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do that with a blend because you have more cofees you need to talk about. "Te reality is the judges just want a great espresso, and don't really care what it is made up of," Heather continues. "I think competitors need to remember that this is not a sourcing competition. Just make great espresso." BARISTA M AGA Z I N E Blend Blasphemy Another reason the latest generation of specialty-cofee professionals might balk at the idea of a blend is another dirty word that's ofen hiding in the mystery bag: Robusta. Traditionally, espresso blends were secret and proprietary, with roasters refusing to reveal components even to their own customers. Brand security might be one motivation for this approach to cofee, but a less comforting possibility is that there's fller lurking in that slurry. Cofee vendors can save themselves a bundle by cutting their Arabica stock with some cheaper, crema-boosting Robusta—as has traditionally been done in the drink's Italian birthplace. As Robusta became less acceptable on the specialty-cofee landscape, single-origin espressos gained traction and cachet. Coincidence? "Blends should not be taking inferior cofees and making them bearable," Heather says. "Creating a great blend is taking three outstanding cofees and making them unforgettable. Tat's a tough challenge." Good coffee tastes great, bad coffee tastes bad, and no amount of blending or not blending will change or hide that fact. COMING SOON Finally, there is something to be said about the predictability that's aforded a barista from using one type of bean rather than a combination of two, three, fve, eight—however many might be in there. Every time a barista runs their blend through an espresso grinder, he or she has no idea how many of what passes through the burrs are from the cofee's Brazilian or Ethiopian component—which means every single shot is slightly diferent by default. A single-origin cofee might not completely eliminate this crapshoot, but it can make a repeatable favor a bit of a safer bet every time. (Hopefully, each time is as or more delicious than the last.) To blend or not to blend may always be the question, but at least we can agree on one thing: Good cofee tastes great, bad cofee tastes bad, and no amount of blending or not blending will change or hide that fact. Whether your hoppers are flled with Equator's Eye of the Tiger blend or its SOE La Bisunga from Costa Rica doesn't particular matter, so long as you respect the cofee, make it shine, and serve it up delicious-like. 76 barista magazine