on the hunt for our “live in the grinder” of our Oracle blend then we will get a single dose grinder for the special blends or decaf. So far the front runner by a long shot is The Woodford Roaster’s “Go Nuts” blend it’s oh so good. 😊
I recently started having two coffees at home - one single origin for pour overs or crazy brews and a blend for all of the espresso drinks or when I add anything to the coffee. 1. It did help the budget a lot, not gonna lie. 2. They so reliably come out better as espresso due to the roast level and their flavour profiles- my pour overs are acidic and fruity with light roasts that don’t necessarily make great espresso and are not that fun with milk. 3. I get to explore more traditional coffee drinks like straight espressos or cappuccinos and not always run for the thrill of a new gesha or whatever - it is a nice grounding experience.
Another thing about blends is getting different processes in a single bag. My go-to espresso here in Denver is from Novo, a local roaster. Not only are they combining Ethiopian with coffees from the Americas, but they are also combining washed and sun-dried beans. I love single origins, but blends from a good roaster can actually offer more complexity.
Very interested to hear about the corner cutting on blends to look out for. Checked my subscriptions and fortunately no such concerns with Rave or Origin : )
I highly recommend Rabbit Hole Coffee's blends to north american folks. Last year's limited edition release of their Shoonhisa, Luis Roldan, and Pink Bourbon blend was one of my favorite cups of the year. It tasted of nutmeg, cocoa and rum. 🤤
Yeah I used to do the single origin thing when I had time to cup and obsess over coffee more...But now I have 1 or 2 cups of coffee a day and I want it to be good every time. I got tired of grinding through half the bag to dial in the latest single origin. I found a few blends from the cafe that I love and found it to be fairly consistent bag to bag so that every morning my coffee is delicious.
My favorite blend is also my old faithful. I've been buying Genesis Espresso Blend from Revocup in Kansas since I started brewing my own drinks, and I've never found anything better, especially among single origin.
I almost only buy single origins, but occasionally I’ll grab an exciting blend or the house coffee when I’m checking out a roaster (actually just grabbed a few bags from Square Mile for the first time and got their everyday filter blend). I’ve been consistently impressed with Quills seasonal blends from Louisville, Kentucky. Their spring blend specifically has been awesome for the past few years. For espresso, I also usually default to the house blends from a couple local roasters
I love blends. I drink espresso 90% of the time & am fortunate to buy beans locally from Taiwanese roaster KaKaLove Cafe that has many of the top rated coffees on Coffee Review every year. He sources a crazy amount of high-quality beans direct from farms all over the world, has laboratory style cleanroom facilities for roasting, and doesn't cut corners to boost margins. His blends are every bit as good as his "single origin" beans. And their team are great people, which makes buying from him even better.
I try it all and buy 3-4 bags at once and get different origins and roast levels and types of processing. My favorite evolves over time and keeps changing. As long as it's high quality and fresh I like it. Also different coffees for different brew methods.
Blends are underrated by many in the nerdy realm within specialty coffee. I love blends and how they can become something more diverse that works black or with milk. There is also some very interesting tasting blends like Ona’s raspberry candy which is sensory party, only achieved by its many components.
For newer coffee nerds, the more distinctive notes of single origin / single estate often make them easier and more rewarding for newer coffee nerds to play with as they're still building their palates, technique, equipment etc
Been using Espresso Royal’s Napoli for a long time. It is a blend of 3 varieties. Each of the 3 beans is a different size and color. It’s a blend of who knows what. They don’t say nor do they care to use the term specialty coffee.. now however I’m moving into specialty. Having fun and learning a lot.
Since nobody is watching the video: Most single origins are already blends. Depending on the region. Several farms might share a washing station. They might not even use the same beans at every farm. The taste you know is because they blend. They pick and choose some beans here, some there. Now thanks to specialty coffee, they can actually make better and more consistent blends. Because the "off" beans that don't fit the blend become a rare and expensive treat. Those "off" beans used to be sold to locals cheaply, or even thrown away. So sometimes, it's the "garbage" beans thst get discovered as a magic new specialty coffee. Even if you only drink "single origin", give thanks for blends.
Insightful for me, thanks for the info. I suppose, in theory, taking beans from two plants in the same row of coffee bushes would constitute a blend. Has to be some genetic and other differences between the two plants.
@@johnrieley1404 I wonder if a lot of these specialty coffee plant farmers grow from clone/cuttings versus seed. If they find a plant with all the characteristics/genetics they are looking for, why not just grow clones from it instead of having the inconsistency of seeds.
I almost always drink blends, not SOs. I think that blending is a useful thing to get different flavor profiles and textures than you can get from one varietal or processing method.
My favorite coffee for espresso is a blend that has been on the market for over 20 years. It never disappoints, but from the same roastery, I have started trying single origins, with one from Brazil being my latest favorite. My point is that it doesn't have to be either/or, but both/and.
