New Blend Development Journal 3: Ratio Check!
Hello everyone! This is Martin, and lately, I've been keeping cold brew coffee made with tea bags stocked at home!
This is the third installment of "New Blend Development Chronicles," documenting the creation of a new blend using Rwandan beans that recently arrived at BASE COFFEE.
In this third installment, we'll be checking the taste by changing the blending ratio of the coffee beans roasted last time!
If you haven't read the second installment yet, you can find it here! →New Blend Development Chronicles 2: Starting Blend Trials!
We changed the ratio to aim for something more harmonious and checked the taste.
The ratio of Rwanda:Nicaragua = 4:6 was relatively good.
It resulted in a coffee with a slightly robust impression, like dark chocolate, with richness and sweetness.
While this could be delicious to drink with chocolate around Valentine's Day, to be honest, it doesn't quite fit the concept of this blend.
The two relatively good ratios were Rwanda:Brazil = 6:4 and 7:3.
The 6:4 blend had a stronger Rwandan aroma than the 5:5 blend!
At first, I thought it was good, but as time passed, the two flavors seemed to separate, and the savory notes of Brazil and the refreshing notes of Rwanda seemed to clash a bit...
In contrast, the 7:3 blend was very easy to drink, with a pleasant sweetness from the beginning.
Furthermore, even as time passed, there was hardly any flavor conflict, and the refreshing taste of Rwanda was pleasantly present.
As a result, the Rwanda:Brazil = 7:3 ratio was easy to drink, had the refreshing taste of Rwanda, and could be sipped smoothly, making it close to the concept of "coffee that accompanies your work." Therefore, I've decided to go with this ratio!
Going forward, I will actually roast with this ratio and aim to find the best roasting degree that allows the sweetness and aroma of Rwanda to be felt, while still being delicious even after time passes!
Changing the Ratio...
Last time during cupping, we combined Rwanda and Brazil/Nicaragua at a 5:5 ratio, but this time we changed the ratio to find the best combination that more closely matches our concept!Rwanda × Nicaragua
When the ratio was 5:5, the two characteristics in this combination clashed a bit.
We changed the ratio to aim for something more harmonious and checked the taste.
The ratio of Rwanda:Nicaragua = 4:6 was relatively good.
It resulted in a coffee with a slightly robust impression, like dark chocolate, with richness and sweetness.
While this could be delicious to drink with chocolate around Valentine's Day, to be honest, it doesn't quite fit the concept of this blend.
Rwanda × Brazil
When the ratio was 5:5, the combination with Brazil was somewhat robust but easy to drink. However, the impression was a bit weak, so to find a unique characteristic, we slightly increased the ratio of Rwanda and checked the taste.
The two relatively good ratios were Rwanda:Brazil = 6:4 and 7:3.
The 6:4 blend had a stronger Rwandan aroma than the 5:5 blend!
At first, I thought it was good, but as time passed, the two flavors seemed to separate, and the savory notes of Brazil and the refreshing notes of Rwanda seemed to clash a bit...
In contrast, the 7:3 blend was very easy to drink, with a pleasant sweetness from the beginning.
Furthermore, even as time passed, there was hardly any flavor conflict, and the refreshing taste of Rwanda was pleasantly present.
As a result, the Rwanda:Brazil = 7:3 ratio was easy to drink, had the refreshing taste of Rwanda, and could be sipped smoothly, making it close to the concept of "coffee that accompanies your work." Therefore, I've decided to go with this ratio!
Going forward, I will actually roast with this ratio and aim to find the best roasting degree that allows the sweetness and aroma of Rwanda to be felt, while still being delicious even after time passes!