Buy a full case and the price per unit drops automaticallyRequest a sample
AccountCart0
All ContainersBottlesJarsCaps & ClosuresPumps & SprayersTubs & PailsJugsDroppersTinsTubesAccessories
Industries
Personal CareShop all 934 items →
AromatherapyBathBath →Body careBody care →Color cosmeticsColor cosmetics →DeodorantDeodorant →FragranceFragrance →GroomingHair careLip careLip care →NailNail →Oral careOral care →Skin and faceSkin and face →Soap and washSoapmaking →Sun and protectionSun and protection →
Learn:BathBody careColor cosmeticsDeodorantFragranceLip careNailOral careSkin and faceSoapmakingSun and protectionEverything we have written →
Learn
Beekeeping100Hot sauce making90Jam and preserves96Pickles and ferments64Sauces and condiments36Syrups36Oils and vinegars34Nut butters and spreads33Dairy and alternatives33Coffee and tea36Confection31Resin and casting27Supplement liquids23Laboratory17Dispensing13Photography and darkroom14Industrial chemical14Prepared and deli15Body care14Color cosmetics13Bath14Pet health15Toiletry decanting14Oral care14Capsules and tablets14Nail14Fragrance15Deodorant17Fossils16Janitorial16Baking and dry goods16Seed storage17Specimens16Paint and ink18Automotive fluids18Wax melts17Diffusers17Detailing15Sun and protection18Dish and hand16Soapmaking91Candle making93Beverages92Cleaning products92Lip care89Minerals and rocks93Powders91Skin and face91Spices and seasoning91Findings and components16
All 1,895 pages we have written →
Coffee and tea
All Containers›Shop by use case›Coffee and tea›Roasting›Blends and single originsShop all coffee and tea →
Roasting

Blends and single origins

By Dwight Davis, Founder

Updated

On this page7
A blend and a single origin are not two styles; they are two different relationships with your own supply.

A single origin is a finite thing

It comes from a harvest, there is a fixed amount of it, and when it is gone it is gone until next year and will taste different then. That is part of the appeal and it means a customer who loved it cannot reorder it indefinitely, which is a real commercial cost.

A blend is a product you can keep making

Because you can adjust the components to hold the character as lots change underneath it. That is the entire point of a house blend and it is why every roaster with wholesale customers has one. It also requires the palate to know when to adjust.

Blending is a skill, not a way to use up stock

A blend built to hit a flavor is a different thing from a blend built to clear a slow-moving lot, and buyers can usually tell. Starting from what you want it to taste like, and buying for that, is the version that works.

Component changes have to be deliberate

Swapping a component because a lot ran out changes the product, and doing it without tasting and adjusting means the customer discovers it. Keeping a reference and matching to it is how a house blend stays a house blend across a year of changing lots.

Label them accurately

A blend is a blend and should say so. Naming a blend after one of its origins, or describing it in a way that implies a single farm, is the kind of claim that costs trust cheaply and is entirely avoidable.

Most roasters need both

The blend pays the bills and supports wholesale; the single origins are what the business is interesting for and what attracts the customers who care. Running only one of the two is a choice worth making deliberately rather than by drift.

References

21 CFR 101, Food Labeling, which carries the general requirements that apply here in the absence of a standard of identity: the statement of identity, net quantity, ingredient list and the name and place of business of the responsible party. law.cornell.edu
Written from federal regulation and from the published physics and chemistry of staling, not from a laboratory. There is no standard of identity for coffee or tea, so most of what governs a product here is the general requirement that labels be truthful and claims be substantiated. Anything here is a starting point for a conversation with your state department of agriculture, not a determination that you comply.