I've started on the new crop of Colombian Excelso Narino del Abuelo. This coffee is more like our last lot of Colombian Supremo Reserva del Patron than the previous lot of Excelso, though both coffees come from the same farms and are processed to the same standards. The difference is the size of the bean.
Whenever a new lot of a coffee used in blends is opened, it is necessary to verify that the old blend recipe produces a coffee that tastes right or modify the recipe so that it does. In this case, only European Blend needed evaluation.
The new Colombian is rather different from the old, so I decided to try four samples right away and work from that.
- Sample 1
- 60% Colombian
- 40% AFRA-1
- Sample 2
- 60% AFRA-1
- 40% Colombian
- Sample 3
- 50% Colombian
- 50% AFRA-1
- Sample 4
- 50% Colombian
- 50% French Roast
Sample 1 is really sweet and does not taste anything like European Blend. It has as aftertaste that is not bad, but is not really appealing.
Sample 2 is much better. It has a smokey aroma and the flavor, while not quite the same as European Blend, is much closer to that.
Sample 3 is weak. It is unimpressive by any measure.
Sample 4 is nicer than Sample 3, but it also is not very good.
From here, there are two reasonable choices. I could try preparing Sample 2 with French Roast instead of AFRA-1 or I could try continued reduction of the Colombian content. I decided to do both, giving me another three samples.
- Sample 5
- 60% French Roast
- 40% Colombian
- Sample 6
- 70% AFRA-1
- 30% Colombian
- Sample 7
- 70% French Roast
- 30% Colombian
Sample 5 is really good. It has a hint of spiciness and the dark roast flavor does not overwhelm the cup.
Sample 6 is not very good. It is marginally better than what I can get at several restaurants, but it isn't something I would want to sell.
Sample 7 is uninteresting. I've had something similar as a sample from a successful roastery (I am not aware of anyplace it can be found locally, so I am not naming names.)
As Sample 2 cooled, more of the sweetness from the Colombian developed. This is not necessarily a bad thing (although in the case of Sample 2, it is), but it shouldn't come across as a dominating characteristic.
As Sample 5 cools, it develops a smoother mouthfeel and a more balanced flavor. This is more in keeping with what I expect European Blend to taste like.
Comparing Sample 5 with the old European Blend directly, I was unable to detect any difference at all. The very clear spice note of Sample 5 seems to be present for only a few minutes, even when the coffee is kept in a vacuum insulated air pot. If the coffee were brewed at home on a coffee maker with a hot plate, it would probably be gone by the time the pot finished brewing.
The methodology described here can be used for discovering any simple, two part blend. Blends consisting of three or more components are trickier and considerably more work may be required if a solid intuition is not available.