I blend medium roast Sumatra Mandheling and Ethiopian SO from Red Brick 50/50 for my daily blend. If I want a thicker, more earthy shot I shift towards Sumatra and viceversa if I want a lighter shot. Works for me and my V1 GC
Coffee roasters in Melbourne do so well with their blends. Code Black Coffee is a popular one in Melbourne, and I once tried their seasonal espresso blend. It was a mix of 2 colombian origins and 1 ethiopian origin. It's the best set of coffee beans I have ever tried my whole life, and I don't drink espresso; only filter coffee
For espresso, and particularly for a shop working in volume, a blend for consistency is a good option. As a home pour over brewer, I prefer single origins for the more extreme results they can yield. I also don’t mind trying tweaking and adjusting cup by cup.
as someone that roasts their own a lot, and also is working on a budget, I constantly blend stuff... tho usually I blend the last set of beans with some of the new ones to make up a full cup. But sometimes I'll mix up some roasts if I like certain notes and think they'd be nice together... To me, coffee is all just a fun long term life time experimentation, don't get stuck in one way of thinking, have fun and try stuff out!
I have always been a believe in quality blends (medium roasts, mostly) because I love the taste and the reliability of that taste - so it seems my preference is cafe consistency (same with my equipment, geared to reliably perform in certain ways). And a bit of quality robusta is not a no-no for me. Thanks for this video, it confirms what I always believed about 'single origins.' (at least most of them).
I usually use a blend from a local roaster bc I like the way it tastes. For context, I usually make myself iced lattes. I’m totally open to single origin, but I usually have to order them. There’s the wait time, the anxiety over whether or not I’ll enjoy it, and the worry about whether or not I’ll be wasting my money. They’re also getting more and more expensive, and at some point I’m not saving by making espresso at home. Tasting notes are also very difficult to decipher. Roasters almost seem to be going out of their way to describe things as tasting like anything other than coffee.
I usually splurge on coffee, so like you I’m drinking 90% single origin. Although, sometimes you just want a nice chocolatey blend in your life! Typically it’s around the winter months that I drink more blends!
The Whisper blend, from Screaming Beans in the Netherlands, is probably one of the best coffees I have ever had! It is an Ethiopian and Colombian blend
Very interesting and the right level of nerdy for me! In México, we have beans from the states of Veracruz, Guerrero, Chiapas and Oaxaca and their tastes and acidity are very different. We only buy organic beans and prices range from $200-$320 pesos/kg [that's $5-8 usd per pound]. That should tell you where most of the money is made. My partner drinks a single type from Veracruz and I make a 50/50 [by weight ] blend with this and beans from other states. Our Veracruz beans are darker, center of the tongue taste whereas [for example] Chiapas might be more ácido, sides of the tongue taste; somewhere between sour and bitter. In English bitter is usually bad while sour is acceptable! In Spanish, ácido is good and agrio is bad! It is a fine balance as neither of us wants all ácido and 50/50 by volume is very different from 50/50 by weight as coffee density varies by origin, roast type etc. We did start blending beans with different roast characteristics from the same state and saw the density variation after naively trying to blend by volume [1 cup of coffee A and 1 cup of coffee B]! We mainly drink espresso or largo [occasionally Chemex, Aeropress or French press when traveling] so we are sensitive to the taste variations. Guests who have milk drinks don't seem to care, as you say. They only complain if it is too strong!
Lance, I’m in the comments again to beg you to bring Lucia Solis on your channel. If Lucia makes an appearance on the channel, I’ll name my first born child SL-28
Reminds me of “The Future” from black and white - always a very unique blend that does great across all brewing methods. It sometimes does better than a lot of single origins
I roast my own beans and roast batches within the same single designation sold by Sweet Maria’s. At the end of my various bags, I blend all of the remainders in one roast. Super blend of everything from Nicaragua to Indian Malabar. I drink it all but maybe I am not too good at discerning flavors.
I love the Temple coffee expresso blend. My brewing is more variable than I would like but almost always get a good cup with Temple and occasionally get a great cup.
Funny you should put this up, I've been disappointed with practically all my favourite farmers from last year, and the new SO "riskers" from my usual roasters have mostly been very good. I buy from roasters who mainly supply the trade, and I've been buying more and more blends because they are consistent and I don't find myself waiting for the end of the bag. I now brew a bag of SO, followed by a blend. I'd rather have some guaranteed 7.5-8/10s in my order, along with some 4-5/10s and the odd 9/10. Maybe I'm getting old
i prefer blends most of the time for two reasons: 1)most belnds are very forgiving and easy to dial in, vs SOE tend to be very picky and have a bit narrower sweet spot. 2) Can have plethora of notes of specific terroir in a cup 3) generally cheaper than typical SOE offerings
I think the idea of having a well crafted blend is great. The advice that I've read is that single origin mostly implies that people care enough to track and care about the coffee, and that rigor is what you're looking for. However, most places that I've seen that do a good single origin option (in my area) don't have the same rigor to their blends (date of roasting, etc).
I guess that the most extreme cases that show that the idea of "single origin" isn't what most people think are: a) all beans are from a single farm, but that farms grown many different varieties; b) beans come from different farm in the same region but they are all growing the same variety of coffee trees. At the end of the day "single origin" is a marketing term.
Only recently started shopping around trying different specialty coffees, and have not been afraid of blends. The tropical weather blend from onyx blew me away.
