Looking for a little more info on how to choose the right blend for you, or get more info on what a coffee blend is?
This page is for you! We'll start with a quick primer and then see how our coffee blends change in taste and origin to accomplish the consistent taste that makes your morning.
WHAT ARE COFFEE BLENDS?
Coffee blends are a mixture of coffees from different countries, farms, or producers that come together to create a unique taste profile. This is opposed to "single origin" coffee, where the specific coffee you're drinking just has one producer, farm, cooperative, or mill.
Coffee blends are designed to be consistent. Due to harvest schedules and crop freshness, the components of blends change throughout the year, but a roasting team uses its expertise to craft blends that taste very similar in your cup, regardless of whether you’re drinking them in January or June (check out more about how we source coffee on our Coffee Sourcing page).
Our own coffee blends are also designed to appeal to the wide range of tastes in the specialty coffee world. You will see several roasts and names, ranging from lighter to more developed. Moreover, each comes with different coffee origins and components designed to hit a unique flavor profile.
With all this choice, it can be hard to know which one is right for you. So, to make it simple:
COFFEE BLENDS ARE:
- Designed to be consistent.
- A mix of fresh harvests from around the world that meet a similar taste profile.
- Range in taste profiles and roast levels - there's a blend for everyone!
Below, we’ve prepared a general buying guide of our own blends, putting them in order from our lightest roasts to our darkest and describing their taste.
Terminology key:Development:
Sweetness:
Acidity:
Balance:
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OUR BLENDS
Less Development / Lighter Roasts
Breakfast - (view coffee)
Sweet with pleasing acidity
Roast level: ◉◉◉○○○○
Our Breakfast Blend is a lighter roasted blend designed to maintain sweetness while being acidity-forward. If you like a coffee that's warm and inviting while still having a little fruit-forward pop, this is your blend. Look for a milk chocolate finish.
Haya - (view coffee)
Smooth & bright, brew hot or cold
Roast level: ◉◉◉○○○○
Haya is a blend of Ethiopian and Latin American coffees. We formulated Haya to be brewed as cold brew because its components yield the deep chocolatey notes you’re used to while having a delicate, floral overtone from the Ethiopian component. We believe this sets it apart from other cold brew offerings and yields an extra layer of refreshment to your cold beverage. But it works just as wonderfully as drip coffee, and chances are you’ll find a new favorite whatever way you make it.
Medium Development / Sweeter Coffees
Cafe Kaldi - (view coffee)
Our perfectly balanced house blend
Roast level: ◉◉◉◉○○○
Our house blend since we opened up our doors in 1994 and started roasting in our DeMun location. It is a blend of two roasts - one more developed to bring out deep sweetness, the other less to add complexity - that results in a perfectly balanced cup. Read more about the history of our flagship blend in our blog, Much More Than a Blend: Cafe Kaldi.
700 - (view coffee)
A dialed-in blend for espresso and drip
Roast level: ◉◉◉◉○○○
A coffee with a caramel sweetness, smooth body, and dark chocolate finish that tastes great as both drip coffee and espresso. A staple for the home and for the espresso bar, and the perfect everyday coffee for any coffee lover. Read more about the never-ending quality control and effort we put into our espresso blend in our blog, Much More Than a Blend: 700.
Fair Trade Organic Birds & Bees - (view coffee)
An approachable & balanced roast
Roast level: ◉◉◉◉○○○
A medium roast of our certified Fair Trade Organic coffee, this blend features an approachable acidity and a balanced sweetness. Perfect for any occasion. Check out our blog, "Much More Than (FTO) Blends: French Roast and Birds & Bees" to learn more about its history and roast profile.
Half Caff Kaldi - (view coffee)
Perfectly balanced, 1/2 the caffeine
Roast level: ◉◉◉◉○○○
The perfect coffee for the late afternoon or all day sipping. Modeled after our house blend, it's made up of 50% Swiss Water Decaf Cafe Kaldi and 50% regular. The result is a perfectly balanced cup with exceptional sweetness atop a deep chocolatey base. And just the right amount of caffeine.
Decaf Cafe Kaldi - (view coffee)
Perfectly balanced for day & night
Roast level: ◉◉◉◉○○○
A decaffeinated version of our classic house blend. Our green coffee undergoes the Swiss Water Process which allows for a coffee to maintain its flavor without the use of chemicals. Our roast accentuates the coffee's sweetness and brings you a perfectly balanced cup for any time of the day.
Longer Development / Darker Roasts
Fair Trade Organic Natural High - (view coffee)
A rich, sweet cup
Roast level: ◉◉◉◉◉○○
Sourced to always be a blend of Fair Trade and Organic coffees, our FTO Natural High is one coffee roasted two ways and blended to showcase a deep, chocolatey sweetness while leaving a subtle, crisp acidity.
French Roast and Fair Trade Organic French Roast - (view coffee)
A warm & inviting dark roast
Roast level: ◉◉◉◉◉◉○
A crowd-favorite, we carefully develop this coffee until almost all essential oils rise to the surface. The result is a darker roast that features a warm and inviting sweetness, reminiscent of caramel and dark chocolate with almost no acidity.
Malta - (view coffee)
Our tribute to Italian coffee
Roast level: ◉◉◉◉◉◉◉
One of our most developed blends and perfect for the lover of deep, rich notes. Roasted dark and slow as a tribute to coffee's heritage in Southern Italy, this blend's full body and bittersweet chocolate flavors taste great as both drip coffee and espresso.
Fair Trade Organic Coffees
In 2001, we were one of the first retailers in St. Louis to offer certified Fair Trade Coffees and we still offer a selection of these blends today. Over the last several years, we have started focusing on new programs (see Kaldi’s Relationship Coffees) that reward quality and taste as well as help small farmers who may not qualify for Fair Trade certification.
Flavored Coffees
Fan favorites — and oftentimes gateways into specialty coffee — like Highlander Grogg and Decaf Highlander Grogg stand a bit outside the usual breakdown by roast level and components. These coffees are flavored with natural oils after roasting to achieve their taste profile.
COMPARING CAFE KALDI AND 700
Our two most popular blends provide exceptional coffee experiences with mass appeal. But which should you choose? Take a deep dive before you buy with our blog, "Comparing Cafe Kaldi & 700".
CAFE KALDI & 700 CHEAT SHEET
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READ NEXT:
WHY FRESH ROASTED COFFEE MATTERS
Related Content:
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Much More Than a Blend: 700 | Kaldi's Coffee Blog
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Kaldi's Coffee Subscriptions - Making Coffee Work For You | Kaldi's Coffee Blog
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Coffee Processing & Your Cup | Kaldi's Coffee Blog
