Getting to know the first coffee blend ever created!

Although many coffee enthusiasts are looking for the unique tastes of single-origin coffees, there are not many who stay loyal to coffee blends. Blending different coffee varieties is a story as old as almost as much coffee itself.

Nowadays, several coffee lovers seem to be influenced by the principles of the "Third Wave of Coffee," which has been accused of snoring coffee blends, showing a particular and clear preference for single-origin coffee. Although everything in the coffee is of course the first and most important issue of personal taste, and although it is true that the organoleptic characteristics are more obvious and easy to understand in a cup of unicolored coffee, coffee blends are an integral part of the history of coffee and, of course, to offer at the level of taste, aroma and total enjoyment of coffee.

Although many believe blending, the art and technique of blending different varieties only appeared recently in the history of coffee, at the same time as the industrialization of coffee, the truth is quite different. The creation of blends is an age-old story, since the first historically recorded blend, the legendary Mocha-Java, has a history of over 400 years!

Coffee origins: An arabian port and an exotic island

Although coffee first appeared in Ethiopia, its first systematic cultivation began in the Arabian Peninsula, particularly in the area of ​​present-day Yemen - which is why a variety of coffee is called Arabica. For almost 200 years, the whole of the world's coffee trade was centered around Moka's harbor. The coffee beans were collected, processed, packed and loaded on European boats from Moka in Arabia. Although this distant detail is now forgotten, the word Moka survives in the vocabulary of coffee until today.

Coffee for two centuries is an Arab monopoly, as the Arabs forbid on death penalty the export of seeds or coffee plants from their soil. So the first coffee tasted by Europeans was what we would call today a single origin one. But with the advent of colonialism, the first blend of coffee will appear.

The existence of colonies has given Europeans the opportunity to plant for the first time plants that have not thrived in Europe, such as tropical fruits and mainly spices and exotic herbs - it is enough to remember the label "Apoikiaka" meaning "Colonial Products" of the very old groceries. In this context, many colonial powers are looking for ways to get coffee, but the first to do is the Dutch.

Long before the coffee arrived in Latin America and before conquering the African countries, the Dutch colonizers managed to transfer smuggled coffee in the colonies of the East Indies, Indonesia, and more specifically to the island of Java. Although the plants were the same, the different cultivation conditions gave to the beans  a different flavor profile. The Arab monopoly breaks, so Europeans have to choose between "a cup of mocha" or "a cup of Java". Today, few associate the word Java with coffee, but in the United States it remains a word synonymous with coffee - a tangible proof is that the PC programming language of the same name features a cup of coffee as a its logo.

The creation of the first blend

With two coffee varieties available, which even have a different flavor profile, it was a matter of time for the first coffee blend to be born. Several cafes of the time mix the beans they buy from merchant ships, ending up with a new coffee: Mocha - Java.

Without perhaps knowing it, European coffee shops in the 18th century functioned like today's blenders, combining coffees with different characteristics. Arab coffee was fruity, light, with sharp acidity and lively character. Asian beans, on the other hand, were more earthy, stronger, relatively bitter, with nut flavors. By combining these features, Mocha - Java was more complex, more aromatic and ultimately better in taste. Gastronomic historians report that usually the two coffees were mixed at 50/50, while the blend was, of course, 100% Arabica. 

For many years, Mocha - Java was the epitome of gourmet taste in coffee and was the favorite blend of the most sophisticated coffee lovers, but slowly, the cultivation of coffee trees spread throughout the so - called "Coffee Belt", so the blends were endowed with even more varieties of coffee.

Can we taste Mocha- Java nowadays?

Although it has been an extremely popular mix for years, today Mocha - Java is relatively scarce. Coffee is still grown in Indonesia, which is a powerful force in the coffee business, but the cultivated land on the island of Java has fallen sharply. Things make it even more difficult for the Yemen's multi-year war, which minimized the otherwise small production of the Arab country. Of course, even if ones finds  a blend consisting of these beans, it is important to know that both cultivation and processing have changed much since the colonial era.

On the other hand, however, we can make a blend of our own that approximates the flavor and character of Mocha - Java, mixing 50/50 two single - origin coffees from Africa and Asia. The best choices are Ethiopian coffee (which will replace Mocha) and coffee from Sumatra (replacing Java). Roasting has to be dark, as beans were usually roasted in the 18th - 19th century.

If you want to experiment with blending and get to know its secrets start from the base, from where everything started: from Mocha - Java, the blend that laid the foundation for the coffee we drink today!