You know the old saying "If I had a dollar for every time someone said xxx I would be rich".
Well in my space the common thing I get asked is: How do I make a stronger brew?
Part of the reason is that people's preferences for coffee strength differs greatly. Some like it super strong while others like a medium strength flavour. In the past I have directed people to a darker roast to get a stronger flavour but that still didn't satisfy everyone.
Recently I even had an inquisitive customer take the contents of a Nespresso® pod and put it into his reusable pod and he was happy with the outcome which told me what I already knew, that it's not the pods that produce weak coffee but the contents of what you put into them.
A while back I set out on a mission to find out why on earth the coffee from my local supermarket or roaster wasn't producing strong flavours. What I discovered is that part of the equation is the roast, whereby a darker roast produces a stronger flavour. But the biggest component is the strength of the beans themselves.
In New Zealand pretty much all roasters and coffee companies use 100% Arabica coffee beans of all different origins from all over the world. This is relatively unique to Australia and New Zealand. In other parts of the world a stronger coffee bean called Robusta is widely used. For a slightly more indepth breakdown of Robusta v.s. Arabica check what these guys have to say here.
In short Robusta beans produce a stronger flavour and they have more caffeine. They are also cheaper and easier to produce and can have a basic flavour profile (although this is changing). So it was interesting for me to find out that Nespresso themselves uses a blend of Arabica and Robusta in their pods.
So once I found this out, I set out to create a coffee blend that used Robusta beans but also gave a great flavour because of its use of a higher ratio of Arabica beans to Robusta beans. After many different combinations I have settled on a blend that is smooth, tasty and produces a strong flavour.
We have designed a blend that is approachable for all coffee drinkers and is comparable to an 8 out of 10. We are getting good early feedback from customers which is encouraging for us.
If you are keen to give our coffee a go check out my blend for sale here.