What is your favorite blend? Let me know in the comments! and don't forget to like and sub if you enjoy the content! Brew something tasty ;)
The Big White Rabbit blend by Vincent at Manta Ray Coffee Roasters and Alicia from Calere Coffee is amazing.
Has been my daily driver for over a year. The most consistent flavour, hazelnut, KitKat, white chocolate eat your heart out.
YES PLZ in Los Angeles is doing amazing work with blends. One of the best subscription services too. I'm drinking a cup right now!
Love my local roaster, Steady State, and their "Way Out Blend." So good! Has good chocolate notes with delightful brightness.
Red Brick - Square Mile, straight from Daddy Hoff!
I am loving the monthly black and white blends
So many similarities with blended whiskey... in the end, when a "single malt" becomes too expensive, we rediscover the qualities of blended... it's a back and forth, I guess it happens to coffee too.
Single malts are blends, you're probably thinking about single cask?
@@danymeeuwissen5973 To be honest blends are a mixture of malt and grain alcohol. Single malts are only malt and also from a single distillery. Single origin coffee can be from different productions in a single farm, so i believe the single malt is a good analogy. They are blends of different lots of the same coffee.
@@virior
Agreed. Single Origin in coffee is most similar to Single Malt in whiskey.
The next step in traceability is Single Estate, which in whiskey would be Single Barrel.
Looking at my own consumption, I’ve got Blends, Single Origin, and Single Estate in my pantry to enjoy. I’m glad to have all three as they’re “something tasty”.
Came down here to post the same thought. I'm deep down into the scotch whisky rabbit hole and there's a lot of similarities to what's explained in the video. Small scale independent producers are increasingly exploring blended whisky (be it blended malt - a mix of single malts from different distilleries - or blended scotch - a mix of malt and grain whisky) as a way to produce a great, more consistent product at an affordable price point, since proper blending will result in a product that is greater than the sum of its parts. And when done with transparency and a focus on the quality of the end product it really can be a win win situation. But since the category of blended whisky has been abused by large producers to pump out low quality bottom shelf products with no transparency at all, many enthusiasts are understandably cautious when it comes to blends.
@@danymeeuwissen5973a single malt is not a blend. Malt blends are malts from different distilleries, scotch are malt and grain from different distilleries. Of course unless its single cask a release does include multiple casks but theres no other way of doing it.
Companies like compass box, adelphi, thompson bros and turn table have been doing great things with blends recently. As opposed to mixing cheap and nasty stuff, they mix the good stuff. The output of that is… also something good. I wish someone took a stance and did this in coffee also.
You’re a single origin honey processed content creator and I appreciate everything you do for the coffee community. Love waking up Wednesday’s to a new video.
Blends are most of what I drink, for the reasons you mentioned. They tend to be cheaper, they're more consistent, and I usually am not out to carefully craft an artisan beverage when I just woke up. I just want something that tastes pretty good that I can rely on day to day.
I'm in the same boat, especially for making espresso. I've been cycling through blends from 4-5 roasters for my home espresso for the past few years and really enjoying the consistency. I still mostly do single origins for my pour overs, though.
Good job explaining the term 'single origin'....prefer the term 'single estate' when coffee comes from 1 farm, like ours for example. We gave up selling green years ago, dealing with roasters/green buyers was truly a unpleasant experience to say the least, won't get into details, not my favorite people. Decided to take over the entire process of making coffee right here on our farm... growing, harvesting, processing, drying, storing, 'skinning' (parchment removal), roasting, packaging, & finally shipping directly to customers twice a month. Best decision ever. Quality control from start to finish, no long chain of changing hands or time/travel, farm to cup at it's finest. Oh, cacao & chocolate too. We work with a 'partner' farm in a prime cacao growing area that supplies us with the raw cacao who also grow/harvest/process/dry/roast themselves. Raw products comes to us (cacao mass/powder) we stone grind ('melange') and turn into delicious chocolate along with making cacao powder/blends. Husband (me) handles all things coffee, wife handles all things chocolate. Farm direct at it's finest;) Keep up the good work!
I see you are in Colombia. I only have on coffee plant, so home roasting does not make economic sense to me! I had trouble with the skinning part!
Do you have experience shipping to México? Saludos!
@@impulsesystems Right now we only ship to the US bi-monthly via FedEx (sometimes DHL). But we 'could' ship anywhere, we use a small company as a exporter/shipper in town, mother & son team, mother has been doing this for decades...can ship anywhere basically. Just comes down to costs and how much is ordered. We have a min. of 2 bags of coffee per order because of shipping costs, 1 bag doesn't quite cut it;) Some areas might require much more depending on costs. We're happy to look into shipping to anyone/anywhere...if it works out for us both;)
@@cafezentimana wow great AD, i would buy from you if i was US citizen
@@MegaChickenPunch Sarcasm?;) Where do live out of curiosity?
@@cafezentimana No, i legit liked your reply. I like honest marketing and passion. I am from Poland.
I like the slower pace of these new videos! Really good discussions! Thanks Lance
I like buying single origins and blending them myself; it gives a lot of control over flavor and you can make crazy combos that no roaster could afford to take risks on.
Should I blend medium dark Sidamo with light Sidamo 🤔🙊
@@JulianAndresKlodeif they are the same beans that's called a melange
@@sebaba001 I cannot confirm that.
