Fresh Roast: Espresso Monkey Blend
How can you not like an espresso with monkey in the title? It conjures up fantastical images of monkeys picking the beans. It just sounds fun and exciting. So it shouldn’t be surprising that this blend is a bit on the mischievous side.
For starters, this is a blend of different beans, but Sweet Maria’s is holding back exactly what goes into it (but there are hints that it contains Brazilian beans). Coffee distributers blend for all kinds of reasons… from cost (it can be cheaper) to flavor or just to deliver something unique to their customers. Monkey Blend is Sweet Maria’s attempt to develop a cup that works well for all espresso roasts.
But, don’t think that means you can ignore the roasting time. I always thought the darker the better. Not so with Monkey Blend. This stuff can get away from you quickly, and if you roast it too long, it may leave you a bit disappointed. After brewing up a cup of 5.5 minute roast (just at the second crack) and 7 minute roast (a bit beyond the second crack), I found the lighter roast to be much richer, sweeter and fruiter. The darker roast was still tasty, but just a little thin. Both have a fantastic aftertaste.
Photos are under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License. Sweet Maria’s Espresso Monkey Blend logo with permission from Sweet Maria’s.
