Blend suggestions???

Dry_bean.

Morning all, roasted some Nicaragua Maragogype the other day and it's leaving both Heather and I a little underwhelmed, would like to roast something else to blend with it in an effort to make it a little more palatable.
Have listed what I have available, any thoughts?

Ethiopian Yirgacheffe                                               
Yemen Bani Ismail                                                   
Indian Monsoon Malabar                                       
Columbian Supremo                                                 
India Mysore Nuggets                                             
Guatamala Huehuetenango                                   
Tanzania Tutunze AAA washed  from
Indian Tiger Mountain  plantation A 
Costa Rica San Isidro                                                 
Ugandan Masaba AA                                               
Kenya Kandara AA                                                   
Rwanda Gisenyi                                                       
Brazil Moreninha Formosa     
Kenyan AB Karen                               

E61

Crikey! Where to start?  :D

WotB

Equal quantities MM, Rwanda Gisenyi, Costa Rica San Isidro.

Dry_bean.

on 1303609354:

Equal quantities MM, Rwanda Gisenyi, Costa Rica San Isidro.

Thanks for the suggestion WotB. What about the Maragogype, equal quantity of that as well?

WotB

In the case of including the Maragogype, 40% MM, 20% each the rest.

Dry_bean.

on 1303611931:

In the case of including the Maragogype, 40% MM, 20% each the rest.

Just roasted a batch along the lines of your suggestion WotB, will report back with an opinion in a few days. ;D

WotB

I forgot to include the disclaimer, Crap.  :P

WotB

I'll let DB figure that one out :P Mostly crap at myself for not putting in the disclaimer.

tauyeung

Phew - for a second I thought I read that Wotb was suggesting that as part of the blend ! Need another cuppa me thinks  ;D  Or maybe eyedrops....

tauyeung

Cuppa arrived [tick] Screen size increased [tick] Sight and hearing still intact but perhaps I need to tone down the multitasking (reading this forum and drinking cuppa at the same time don't count).

Dry_bean.

on 1303783722:

I tend to use any thing other than African..... Not sure why, but in general I steer well clear OR only ever use a small amount at best in a blend.  Have yet to find a African SO that I would say is better than an OK...

Ain't it amazing, my preference is for African and South American, I avoid Indonesian beans like the plague, just not to my taste, don't like the earthiness of them. Wouldn't it be a boring world if we all had the same tastes?

Dry_bean.

on 1303611931:

In the case of including the Maragogype, 40% MM, 20% each the rest.

Couldn't resist, tried the roast last night, not bad at all, lots of crema and pretty smooth with plenty of body and flavour, certainly a vast improvement on Nicaragua Maragogype as a SO. Will let it degas for a few more days before I try it again.

WotB

Glad you're enjoying it so far.  I really enjoy using MM as a base for blends.  The rest of the ingredients balance out the blend and give it more complexity.

shape_shifter

I would like to try making a blend. People seem to have success with KJM's blend but I don't think I have the right beans to have it work. Peru Ghimbi Brazil Bourbon Kenya Kagongo Peaberry Tanzania Rononi Tanzania TEC (I think too good to blend though) Haiti Grand Cru de Beaumont Nic Las Brisas Boa'an Obviously the first two are fine but are there any others I can substitute for the Hue and Indo? Or any other blends that have worked for others that I can try?

hiphipharar

You don't have the right ingredients for the KJM which include a Sumatran and a chocolatey Central American such as a Honduran, Guatemalan or Mexican which I have used to make a KJM but the Hue works best. You can't sub these IMO without ending up with a completely different blend. But you could always come up with the SS blend: the fun of blending is try different combinations for yourself. I would consider getting an Indonesian bean as it is so useful in blending.In the meantime I would be playing around using the Peru + African. The Brazil can be used as a base for just any blend. Using a proportion of 25-50% I find it sweetens the blend plus smoothes out the flavours so you don't quite get the dominance of the stronger beans such as the Ethiopians.

mycuppa

Hi Nicole, You could try....... 50% Brazil Bourbon 30% Peru 20% Ghimbi Roast to first snaps of 2nd crack, not into it. Cheers, Jeff

shape_shifter

Thanks hip, I thought I'd ask anyway. Ha to coming up with my own, I'm crap at blending for some reason, I can do aromatherapy blends without a problem but coffee I just keep missing the ball, I've done a few and there was one that I swear smelt and tasted like marzipan when I first roasted but over time went horrible, I would have loved if it had stayed that way. Thanks Jeff I'll give anything a go 

