Barista Magazine

APR-MAY 2013

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OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS in specialty cofee, one fve-letter word has gone from being an accepted part of our lexicon to being a whispered bad word: Blend. It used to be all there was: Espresso blends, breakfast blends, and proprietary blends with folksy names. Slowly, however, the last decade has seen the traditional blend edged out by single-origin cofees in all applications: brewed, fltered cofee, and espresso. Now, it's more common to fnd a roasters' ofering list broken down by region, farm, producer—even, increasingly, variety. Meanwhile, cofee shops all over are curating menus of cofees by origin and process, mimicking the by-the-glass list at fne wine bars. Instead of "Breakfast Blend," you might see a sprightly Colombian listed as a great pairing for that daily morning croissant, and a restaurant's regular "House Blend" might actually comprise a rotation of seasonal single-origin oferings from one or more roasters. What happened? Was the sea change due to an increased specialty-coffee knowledge across the board? A product of better sourcing, storing, roasting, brewing, and even drinking? Is it the result of a larger efort toward greater traceability, our collective pledge to honor producing nations and people? Do we all shudder to see the word blend printed on a bag or menu board? Not necessarily: Te tides are turning a little again, as folks who rode the single-origin wave out into deep waters have started making their way back toward familiar ground(s)—though, as the saying goes, you can never truly go back. Newer approaches to blending are ofen the product of curiosity, experimentation, and the erosion of old prejudices, and they ofen don't look—or taste—anything like the same old thing. For Starters First, let's defne blend, anyway. Te act of blending, according to Merriam-Webster, is defned as "to combine or associate so that the separate constituents or the line of demarcation cannot be distinguished; to prepare by thoroughly intermingling diferent varieties or grades." In cofee terms, that could mean practically anything, and does: Historically and traditionally, a blend has unfortunately occasionally been a roaster's way of masking poor-quality cofee's favors by ofsetting it with complementary characteristics, saving both face and money. It's also an efective way to allow vendors to maintain a consistent favor profle using diferent cofees, give customers year-round availability, and ofer predictability to consumers. It's also, frankly, just the way things were always done, period. End of sentence. As with all other "traditions" in cofee, however, we now know that doesn't have to be the case. A blend is a blend is a blend—of whatever you want, whenever you want, and however you want. A cofee comprising beans from diferent co-op members' farms can technically be called a 74 barista magazine blend; so too can a mélange of diferent roast levels of the exact same lot of cofee. Several varieties from the same farm or mill? Tat's a blend. Trow two totally disparate cofees from totally diferent roasters in the hopper and dial it in as espresso? Yup—that, too. While the idea of a blend might not be a new thing to anybody in specialty cofee, its resurgence as a favor philosophy has boldly crept out of the shadows. We went on a quest to understand the blend: Why it's coming back into fashion, why some pros are dead-set against it, and whether or not this fve-letter word is here to stay. Depth In the Mix "Blends require us to exercise our cofee fuency," says Equator Cofee's roastmaster Brooke McDonnell, "from roasting to sourcing, from working with seasonality to building producer relationships, from conceptualizing to sensory evaluation...all of which make us better at our craf." And as Brooke's the brains behind such classic examples as the roasting company's proprietary Chef and Musician blends, she should know. If we allow the notion that a blend can consist of any number of components (different origins, lots, farms, processes, roasts, etc.), then we have even more opportunities to point out their benefts. Take Aida's Grand Reserve, for instance, which is offered seasonally by several top-notch roasters. It's a magnifcent cofee comprising the best selections of farmer Aida Batlle's several properties, including several diferent processes from each (e.g. washed, pulp natural, natural, and so on). One farmer, many cofees, and a show-stopping cup: Hardly anyone who tastes it would argue that it was innately inferior to any one of Aida's cofees on its own, simply because Grand Reserve was a blend. Instead, Grand Reserve is a way to play the individual selections of each other to add depth and dimension, and to craf a memorable and unique favor profle distinct from each particular lot Aida produces. "For third-wave retail-roasters, the traditional blends needed to leave the stage in order to cultivate a new audience. Te emergence of 'neoblends' is occurring—Four Barrel plans to serve only blends at their second location in San Francisco," Brooke says. "Roasters are inherently investigative and creative: Can the sum be better than its parts?" Another compelling argument in favor of blends is the ability to create and market a particular brand. Upon seeing "Hairbender" printed on any Stumptown bag, for instance, anyone familiar with that roaster and its espresso-favor philosophy knows what to expect at all times: a complex sweet-savory, acidity-forward cup that comprises cofees from all major growing regions. Same goes for those who recognize the chocolate-cherry balance of PT's Flying Monkey blend. Attaching a favor profle to a naming convention allows a roaster to alter the recipe behind the label as

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