Melange usually refers to a coffee with milk, the most famous being the Wiener Melange, it's the Viennese version of the cappuccino.
Beans labeled Melange are sold for Wiener Melange or a different Melange, like café creme beans are intended for café creme
@@JulianAndresKlode there's 2 definitions, look in Google for melange roast
I completely agree with you. Coffee blends have their place in gastronomy as much as any other delicacy. I believe coffee roasters can take their art to another level if they put their heart into making great specialty blends.
I was anti-blend when I fell down the rabbit hole like you said, but after seeing how delicious craft roasters can make Espresso blends, I've started to come around.
I find that roasters have specific recipes for the blends they have and they're easier to dial in than single origins.
I'm glad I saw this video. I'm a home roaster, and I've been seriously considering starting to blend some of the green coffees that I have. Not only because I'll sometimes be left with too small an amount to do a full batch with, but also because I've find myself wondering how two different coffees might taste together. I certainly see the need for blends in the specialty world, especially with cafes. However, I think the one thing I want to see more of is transparency in those blends. I don't necessarily need to know the specific micro lots going into it, but knowing rough percentages of origins and how the coffees were sourced would be great. It's part of why I enjoy roasting my own coffee. While I certainly don't have any sort of relationship with farmers, I can buy green coffee and know which farms it came from and how it was sourced.
I work in a roastery that has a lot of blends in their lineup. These are generally geered towards the classic coffee consumer. I would say that they make up atleast 85% of our whole roasted beans. I think that this is totally fine because the people that we serve are mostly your standard coffee drinker. Whenever I try to make people aware of our second option, which is usally a microlot and therefore a much more special cup they tend to be either interested or completely blocking off the idea of trying something new.
I also drank the unicord blend ealier this year and was surprised by the taste. Thanks for this vid Lance! I share most of your opinions!
Lance, Before I got deeply interested in coffees, I was a scotch drinker. In the world of Scotch, we prize single origin liquor for striking originality, and we appreciate how a single brand will vary from year to year. I was never a single-origin snob. There are fine scotch blends (my favorite is Johnny Walker green). The blends tend to be more consistent and more middle-of the road in taste.
I entered the coffee world assuming that single origin is better, but I have always tried blends as well (I drink espresso). I'd say the mix has been almost 2 to 1 single origin.
I thank you for making me feel more comfortable about enjoying blends! I rarely have the opportunity to buy espresso at a good cafe (I live in middle NJ, USA), but when I do, unless it's a place I can trust (Like Terroirs in Massachusetts), I'll avoid their blends. -toby
This was a really interesting video with great editing and pace. Loved this!
10:15 cutter showing us you are still human 😄
I love my rosters blend as a baseline and coffee for friends and family. Always a bag in the freezer.
edit: I probably drink it 60% of the time
As a specialty coffee consumer who enjoys bright acidity and fruitiness in filter coffee, I’m not usually a fan of espresso, as it tends to be too acidic for my taste. For that reason, at Naga, we have created an Asian blend using fine Canephora from Vietnam and Arabica from Myanmar. This blend perfectly balances the flavors, highlighting their best qualities while muting any undesirable notes. Now, we have a great coffee option for both espresso and automatic machines.
Hey Lance!
Single origin should be IMO 1 single variety in 1 agroecological area
According to FAO, agroecological zones are defined as having similar combinations of climate and soil characteristics, and the same biophysical potential for agricultural production, presenting a specific range of constraints and potentials for land use.
I know, its complicated, but for me blending should refer to blending at least one of these 2 factors (ie. variety or agroec. area).
My best coffees are usually single producer / single variety coffees, that is a "Café de Finca" here in Colombia. Also I like this concept of Farm Coffee because of its traceability and because I suppose it allows to give a bigger space to farmers within the value chain.
Cheers!
I am an agnostic when it comes to single origin vs blend. Whenever I run low on coffee, I just look for something interesting, (usually honey / natural process), with the flavour profile that I enjoys (usually sweet / floral / fruity), that fits my budget at the time.
The key thing for me is to find a seller whose description of coffee consistently matches my own experience. That way I get to try a new coffee pretty much every time buying a new bag, while still avoiding getting something too far our of left field.
Both of these videos answered questions I've been asking myself so thx.
1. Very insightful also on what the definitions are (and are not!)
2. I have not had a lot of blends, but I love Prodigal's Boulder Blend. It is affordable and very fruit-forward.
3. Hugo did an amazing job again with the flow and feel of this video!!
Thank god someone is talking about this!!!! Bravo Lance
Thanks Lance!
Very thought provoking.
I tend to drink espresso blends and single o throughout the day, and have just started to view them as two completely different beverages. I love the richness and mouth feel of a good long blank. However, I also appreciate and enjoy immensely, sipping on a fruity nuanced Yirgascheffe.
Have seriously never contemplated that my regular roasters would take such short cuts, but it makes sense. Guess I always figured they just blended the single O's in their range.
Cheers!
