The entire time I've been roasting coffee, I've always stuck to single origin. It's not that I had any issue with blending or any conviction about single origin. I just never saw the reason to blend my coffee. Other people could pull it off, good for them!
Encouragement from a fellow roaster.
I enjoy connecting with local roasters. Anytime I have a day off, I like to visit other places to connect, talk, do a bean exchange or whatever. One place near me is called Sacred Grounds in Sherman, CT. They've been around for about 8 years now and are doing quite well for themselves. John, the owner, was encouraging me to give blending a try. He told me about a PB&J blend he made using only coffees, I was intrigued!
Different Blending Methods
There are two ways to blend coffee:
Pre-roast
Post-roast
It all depends on the result you're looking for. Think of it this way: If coffee was fruit, pre-roast blending is like a smoothie and post-roast is like a fruit salad.
Pre-roast is nice because you mix it and roast it, done! But there are factors to consider.
Flavors will meld together during roasting, which means they might not mix the way you want it.
Different beans roast at different rates. Smaller beans might be well into the 2nd crack while the larger ones in the same batch might only be starting. If you want to have lighter and darker at the same time, this is a good way.
If you have any leftover, it's a littler harder to use than if you roasted everything separately.
Post-roast has its advantages and disadvantages as well.
You can roast everything to the same level.
Flavors won't meld too early.
You can have bigger contrast in roasting levels, like a light and dark in the same blend.
It takes longer because you have to roast everything separately.
Having the different beans separate allows the leftovers to be utilized more effectively.
A new discovery!
I discovered this blend by accident. One day I was testing out a Brazilian light roast when I wanted a little more coffee. I topped my cup off with my El Salvador medium-dark and my first sip of the two blended left me with a Reese taste in my mouth.
This was my "Eureka!" moment!
After several batches, I settled on 40% Brazilian light and 60% El Salvador medium-dark. It's a delicious naturally-flavored coffee discovered by accident!
You can order a bag of the "Peanut Butter Mug" online here!
There are several other blends I've come out with since then, which are all available online as well.