Next Roasted Espresso 8/4: Sweet Maria's Strange Beasts Espresso Blend

Our Strange Beasts blend brings together an unlikely quartet of coffees with unique profiles. They coalesce to creamy, bittersweet flavors and balanced sweetness when brewed as espresso. Like the Japanese monsters ("Kaiju") we named the blend after, these improbable pairings pack a lot of punch... in a way that wouldn't be possible with any single component on its own. So what are the strange beasts that make up this blend? We're not giving away too many specifics, but I can say that it's anchored by wet process coffee that brings impactful sweetness, while low-toned bittering and velvety body are boosted by small amounts of quality Robusta and Monsoon coffee from India. It also contains a dry process African component for flashes of fruit, bringing in a distinct profile in the context of the rest. We've had a lot of fun tasting this blend at different roast levels and with multiple brew methods. Full City proved to be a great starting roast level—we really picked up on the sweet, caramelized hints this blend produces, along with roast-toned accents and notes of baked goods with fruit. Roasts taken to 2nd Crack become very pungent, bittering and intense, and will make a great base for milk drinks. Overall, we preferred espresso shots to brewed coffee, though I could see dark roasts working out well under full immersion brew methods, like French Press. No matter where you land, our classic-toned Strange Beasts blend is sure to find legendary status in your lineup!