With home roasting we don’t have to deal with same commercial realities, and can focus more on what we like. Playing with and perfecting SO help make better blends. Both are great and necessary
Good video, Lance. In our café we had a blend brazil/Ethiopia which worked very well as straight espresso AND in milk. This made the process in the café much more streamlined, and most single origins don't offer this flexibility. Also, as you said, there was a need for consistency across the years which blends can offer better then SO.
I started buying Onyx's Southern Weather blend for my fiance, she likes very different coffee from me, so for her I make a French press instead of a V60. That said, every time I have a mind to drink some of her coffee, I'm always impressed. It truly is delicious and it's probably my favorite blend.
Thanks for the great video Lance, very thoughtful and insightful as always.
This is a great point, I bought a sample roaster at SCA 2024, so I am noticing the variation in the beans in green coffee (more noticeable with Ethiopia Coffee than the Nicaragua that I have), even though it is a single origin. But in the end, I am drinking delightful coffee, so all part of the learning curve, which never seems to end.
Loved the graphic elements in this one, very well done
Thank you for this video! Makes me think about blends in another way.
That slow zoom in on the basket as the shot progressed was mint, I bet Hugo was proud of that camera shot (as well he should be).
As far as blends go I have a rule that I spend (or roast my own) specialty SO coffee for filter/cold brew, and I buy a half-decent Italian espresso blend (sometimes with Robusta *gasp*) for the Gaggia.
I've spent enough time/money running great coffee through that machine to settle on a classic Italian espresso blend (with a dash of milk) as the daily driver - no need to flush money down the drain.
I have never thought of different beans from the same farm as blends. Kenya for instance, sl28, sl34, Batian.
When i think of blends i think of different origins mixed together by the roaster to get a certain flavour profile 😅
Thanks for adressing that at the very end of the video!
My first contact with coffee was coffee available in the (Austrian) supermarket. So actually it is thanks to e.g. Illy (who have done a tremendous job to create decade-long consistency with their blends) that my interest in coffee was born. As a consumer and coffee nerd, every bag I buy, every cup I drink is a little journey along the adventure to find interesting, tasty or sometimes irritating taste experiences. As a self-identified coffee nerd, looking behind the label to find out about the origin of the beans or elements like sustainability or fair pay is very important to me. So to me, it's not about the label (single/blend), but about what is inside and behind the bag. There are so many beautiful (and also disappointing) blends out there. However, locally here in Vienna, prefs are e.g. Pump from Cafe Couture or Bohnissimo (for my guests with more traditional taste) from Corretto. Thank you Lance for this video!
I just found that Marua Kenya from Sey yesterday and, between this video and the last, I am so excited to try a coffee that I just learned a lot about! these videos have been fantastic thanks Lance
My favorite blend came from Maas Coffee Roasters in Fort Walton Beach, FL!! Up until then, I was largely ignoring blends. But I was only there for a short visit, and their House Blend had received some awards, so I thought I'd grab a pound to take home. And...wow. Totally shocked me how good the flavor profile was! Now, I look for the local blend to try whenever I get new beans :-)
I tried mix origin once a couple of weeks ago. One of the best coffee i've ever had.
It's "Aurora" from Hayati Coffee Roaster.
Great stuff! Love the jazz love the feel, do more videos, like this, pls!
As a filter guy, I mostly consume SO, but I am open to blends. Interesting food for thought, thanks Lance!
Just had the latest CC espresso blend on my buddies E65S and GS3 setup and it tasted amazing. It was a bit ‘classic’-espresso focused, but still super refreshing and bright for an espresso. Loved it ✌🏼
Ok, I absolutely learned some interesting and worthwhile things. I think I’m still a single origin guy, because I actually like the occasional odd tastes and sharp corners they can have, but I will reconsider the next time a reputable roaster I like offers a new blend. Cheers!
I Loved this video! I have been thinking on this just of late and had been one of the people “moving up” to single origin coffees and then was like, wait a minute. I sometimes buy a nice wine in a particular varietal, but mostly Love a good field mix both on taste and on price…. So, yes all of what you are saying has been so very on the mark. Recently I have found some very pleasing coffee blends and totally have left any thinking that this is anything but a great way to go. Currently go too for espresso is Stumpton Holler Mtn. and for French Press Stumptom French Roast. I also have an Ethiopian blend I am trying for use for grinding my own reusable K-Cups
Great info Lance! I’m still new in the specialty coffee scene so it’s nice to get some information that I can look into. And I’ll definitely be checking out those recommendations as well.
I would never consider myself a coffee expert, I would consider myself a “home barista” with a dream of one day opening my own coffee shop. I love single origins, light and medium roasts. I love pulling espresso shots with light roasts! I don’t mind blends, but if the blends contains different roast level then no, I just can’t… that’s why I prefer staying with single origins 🤷🏼♂️😂
Some of the best coffees I‘ve had were blends. Kaffeemacher‘s flaneur is a nice showcase of how two different coffees from two different continents can really balance and compliment each other. I blieve it‘s an Ethiopian natural and a Mexican washed, but don’t remember the variatals anymore.
I bought a blend from a local-ish roastery to put in my wife's latte, and it turned out to be more worthy of drinking black. It was not crazy cheap but cheaper than single origins, and had some common notes with one of my favourite coffees. Definitely made me reconsider.
