Malabar Gold

Much of this information was gathered from conversations with Dr Joseph John and volume 4, number 3 of the Indian coffee review.

(from Ground Control Issue #7)

Malabar Gold is the name of a preblended European style espresso blend by The Josuma Coffee Company located in Menlo Park not far from San Franscisco.

Dr. Joseph John has developed this ready to roast blend with the simplicity of three carefully chosen coffees. Each coffee contributes distinct qualities, and maybe one of them will suprise you.

Malabar Gold is specifically a European style low acid espresso blend that is designed to be light roasted and produce a mellow, smooth espresso. One way that European style differs from American style in that Malabar Gold contains only three coffees.The simplicity offers the consumer an oportunity to really distinguish and enjoy the varietal features of the componants. American style espresso must necessarily be dark roasted to reduce the high acidity of the beans used. Conversely, Joseph John begins his blend with Indian Monsooned Malabar AA, the lowest acid coffee in the world. Begining with such a coffee allows the roast master a much lighter roast to achieve the correct degree of acidy. The varietal features of the coffees are allowed to remain present, and not be crowded by the roasting process itself. Since dark roasting carmalizes so much sugar we get into tasting the process vs the bean.

The Monsooned Malabar is an ample bodied coffee and being a natural coffee brings with it a rich crema. Crema! This is the first sign of success or failure in espresso and possibly the crowning achievement of this blend. The source of the excelent crema here, is sure to spur lots of conversation. The source is Robusta. Robusta? the stuff they make instant coffee out of? the stuff they put in cans and spend millions of advertising dollars on ? Yes... Well, no. This robusta is the most expensive, high quality robusta in the world. It is premium washed coffee from India that is very clean, soft , and mellow in the cup. Grown at about 3000 feet, it is not the dirty, rubbery, cheap robusta available on the market in North America. This is the kind of robusta that Italian roast masters search for and will never tell you where they got it. In fact almost all Italian espresso blends will use a very carefully chosen robusta in the mix.

Here are the top four essential contributions of robusta to the blend:

4) It gives the espresso a flavor profile, more typical of the European espressos, that no arabica can.

3) Espresso is often used to create milk based drinks. Milk kills coffee flavor. The robusta helps push the arabica coffee flavor through, even in a milk based drink.

2) There is a higher caffiene content in these beans, as much as 1 to 1-1/2 times as much. Conscidering the smaller quantity of liquid consumed, you need to add a little kick, huh?

and the #1 contribution...

1) Robustas enhance crema.
*No crema equals no vapor,
*No vapor equals no aroma,
*No aroma equals no flavor.

Crema: those little gold bubbles- are essentially the delivery system of aroma. The importance of great crema is that that's where the aroma is found; in the vapor. The liquid, on the other hand, is taste. Flavor, therefore, is all in the nose. And here's proof. Try drinking an espresso in a 'to go' cup, or holding your nose, its a totally different experience. No Flavor at all.

The last bean of the blend will remain nameless. Lets just call it the "high-lighter". Of the factors in balancing a blend; body, crema, color, aroma, and taste, this high-lighter provides the last two. Aroma and taste. Dr. John has chosen a bean that is one of the most aromatic coffees in the world. Its what gives this espresso an intense distinctive profile. While these beans do make some contribution to body, color, and crema, such characteristics are not the main attributes. They are all about aroma and taste.

Here's some homework: customize some Malabar Gold. This is exactly what the experts are doing out there with this blend. In order to distinguish "The Really Good Coffee House" from "The House of Really Good Coffee" the roasters are adding a fourth bean! The subtle shift in FLAVOR, AROMA and TASTE becomes a proprietary trademark. What the customers know is that they like TRGCH's espresso more or less than THORGC's espresso.

This is what you do. First, the body, color and crema are perfect in Malabar Gold. Don't mess with that. Choose a "high-lighter" coffee that you like the flavor, aroma, and taste of. Blend in 5% to 15% of the chosen coffee. This will take some experimentation to find the right amount. And remember, you will get a different effect if you roast the new beans with the espresso blend, or roast them separately and add them later.

The next time you are in your local coffee haunt and the espresso is clearly not burned to charcoal, but instead has a mellow smooth quality with ample crema and a smooth finish. look around for a burlap bag with red stenciling that says Josuma Co. Malabar Gold.

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