Koffee_Kosmo

Be like me and just take pot luck with a witches brew My flukes have been great so far KK

hiphipharar

on 1311406683:

Ha to coming up with my own, I'm crap at blending for some reason

Post-blending (roasting each bean individually then blending) implies understanding when each bean is at its best and planning to roast to coordinate when the beans are collectively the best. Having said that I didn't have that much success with post-blends and all my pre-blends have usually come out well in my KKTO.

mycuppa

I gave up on post-blending years ago, but I really gave it a good hard go for a long time till I was running out of energy and busting my back. It's lots of work (manual effort) and there are just a very small number of roasters who may still do this - probably for their own reasons. There can be something magical when a blend works.........just like cooking a fabulous dish...

shape_shifter

I think I might try the blend you suggested Jeff both ways and see what happens, since I'm only dealing with small amounts the manual side of things doesn't matter.  I can also do them all on the one day so can try them for side by side comparisons. I hope my palate is developing that I can tell if there are differences It will be a while though, have to get through at least 1kg of your blends first  ;D

mycuppa

Thanks Nic. I still believe that sometimes too much theory runs the way we do things. In theory, post-blending should at least deliver something special if the sum of the ingredients were all executed perfectly. Being a scientific soul, I could not let go of the theory of post-blending for so long. I actually drove myself into the ground trying to chase some sense of the perfect holy grail. Lessons learned are............on commercial roasters I think you can achieve great results pre-blending, in fact I think there are some interesting benefits or advantages in pre-blending for some scenarios. Exactly how this translates in a practical sense for non-commercial roasters is the interesting question (or dilemma) for me.......and sadly it's something that I could not possibly answer at this stage and guess it may apply to many facets of roasting - commercial versus domestic, some things being the same, some different. Interested to hear more about pre and post blending........but the results need to be carefully controlled.

KJM

on 1311933272:

Thanks Nic. I still believe that sometimes too much theory runs the way we do things. In theory, post-blending should at least deliver something special if the sum of the ingredients were all executed perfectly. Being a scientific soul, I could not let go of the theory of post-blending for so long. I actually drove myself into the ground trying to chase some sense of the perfect holy grail. Lessons learned are............on commercial roasters I think you can achieve great results pre-blending, in fact I think there are some interesting benefits or advantages in pre-blending for some scenarios. Exactly how this translates in a practical sense for non-commercial roasters is the interesting question (or dilemma) for me.......and sadly it's something that I could not possibly answer at this stage and guess it may apply to many facets of roasting - commercial versus domestic, some things being the same, some different. Interested to hear more about pre and post blending........but the results need to be carefully controlled.

Well, I have to say that the "KJM Blend"  ::) is pre-blended in the KJM household.  I did try post-blending it.  That's how I developed it.  Did quite a few batches post-blend, and then (due to the need to roast a small amount in a short period of time) I thought "what the heck.." and pre-blended a "single" batch (rather than 4 full batches and a whole 1kg of beans....). The pre-blend is different.  I don't quite understand how this happens - there are harder beans in the mix, the roast level is pretty even (how does that work??!?!?) - but in the cup - it is preferred by all my victims..  It is strange, and I don't presume to begin to understand why.  The separate roasts I've done have all taken the beans to the same visual and timed roast level as the pre-blend batches, but they taste different.. I'm at a loss as to how to more carefully control the process to get more scientific results, but I've come to accept that it just works the way I do it, and I've kind of given up trying to get to the bottom of it because I've got better things to do! Cheers /Kevin

Koffee_Kosmo

I now also do blends of green beans and roast them all together Also I will soon try a tip from sponsor mycupper with his experiments of introducing a green bean at different times into the mix while roasting Interesting time s ahead KK

mycuppa

on 1312978683:

Also I will soon try a tip from sponsor mycupper with his experiments of introducing a green bean at different times into the mix while roasting KK

Patent pending ! ;D

greenman

I have been experimenting with preblending since reading about KJM's blend, I have done  several roasts  of Kevin's formula and they were very popular with my tasting panel so I have been trying different combinations from my green bean stash with pleasing results. The concept of adding greens at different stages is appealing and I will follow this concept with much interest