The Ternura blend from Little Waves in North Carolina is my favorite blend. Whenever I’m there, I bring home a couple of bags of beans! Definitely worth a shot if you’re into medium roasts.
I stuck with single O for years and can completely agree with you're observation of the speciality coffee circles prejudice regarding blends.
I recently tried Peoplepossessions PHB and other blends. Mostly colombia + ethiopia. I was sceptical first. After all, columbian and ethiopian beans usually extract pretty differently. But after I tried a small amount it currently is my "funky coffee" of choice.
Watching at the Peoplepossessions HP and the missing sourcing infos, I wonder if what I'm drinking is more about the margin for the roaster than about sustainable coffee. That leaves a "aftertase" in every cup.
Anyways, thank you for your recent controversial presentations. I really like them.
All good points. It’s the very same in the scotch industry and the wine industry. High-quality blends are welcome in my life whether it be coffee or one of those other two.
Great contribution, I had not even considered this parallel. Thanks.
When I was shopping around for a roaster after moving away from the city. I would always order the blend and a single origin, I figured if I trusted both, I could trust the roaster. This is what led me to Ruby. Since I started my subscription 6 years ago, they have added the August blend which focuses on Ethiopian coffees, which tends to be my favorite country of origin.
I started to make a blend out of SO coffees I buy at a local roaster. It's fun! This blend is used in my office and by my wife at home. It's a nice way to smuggle some fruitiness in for people that normally would touch a "fruity" SO espresso with a ten foot pole. They seam to enjoy that. At least that's what I'm told.
My roaster is well established in the area, and the majority of their coffees are wonderful blends of fantastic coffee. They also do offer single origin, and they're transparent about where the beans come from. By single origin, I mean that they offer some coffees from specific farms in specific regions.
They do also offer the same "single origin" you refer to in the video, but again, they're transparent about where the coffee is from. If it's from a particular country/region and processor, you know; if it's from a particular farm, and that's of significance, you know.
BTW, my favorite blend of theirs is a dark roast blend of washed and sun dried Ethiopian. It's rich, chocolatey, fruity... so wonderful. And it's seasonal.
I recently had an Ethiopian blend from Maru in LA. It was a blend of a natural Ethiopian and a washed Ethiopian. Juicy, full body, and floral at the same time. A great use of blending!
When I just started to get into specialty, I couldn't spend too much money on coffee. My palette was also not fully aclimated to lighter, non-commodity style roasts, either. I'd get a nice specialty medium and then I'd get a decent quality grocery store commodity blend (peets big bang), and then I'd mix the two together to stretch the good stuff further. That was the most I had ever enjoyed any coffee up to that point- especially the espresso I'd make with it. I'd do it again today if I needed to, but luckily I can drop $80/mo on specialty now 😅
Thx for this great provokative Video. I am totally in for blends. More by accident I blended myself multiple times: remainder of two bags mixed for a brew. Often made me memorize heterosis effect: from two great (prototypical) profiles you generate an amazing one. Washed Kenya/Washed Ethiopia or washed Kenia/washed Columbia can become really amazing. Ethiopia Natural with El Salvador Natural, too. At least for filter it is super easy and can totally recommend to play
You are right, as long as the coffee blended have al least the same age, humidity, proces, etc, just to ensure the coffee will react in the same way during the coffee cup preparation. Regards from Lima Perú
I really like to try blends from high-end roasters. It's always a fun surprise
I’m getting into home roasting on the Nucleus link and love blends for milk-based espresso - especially love thick, chocolatey, ristretto shots with just a touch of the fruity after taste… the nuance and imperfection is what makes coffee special imho.
As a longtime home roaster, I’ve always believed SO were great for teaching me about….well, varying origins and terroir (processing too).
But for just plain ol’ day to day enjoyment, geekery, and fun?? blending FTMFW!
Learning about the first, gave me a good platform to fully dive deeply into the latter😊
I like the adventure of finding new coffees so I like trying them all. We are currently on the hunt for our “live in the grinder” of our Oracle blend then we will get a single dose grinder for the special blends or decaf.
So far the front runner by a long shot is The Woodford Roaster’s “Go Nuts” blend it’s oh so good. 😊
Amen! Preach it brother Lance!! Love this ☕️😎👍🏽
I recently started having two coffees at home - one single origin for pour overs or crazy brews and a blend for all of the espresso drinks or when I add anything to the coffee.
1. It did help the budget a lot, not gonna lie.
2. They so reliably come out better as espresso due to the roast level and their flavour profiles- my pour overs are acidic and fruity with light roasts that don’t necessarily make great espresso and are not that fun with milk.
3. I get to explore more traditional coffee drinks like straight espressos or cappuccinos and not always run for the thrill of a new gesha or whatever - it is a nice grounding experience.
The Tropical Weather blend from Onyx is still one of my all-time most enjoyable espresso experiences. Like drinking a passionfruit.
Another thing about blends is getting different processes in a single bag. My go-to espresso here in Denver is from Novo, a local roaster. Not only are they combining Ethiopian with coffees from the Americas, but they are also combining washed and sun-dried beans. I love single origins, but blends from a good roaster can actually offer more complexity.
