Blends are one of the most undefined and unrefined practices in the coffee world today. I would argue that a coffee company often spends a good amount of time fine-tuning their espresso blend, and then leaves the rest to chance.

Have a coffee that is turning old? Throw it in a blend. Have a coffee that didn’t sell well? Throw it in a blend. Need a cheap coffee to spread out the cost of an expensive lot? Throw it in a blend. Arguably, I’ve seen many coffee blends in the past that have performed one or many of these functions: pair a decent coffee with a not so decent one, and you have the lesser of two evils that still tastes pretty good. In this era of single origin and crazy processing styles (carbonic maceration, what is that?!) I think we under-appreciate the complexity offered from a well thought-out blend of coffee.  

Taking a step back, I like to draw inspiration from the wine industry. When I search for a bottle of wine, I’m enamored with single varietals—grapes that I’ve never tasted before to expand my palate. Some are floral. Some are heavy-bodied. None are terribly balanced. They’re great for one or two applications, or for sipping at a tasting, but they’re often not dynamic nor complex in flavor and overall profile.

Enter: blends. Some of the most prestigious wines in the world (Burgundy, Bordeaux, California Reds) are all blends of a variety of grapes. Each by themselves is delicious, but in layering several together, you get a complexity that is not possible by itself.

The whole of a blend should be greater than its parts.

That was the inspiration behind this year’s Sun Summer Blend. We wanted to use coffees that would be delicious enough to serve as a single source coffee, yet becomes something more unique and special when blended together. Even before we knew which specific coffees we wanted to feature, we knew our game plan. We wanted to recreate the sensation of an “Arnold Palmer in coffee format.” We quickly thought of two regions of coffees that strongly exemplified these characteristics: the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia and the Huehuetenango region of Guatemala.   

What we ended up choosing was a rad combo of coffee. First, let’s introduce you to the two players in this blend.

Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Reko: This was, by far, our favorite Ethiopia Yirgacheffe we’ve cupped this year. Reko comes from a washing station of the same name, found in the Kochere region of Ethiopia. Reko translates to “challenge,” as this hill is steep and treacherous. That said, the coffee brought here by 850+ small coffee farmers have a phenomenal profile year after year. Their meticulous attention to detail and ability to educate their producer partners sets this coffee apart. In processing, it’s floated, separated by stages of harvest, and meticulously watched every step of the way. This coffee is a floral bomb, with notes of black tea, jasmine, and citrus.

A handful of producers that deliver coffee to the Reko Washing Station in Ethiopia. Photo Credit: Trabocca

Washing channels and density sorting at Reko Washing Station. Photo credit: Trabocca 

Guatemala Waykan: This community lot has been a favorite at Mission Coffee for many years! We’ve used it both in blends and as a single origin. These regional lots are a beneficial way for smaller producers (which is quite typical in Huehuetenango, Guatemala) to receive better quality premiums and more selling power. Any producer in the region can bring their coffee the Waykan project. Coffees that score well are blended into a regional lot; exceptional scored coffees are featured as microlot and receive an additional paid premium on the lot!

So, when you put these two together, you get some magical sparks. Again, the goal was to create a blend that was reminiscent of an Arnold Palmer. In our Sun Blend, you’ll get a dynamic mouthfeel created by both coffees playing off of each other. You’ll get the black tea and jasmine texture of the along with the sweet juiciness of the Waykan. The acidities layer nicely to give you the feeling of a bright squeeze of citrus fruit. The finish of both coffees, layered together, is sweet and floral.

See. Blends aren’t all bad.