The Captain's Decaf Espresso Blend
Our favorite all purpose espresso blend that we use in-house. It's a hybrid of the two classical espresso styles, Italian and West Coast, resulting in an espresso that's got a velvety crema and a smooth, sweet body accompanied with just a bit of smokey bite!
When we started experimenting with Espresso Blends, we had a few goals in mind for our standard, in-house espresso blend:
1. Pick a style of espresso. The two classic styles, Italian and West Coast, can be a study in the extremes of espresso. Italian is smooth, creamy, sweet and has little to no bite. West Coast espresso tends to be smokey, spicey and complex with a funky kick. Why not both? We created a hybrid that we believe has the best of both worlds!
2. Pick a flavor profile that can be consistently achieved year round despite the seasonality of coffee. This requires a little knowledge of which coffees are in season and when as well as the general profile of regional coffees, but hey, that's what we do!
3. Pick a roast level that would complement all the blend components and still achieve a lovely, velvety crema. This one can be tricky. We finally landed on Full City (Medium) to allow the best of the blend components to shine through and to help boost the crema while still taming some of the West Coast bite. Experiment with your roast level and see where you like it best!
Reminder! This coffee is raw, you must roast it before brewing
Arrival Date: Carried year round, blend contents vary based on seasonality
Acidity & Brightness: Moderately low acidity, fairly sweet
Balance & Finish: Slightly complex, nutty finish
Body & Texture: Rich body and smooth, velvety texture
Flavors: Dark chocolate, spices, roasted nuts & oak
Grade: Blend of SHB and HB
Processing: Blend of fully washed, wet-hulled and natural process. For Decaf, a blend of Mountain and Swiss water process methods.
Blend Components: Central, South American and Indonesian coffees
Recommended Roast Range: City+ to Vienna (light-medium to dark)
We roast our espresso right at Full Medium (Full City). This is contrary to "old school" thinking in that espresso must be roast dark. Consistent with modern roasting techniques, espresso can be roasted to any roast level, it's the process of extraction (using an espresso machine) that makes it espresso! We find a full medium roast brings out the best all the blend components have to offer as well as resulting in a nice big, velvety crema. Go as dark as Vienna (medium-dark/dark) for more smokey bite and a bit less nuttiness.
