I was staying late today to work on a few things and I decided I'd do a little more work toward figuring out the next espresso blend. As things were, it was a toss up if I would run out of the Brazil I was using for French Roast or the Nicaraguan that was in espresso first. Either way, I would no longer be able to use the old recipe in about a week.
My last attempt at a new espresso blend was not unpleasant, but was extremely bland. I couldn't use it. After giving it some thought, I tried a blend of two roasts of Guatemalan, Papua New Guinea, Sumatran, Ethiopian, and the Brazil I wasn't about to run out of. This was much better, but it seemed a little too sharp. I cut out a couple ingredients, added more of the French roasted Guatemalan and Sumatran. This made an excellent lungo, but was lacking a bit in complexity and seemed like it wasn't quite dark enough.
I added still more French roasted Guatemalan (bringing it up to 50% of the blend), cut back on the Papua New Guinea and the other roast of Guatemalan, and brought the Ethiopian back into the blend. There it was, just what I wanted from my espresso.
I'll be making this new blend of espresso the day after tomorrow and we should start serving it that day or the day after.