We have a lot more knowledge and tools when it comes to roasting, compared to the days before the trend for single origin coffees. Till this day there are some roasters who find blending specialty coffees inappropriate. Fair enough! Yet we believe there’s nothing wrong with blends, especially nowadays, when the transparency and awareness of your raw material can be high-profile.
Here are some tips for those who don’t mind pairing different coffees in order to develop new flavors. We’re gonna do a small series on the topic, focusing on one issue each time. Let’s get it started!
- Pre-blend or post-blend?
It’s not a matter of whether pre-blending or post-blending is better. It’s all about what you want to achieve and how deliberately you choose your ingredients.
The main thing to consider here is how similar the size, density, moisture content, and cultivars of the coffees you want to blend are. If they catch the color and extract similarly, you’ll probably want to roast them together in order to save time and effort.
Sometimes two different coffees are able to create an awesome synergy, but they demand different roasting approaches, drop temperatures and roast degrees in order to taste best. Then it’s probably better to roast them separately.
If you have any questions or your own thoughts regarding pre- or post-blending, the comment section is at your disposal 😉
Our Roasting Tips are brought to you by Piotr Jeżewski (88 Graines Q Grader & Sourcing Director)
