Blending coffee in these uncertain times...
There are a lot of reasons coffee companies choose to blend coffees. It helps us differentiate ourselves with cool coffee names (Morning Formation, Powder Keg, and Black Knight...super cool), offer unique flavors, and yes, mitigate risk in a volatile agricultural and economic environment (boring!). Current events are rife with military and political conflicts, economic upheaval, and the ongoing impact of changing climates. It’s difficult to predict what tomorrow’s reality will be, let alone a year from now. All that can stress a person out! But you know what else it can stress? Coffee.
Coffee, like any other agricultural product, is impacted by these and a myriad of other factors. Add disease and pests to those we already mentioned, and how is a little coffee cherry going to make it in this cruel world? In short, demand. Depending on who you ask, coffee is the second or third most consumed beverage in the world after water. Still, most data suggests that tea edges out coffee comfortably due to a strong showing in Asian cultures. That, and you can basically throw grass clippings into a cup of hot water and bam! You’ve got tea.
The demand for coffee helps drive research for sustainable coffee production around the world. One approach is through cultivating more diverse coffee varieties. Arabica is one
of many species of coffee with literally thousands of different varieties. In fact, two 60kg bags of green Arabica coffee from the same country, cooperative, or even farm can present noticeable differences in roast profiling, brew performance, and taste. Not to mention the seasonality of crops by variety and region. For instance, a Brazilian coffee might be harvested from May thru September, whereas a Kenyan coffee from October thru December. Some coffees yield two harvests a year and others only one.
All of this leads us to the point (finally!) of our discussion. No, it’s not to feel bad for the poor roaster (okay, you can feel a little bad), but it’s to help you understand why, and how we blend our coffees. Blending gives us the opportunity to share the personality of our company with you (aww!) and deliver consistently delicious coffee.
“But you just said all coffee is basically different, like all the time! How does that work?” Glad you asked! Coffee blending is like baking a cake, but you don’t use any of those ingredients, and you don’t bake it. Okay, it’s not much like baking a cake. But it does have ratios of different ingredients that create a unique flavor experience. Saved the analogy! When one of those ingredients isn’t available (out of season, crop failed, held for ransom at a port waiting for prices to triple) we must be flexible.
Frist, we look to our current in-stock supply. What do we already have that might be comparable? A recent example is our regular selection of El Salvador has been unavailable since early March. “El Sal” is a core component of many blends at Bugle Call Coffee (we like El Sal). Knowing this ahead of time allowed us to bridge the gap ahead of a shortage. We pivoted to our washed Guatemala Huehuetenango that worked nicely as a replacement. Individually they are different coffees, but in our blends, both provide a body, acidity, and sweetness that complement the other blend components without compromising the character of the original. But it's not always that easy.
Coffee is also a team sport, and everyone plays an important role. If we don’t have something that works on hand, we lean on our importers. Not “lean” like the mafia on someone in a shake down, but “lean” like the Bill Withers classic “Lean on Me.” Now that song is in your head, you’re welcome. Our importers usually give us a range of recommendations and send us samples to try. From there it’s a relatively straightforward process of sample roasting, cupping, and matching key characteristics with desired outcomes. It will never be “exact,” but as we learned above, nothing ever is.
We won't settle for good enough either, because we strive for great enough! “Wow, you make cheese too?” I hear you, but seriously, we use all the tools available to us and our extended team of partners to ensure the coffee in your cup meets not only our high standards, but yours as well. Oh, and I heard the El Sal will be back in play soon, so stay tuned!
Happy cupping!
Adam