I love walking into a room after coffee beans have just been ground. The aroma always coaxes a deep and relaxing inhalation. The flavor of the coffee is best just after grinding the bean, and slowly loses its flavor over time. Loss of flavor can be reduced if the coffee is sealed in an airtight bag, but I still prefer fresh ground coffee made from a really good coffee blend. And I do love a really good cup of coffee.
Coffee blends are made by taking two or more distinct coffee beans, and combining them to make a unique flavor. Some coffee beans will produce a lot of aroma, but not a lot of body. Other coffee beans will produce a lot of body, but not a lot of aroma or flavor. By combining the two, you get a better balance with the body of the coffee and the flavor. This is a common practice and can vary extremely by the blends available.
Diena Zavetsky http://EzineArticles.com/?Gourmet-Coffee-Blends&id=1711650 described the different blends this way:
“Signature Blends: Signature blends are used by stores, cafes, and coffee sellers to encourage customers to continue to buy their brand or visit their cafe. The goal of signature blending is to produce a unique flavor that consumers can only find at one place. Most signature blend “recipes” are highly guarded secrets.
Consistency Blends: Consistency blends usually contain a large number of bean varieties in order to maintain a consistent flavor should one or more of those varieties become unavailable. Using more beans makes it easier to preserve the coffee’s characteristics if one of the beans is unavailable. This type of blend is typically used by the producers of mass-produced and commercial coffees.
Single-Origin Blends: Single-origin blends are made by using coffee beans from the same geographic growing location which may be as specific as an individual estate or a co-op of farmers in small neighborhoods. This virtually guarantees an unmistakable regional identity in the final cup.”
So, how does one determine a good blend of Coffee? Alice Lane http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Best-Coffee-Blend-Aroma-is-Addicting&id=1803416 described some the the difficulties in determining a good blend:
“There are so many different coffees from which to choose that it is hard to determine which is the best coffee blend. First you must decide between Arabica coffee beans or Robusta coffee beans which are the two most common coffee beans used. Arabica is the most common and can be found in around seventy-five percent of the coffees throughout the world. Coffee beans can be from a large variety of places with a little bit of an argument on where it originated. Some say it was Ethiopia. Many good beans come from South and Central America and one particularly popular bean comes from Kona, one of the Hawaiian Islands. The lava growing grounds offers a unique flavor that many will pay top dollar for.
While deciding which bean you are buying, you are usually also picking the roasting method. That also can be confusing. You will find differences in methods with Atlanta coffee roasters doing it slightly different than roasters from another part of the country. However, there really aren’t that many different ways of roasting there are just different recipes with the use of different flavors, different temperatures and deciding when the bean is aged to the right maturity for the best possible flavor. It is almost like wine in that you have different beans that can be aged or not and then roasted using a particular method before packaging in very similar containers.”
The best way to start is to know what type of coffee bean is produced from each region. Paul Simon http://EzineArticles.com/?Get-the-Best-Tasting-Coffee&id=1103625 described the regions this way:
“There are many different types of coffee from all over the world. Coffee tastes differently from each of the different countries. Some of the most well known coffees are from Columbia, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mauna Loa, Europe, and Italy.
Columbia is known for their coffee. The best coffee in the world comes from this country and they are the second largest producer of coffee in the world. Columbian coffee is sweet and light and available in blends that are supreme and excelso.
Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world and has been for over one hundred years. Brazilian coffee is famous for the wonderful blends.
Mexico produces coffee beans that are considered to be light and delicate. Some people say that the coffee in Mexico is very acidic and noticeable. However, it is enjoyed by many people.
Indonesian coffee is another well known blend because they are the fourth largest producer in the world. The coffee in Malaysia is brewed in a muslin bag that filters the grounds. Malaysia is known for an extremely strong cup of coffee. Thailand is known for fabulous blends of coffee also that is enjoyed when it is poured over ice.”
I intend to explore each of these regions in more detail and experiment on blending them. Here in Oregon, we have an abundance of hazelnut, which tastes wonderful in coffee. I’ll be experimenting with different flavors too and maybe we can come up with an awesome blend. Check back often and explore the world of coffee with me. I’d suggest making your favorite cup of coffee while we journey around the world. I’ll have one too.