Behind the Blend: Wonderblend
Ever wondered (pun intended) what goes into creating our special blends? We sat down with our Roastery Manager, Ben Miller, to get a behind the scenes look at the coffees chosen, roasting profile, and cuppings that all went into making our fantastically fruit-forward Wonderblend.
What is Wonderblend?
Wonderblend is our seasonal blend combining three single origin coffees that are standouts on their own, but when combined create a really unique tasting experience. This year we wanted to really push for a punchy, wild blend of Natural Processed coffees. We had a wonderful Natural Processed Java Mt. Argopuro and wanted this to be the anchor for the blend. We quickly realized it overwhelmed other coffees, so we kept looking for a suitable match. We found a fruity Natural Processed Burundi Hafi lot that had some logistic delays but was definitely worth the wait. I have always loved the idea of a Mocha Java Blend, one of the oldest coffee blends of Yemen or Ethiopia and Java, so we thought this could be a good time to present an homage of sorts. To round out the blend we added our Natural Processed Ethiopia Mulish, a fruit-forward coffee we that love and know very well.
What do you like about the coffees separately?
Each of these coffees are Natural Processed, heavily fruited, and have winey notes with a syrupy mouthfeel.
What do you like about the coffees together as a blend?
We have not done a full Natural Processed blend in a long time. Sometimes doing a blend with only Natural Processed coffees can create flavors that compete with each other, but here it really works. We love how the flavors work together to enhance one another and create something unique and delicious, yet balanced and cohesive.
What was this process like for coming up with this blend?
Orchestrating a complex blend of vociferous natural-processed coffees is no easy feat. We found our Loring 70KG roaster works wonders for our Single Origin coffees, accentuating the aromatic top notes while coaxing out the winey, syrupy notes and body that unify the blend.
What are some challenges of choosing coffees that are a part of a blend?
Some coffees work well together, while others are more challenging to blend. Eventually we found a balance, after trial and error, with adjusting quantities, roasting profiles, etc. Our team was able to utilize their strong knowledge of blending coffees here, and we couldn't be happier with the result.
What do you hope for drinkers to experience when they try this coffee?
Most of our seasonal blends are meant to be more approachable and crowd pleasers. Wonderblend is for the more adventurous, wild at heart, Single Origin lovers wanting a more fruit-forward experience. This year’s blend is wonderful (slight pun) as an Origami pour over, but tastes great using other brew methods as well, including brewing it as an espresso.
Click here to shop or learn more about this season's Wonderblend.