Brett H

on 1313277552:

I have been experimenting with preblending since reading about KJM's blend, I have done  several roasts  of Kevin's formula and they were very popular with my tasting panel so I have been trying different combinations from my green bean stash with pleasing results. The concept of adding greens at different stages is appealing and I will follow this concept with much interest

I have retired my BBQ roaster becasue it's volume was too large for me (2kg for best results) and the SS home made drum was showing signifigant wear and tear.  The reason I mention it is becasue the it like the Behmor make it impossible to add anything after the initial roast starts without risking stalling the roast.  For those who have them, how does the KKTO stand up to this technique?

Koffee_Kosmo

on 1313278204:

I have retired my BBQ roaster becasue it's volume was too large for me (2kg for best results) and the SS home made drum was showing signifigant wear and tear.  The reason I mention it is becasue the it like the Behmor make it impossible to add anything after the initial roast starts without risking stalling the roast.  For those who have them, how does the KKTO stand up to this technique?

On the KKTO pre blends roast evenly after a stabilizing period I was thinking and borrowing a method from cooking for the technique of adding green beans while the roast is in progress Hard beans first soft beans after And I also feel that no matter what roaster one uses the roast will stall and the only way to overcome this is to add the beans in a max of 30 second intervals within the first 3 minutes Anyone care to comment on my interpretation KK

shape_shifter

I have my Harrar from MyCuppa and I'm looking to blend it with the Las Brisas I have as the taste of the Las Brisas is 'just' coffee. Does anyone have a suggestion on %? I'm going to roast them separately first and try different percentages as a per cup sort or thing and then if I hit something I like I'll try it as a together roast and see what happens, probably completely different again as some of you have pointed out

Brett H

I don't often blend unless I have a really boring bean and I use it to extend the amount of a big flavored bean like MM.  however given my love of the KKTO and wanting to try a 1kg roast I hedged my potential losses by doing a blend.  It is: 300g Tiger Mountain (thanks My Cuppa.. I love this!) 300g Flores Research Project (last I'll ever see of this due to not being a CS member) 200g Mexiqn Finca Cassandra 200g PNG Ondu (Thanks Neil from Ministry of grounds) This roast is absolutely awesome.  Roasted to the first snaps of 2nd crack and the flavour is exactly to my taste. I am six days post and I'm going to drag it out to at least 17 days by drinking frugally and not sharing.  I am like a proud Dad with this roast letting people smell and look at it... Then making them a coffee with some of Jeff's Harrar!  ;D

mycuppa

on 1319026968:

I don't often blend unless I have a really boring bean and I use it to extend the amount of a big flavored bean like MM.  however given my love of the KKTO and wanting to try a 1kg roast I hedged my potential losses by doing a blend.  It is: 300g Tiger Mountain (thanks My Cuppa.. I love this!) 300g Flores Research Project (last I'll ever see of this due to not being a CS member) 200g Mexiqn Finca Cassandra 200g PNG Ondu (Thanks Neil from Ministry of grounds) This roast is absolutely awesome.  Roasted to the first snaps of 2nd crack and the flavour is exactly to my taste. I am six days post and I'm going to drag it out to at least 17 days by drinking frugally and not sharing.  I am like a proud Dad with this roast letting people smell and look at it... Then making them a coffee with some of Jeff's Harrar!  ;D

On theory, that's a good looking blend Brett - you should Trademark it. Well done considering you have achieved it without the use of Brazils, Colombian, Ethiopian or Centrals. What I like about your blend (without even tasting it) The Flores makes an unusual but interesting low-acid base allowing for the Tiger to do what it does best and that's belt out some punchy, rounded mid-palate grunt (it's what I love about India A's, they lift blends and carry you towards an exciting finish). The Mexican is perhaps offering some refined and subtle texture, understated, but very important in the scheme of the blend as this "fills out" contrasts between the beans. Finally, the PNG is highlighting a clean, bright and sweet finish. Yep, I reckon you may be onto something there and for those who don't have those precise beans, a great Sumatran could substitute for the Flores (be careful of sourness), Bolivia/Guatemala for the Tiger, quality Colombian/Panama/Peru for the Mexican and a bright Central like Nicaragua, Honduras, etc. for the PNG.