Jan 07 2009
Mokha Java
All hail Chemex
Finally, I went and got myself some more filters for my Chemex. I cannot believe how fast I went throught that last batch of hundred. It seemed like it was just yesterday that I had ordered it. I ran out this weekend and was forced to go back to the good old French Press for the last couple of days. Not that coffee from the Press is bad, mind you, but once you go Chemex, nothing else really seems to taste right. Thankfully I was almost out of beans after this last Month’s holiday bonanza and had a good excuse to place in a huge order at Sweet Maria’s and get myself another batch of hundred filters. Since they were finally in, I decided to give the unbleached ones a whirl. The unbleached ones are supposed to impart a truer taste to the coffee. Here’s to hoping.
Blending
After monkeying around with the coincidentally perfect Moka Java blend and getting some good results, I decided to give a few more Moka Java type blends a try. I figured mixing the Java Kajumas Curah Tatal with the Yemen Mokha Sharesi seemed like a good idea. I mean the Mokha Sharesi does hail from the area that has been traditionally been known as Moka (hence the similar name) and the Java Kujumas does come from, well Java. Sure, the Sharesi is not the wildest of the Mokha bunch, but it still might blend well the the subtle and clean Kajumas. Well, I guess there is only one real way to find out right?
First, I started out by roasting both batches seperately. I roasted the Yemen a day early since it does seem to taste better after a bit of a rest. I got them both to a nice full city blend, but of course, they were not exactly on the same level of roastiness. I guess that is the problem about trying to make blends, is trying to get the roasts to match. I am not really sure how the best way to go about blending. Roasting them together helps me obtain a nice even roast, yet it also fixes it so that I really cannot tweak with the balance after I start. When starting out with my experimentations, I usually do roast the beans separately and after I think I got the ratio figured out, I try roasting them together.
As for the Mokha Java blend (I was going to call it the YMSJKCT blend, but figured Mokha Java was catchier), it turned out pretty good, but nowhere near as perfect as the “concindentally perfect” blend of Kajumas and Ethiopian Kembata. The Sharesi was maybe a bit too tame to really lend it character, but still I consider it a pretty grand experiment.
