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Knowing a little more about coffee, its varieties and its processes, has helped us learn to differentiate the attributes that most attract our attention in our cup and thus select our coffee, we must also keep in mind that when selecting our coffee we will live different experiences and that is why today we are going to talk about 2 very common types of coffee in our cups, origin coffees and blend coffees.
Let's start by talking about origin coffees
But for that, we must understand what single-origin coffee is. When a coffee comes from a single original producer, be it a farm, a specific region, or even an entire country, and in rare cases, even something as controlled as a specific area within a plantation, it is called single-origin coffee. Through this differentiation, we can identify and distinguish the altitudes and soils in which each coffee was grown. Through this type of designation, we can find the Colombian variety, as a country variety, and other more specific varieties such as the NariΓ±o or Tolima varieties.
In conclusion, and as we have discussed on other occasions, the height of the crop, the temperatures to which the beans are exposed, the soil where they are grown and the shade they receive, add specific characteristics to the bean, these are the ones that are cared for and sought to be highlighted when identifying the origin of the beans that go to our cup.
Blended Coffees
The worlds of coffee and wine have always had many things in common, even similar processes in some cases, and just as there are blended wines, there is also blended coffee. But what does blend mean? It's as simple as the translation of the word "mixture." As is the case with wines, where a blend is a mixture of different types of grapes, in the case of our beloved coffee, it is a mixture of beans from different origins.
And as with music, there are no set rules when creating a blend; the important thing is to be clear about the objective and find the right elements to combine. Once we're clear about the purpose of our coffee and the characteristics we're seeking, we then choose the types of beans or different origins to create the blend we're looking for. It's also important to understand that, as with good music, we must know how to find the right combinations to connect the parameters and standards of the blend, ensuring adequate control over the resulting product.
There are many types of blends. As we've already discussed, the proposed blend depends largely on the characteristic you want to highlight. These are some blends that are made around the world seeking to highlight some of the main attributes of coffee.
Acidic coffee 50% Kenya, 25% Costa Rica, 25% Guatemala
Sweet coffee 70% Brazil, 20% Mexico, 10% Colombia
Fruity coffee 40% Colombia, 20% Mexico, 20% Costa Rica, 20% Mocha
Aromatic coffee 40% Costa Rica, 30% Guatemala, 20% Moka, 10% Colombia
Full-bodied coffee 60% Cameroon, 20% Guatemala, 20% Brazil
It's very common to combine varieties to balance each other or enhance the quality of a coffee from a lesser variety. This is the case with a blend of Robusta and Arabica, a variety generally considered a more economical and less expensive to produce, with a high-quality variety like Arabica. On the other hand, we can also find blends within the same coffee variety. The most common is a blend of Arabicas. This is done to provide higher quality and further highlight the characteristics of the variety.
Which one would you choose?
Although the choice may seem easy, it isn't. Blended coffees are actually made with a specific cup in mind, seeking ideal profiles and characteristics, clearly tailored to the producer's taste, but always with the end consumer in mind. Furthermore, based on the quality of the beans selected for a balanced blendβthat is, that all the beans chosen are of good quality and a similar level of flavor among the varieties being blendedβwe can expect a very interesting blend that generates new flavors or highlights the ones we like most. Another advantage of blends is that in preparations like espresso, they are frequently used with blends of Robusta and Arabica, seeking to highlight body and acidity.
On the other hand, there is single-origin coffee, which is usually a higher-quality coffee. It contains the characteristics of the coffee bean itself, depending on its region and the attributes it adds to our cup. Although it is not a combination created to improve our cup, the bean itself already has enough attributes to give us a great experience.
This is truly a difficult decision, but the important thing, as always, is to enjoy a good cup and always discover new flavors. Therefore, the invitation is to discover the experiences that these two types of coffee offer and find the best of each.