A Word About our Espresso Series:

Blending coffee to make a great espresso, year in and year out, is one of the great challenges facing professional coffee roasters. There are two primary reasons to blend coffee. One is to harmonize coffees from various origins to perpetuate a desirable taste profile. The other is to save money by blending high grade beans with less expensive "filler" coffees. We don't engage in the sort of tomfoolery that the latter represents. It's profitable to do so, but we like to make good coffee first and foremost, and that's pretty much not going to happen with that approach. In contrast to the vast majority of specialty roasters, we don't purchase filler coffees to make blends. If a coffee is going to go in one of our blends, it's going to be good enough for us to offer as a stand alone single-origin. So, you'll see every component of our blends on our single-origin offer sheet as well.

About Natural Bridges:

Natural Bridges, so named for a State Park at the western end of West Cliff Drive here in Santa Cruz, is a Central American espresso blend. It's constructed to be mild and sweet, and makes a lovely, unassuming espresso, better suited to drinking straight, or with perhaps an ounce or two of added 140F milk, but no more.

This Spring/Summer Edition is a post-roast blend of a Honduras SHG, and a sweet Guatemala Antigua. It's clean, big, and deliciously sweet. Superb espresso, and great drip coffee too.

Brewing Parameters:

Temperature: 199-200F

Dose: 18-21 grams

Brew Time, Flat Profile, 8.5 Bars: 28-32 seconds

Brew Time, Pressure Ramp Profile, 7 Bar Peak: 38-40 seconds