Very interested to hear about the corner cutting on blends to look out for. Checked my subscriptions and fortunately no such concerns with Rave or Origin : )
I highly recommend Rabbit Hole Coffee's blends to north american folks. Last year's limited edition release of their Shoonhisa, Luis Roldan, and Pink Bourbon blend was one of my favorite cups of the year. It tasted of nutmeg, cocoa and rum. 🤤
Prelude coffee and roasters in OKC makes a golden year blend that my wife and I love because of the consistency in being delicious.
Yeah I used to do the single origin thing when I had time to cup and obsess over coffee more...But now I have 1 or 2 cups of coffee a day and I want it to be good every time. I got tired of grinding through half the bag to dial in the latest single origin. I found a few blends from the cafe that I love and found it to be fairly consistent bag to bag so that every morning my coffee is delicious.
My favorite blend is also my old faithful. I've been buying Genesis Espresso Blend from Revocup in Kansas since I started brewing my own drinks, and I've never found anything better, especially among single origin.
I almost only buy single origins, but occasionally I’ll grab an exciting blend or the house coffee when I’m checking out a roaster (actually just grabbed a few bags from Square Mile for the first time and got their everyday filter blend).
I’ve been consistently impressed with Quills seasonal blends from Louisville, Kentucky. Their spring blend specifically has been awesome for the past few years. For espresso, I also usually default to the house blends from a couple local roasters
I love blends. I drink espresso 90% of the time & am fortunate to buy beans locally from Taiwanese roaster KaKaLove Cafe that has many of the top rated coffees on Coffee Review every year. He sources a crazy amount of high-quality beans direct from farms all over the world, has laboratory style cleanroom facilities for roasting, and doesn't cut corners to boost margins. His blends are every bit as good as his "single origin" beans. And their team are great people, which makes buying from him even better.
I try it all and buy 3-4 bags at once and get different origins and roast levels and types of processing.
My favorite evolves over time and keeps changing.
As long as it's high quality and fresh I like it.
Also different coffees for different brew methods.
Blends are underrated by many in the nerdy realm within specialty coffee. I love blends and how they can become something more diverse that works black or with milk.
There is also some very interesting tasting blends like Ona’s raspberry candy which is sensory party, only achieved by its many components.
For newer coffee nerds, the more distinctive notes of single origin / single estate often make them easier and more rewarding for newer coffee nerds to play with as they're still building their palates, technique, equipment etc
From where I am, blends are sadly looked at as “beans that customers won’t notice when it’s made into latte”
This video is a proper call out.
Been using Espresso Royal’s Napoli for a long time. It is a blend of 3 varieties. Each of the 3 beans is a different size and color. It’s a blend of who knows what. They don’t say nor do they care to use the term specialty coffee.. now however I’m moving into specialty. Having fun and learning a lot.
I had a blend called The Captain from Roasting Party. Blackcurrant living side by side with salted caramel, was amazing.
Since nobody is watching the video: Most single origins are already blends. Depending on the region. Several farms might share a washing station. They might not even use the same beans at every farm. The taste you know is because they blend. They pick and choose some beans here, some there. Now thanks to specialty coffee, they can actually make better and more consistent blends. Because the "off" beans that don't fit the blend become a rare and expensive treat. Those "off" beans used to be sold to locals cheaply, or even thrown away. So sometimes, it's the "garbage" beans thst get discovered as a magic new specialty coffee. Even if you only drink "single origin", give thanks for blends.
Insightful for me, thanks for the info. I suppose, in theory, taking beans from two plants in the same row of coffee bushes would constitute a blend. Has to be some genetic and other differences between the two plants.
@@johnrieley1404 I wonder if a lot of these specialty coffee plant farmers grow from clone/cuttings versus seed. If they find a plant with all the characteristics/genetics they are looking for, why not just grow clones from it instead of having the inconsistency of seeds.
When i think of a blend i think of a blend of different origins put together by the roaster.
Same farm i think of as single origin 😅
So much information in one video, love it!
Also nice hair :)
Hope he does not turn from coffee in older age, he'll need a new left arm.
I almost always drink blends, not SOs. I think that blending is a useful thing to get different flavor profiles and textures than you can get from one varietal or processing method.
My favorite coffee for espresso is a blend that has been on the market for over 20 years. It never disappoints, but from the same roastery, I have started trying single origins, with one from Brazil being my latest favorite. My point is that it doesn't have to be either/or, but both/and.
I blend medium roast Sumatra Mandheling and Ethiopian SO from Red Brick 50/50 for my daily blend. If I want a thicker, more earthy shot I shift towards Sumatra and viceversa if I want a lighter shot. Works for me and my V1 GC
Coffee roasters in Melbourne do so well with their blends.
Code Black Coffee is a popular one in Melbourne, and I once tried their seasonal espresso blend. It was a mix of 2 colombian origins and 1 ethiopian origin.
It's the best set of coffee beans I have ever tried my whole life, and I don't drink espresso; only filter coffee
For espresso, and particularly for a shop working in volume, a blend for consistency is a good option. As a home pour over brewer, I prefer single origins for the more extreme results they can yield. I also don’t mind trying tweaking and adjusting cup by cup.
My go-to daily pour over bean is Friend Blend from Little Amps in PA. Solid mix of citrus and chocolatey vibes.
as someone that roasts their own a lot, and also is working on a budget, I constantly blend stuff... tho usually I blend the last set of beans with some of the new ones to make up a full cup. But sometimes I'll mix up some roasts if I like certain notes and think they'd be nice together... To me, coffee is all just a fun long term life time experimentation, don't get stuck in one way of thinking, have fun and try stuff out!
I have always been a believe in quality blends (medium roasts, mostly) because I love the taste and the reliability of that taste - so it seems my preference is cafe consistency (same with my equipment, geared to reliably perform in certain ways). And a bit of quality robusta is not a no-no for me. Thanks for this video, it confirms what I always believed about 'single origins.' (at least most of them).
I usually use a blend from a local roaster bc I like the way it tastes. For context, I usually make myself iced lattes.
I’m totally open to single origin, but I usually have to order them. There’s the wait time, the anxiety over whether or not I’ll enjoy it, and the worry about whether or not I’ll be wasting my money. They’re also getting more and more expensive, and at some point I’m not saving by making espresso at home.
Tasting notes are also very difficult to decipher. Roasters almost seem to be going out of their way to describe things as tasting like anything other than coffee.
I usually splurge on coffee, so like you I’m drinking 90% single origin. Although, sometimes you just want a nice chocolatey blend in your life! Typically it’s around the winter months that I drink more blends!
Blue Sparrow Coffee in Denver, Colorado has some fantastic blends. No shortcuts to be found there.
The Whisper blend, from Screaming Beans in the Netherlands, is probably one of the best coffees I have ever had! It is an Ethiopian and Colombian blend
When you tackle difficult subjects, it makes you interesting.
Very interesting and the right level of nerdy for me!
In México, we have beans from the states of Veracruz, Guerrero, Chiapas and Oaxaca and their tastes and acidity are very different. We only buy organic beans and prices range from $200-$320 pesos/kg [that's $5-8 usd per pound]. That should tell you where most of the money is made.
My partner drinks a single type from Veracruz and I make a 50/50 [by weight ] blend with this and beans from other states. Our Veracruz beans are darker, center of the tongue taste whereas [for example] Chiapas might be more ácido, sides of the tongue taste; somewhere between sour and bitter. In English bitter is usually bad while sour is acceptable! In Spanish, ácido is good and agrio is bad!
It is a fine balance as neither of us wants all ácido and 50/50 by volume is very different from 50/50 by weight as coffee density varies by origin, roast type etc. We did start blending beans with different roast characteristics from the same state and saw the density variation after naively trying to blend by volume [1 cup of coffee A and 1 cup of coffee B]!
We mainly drink espresso or largo [occasionally Chemex, Aeropress or French press when traveling] so we are sensitive to the taste variations. Guests who have milk drinks don't seem to care, as you say. They only complain if it is too strong!
Lance, I’m in the comments again to beg you to bring Lucia Solis on your channel. If Lucia makes an appearance on the channel, I’ll name my first born child SL-28
Reminds me of “The Future” from black and white - always a very unique blend that does great across all brewing methods. It sometimes does better than a lot of single origins
I roast my own beans and roast batches within the same single designation sold by Sweet Maria’s. At the end of my various bags, I blend all of the remainders in one roast. Super blend of everything from Nicaragua to Indian Malabar. I drink it all but maybe I am not too good at discerning flavors.
I love the Temple coffee expresso blend. My brewing is more variable than I would like but almost always get a good cup with Temple and occasionally get a great cup.
Funny you should put this up, I've been disappointed with practically all my favourite farmers from last year, and the new SO "riskers" from my usual roasters have mostly been very good.
I buy from roasters who mainly supply the trade, and I've been buying more and more blends because they are consistent and I don't find myself waiting for the end of the bag.
I now brew a bag of SO, followed by a blend. I'd rather have some guaranteed 7.5-8/10s in my order, along with some 4-5/10s and the odd 9/10.
Maybe I'm getting old
SL28 fan here ❤️ I drink blends as well however I have yet to find a blend that I like as well as most single origins
i prefer blends most of the time for two reasons:
1)most belnds are very forgiving and easy to dial in, vs SOE tend to be very picky and have a bit narrower sweet spot.
2) Can have plethora of notes of specific terroir in a cup
3) generally cheaper than typical SOE offerings
I think the idea of having a well crafted blend is great. The advice that I've read is that single origin mostly implies that people care enough to track and care about the coffee, and that rigor is what you're looking for. However, most places that I've seen that do a good single origin option (in my area) don't have the same rigor to their blends (date of roasting, etc).
I guess that the most extreme cases that show that the idea of "single origin" isn't what most people think are: a) all beans are from a single farm, but that farms grown many different varieties; b) beans come from different farm in the same region but they are all growing the same variety of coffee trees.
At the end of the day "single origin" is a marketing term.
I drink single origin, my wife loves a specific blend that tastes amazing as a latte. Great to have choices
Only recently started shopping around trying different specialty coffees, and have not been afraid of blends. The tropical weather blend from onyx blew me away.
11:00 could have said "so, when we actually look at the definition of these words things get a littel bit more blended" :D