Espresso di Manfredi Masterclass

After the recent launch of the new Espresso di Manfredi coffee blends, Chiaro and Audacia, Stefano Manfredi hosted a coffee masterclass at Osteria Balla with leading coffee roaster Wayne Archer.

L-R: Wayne Archer and Stefano Manfredi

Single origin coffee is the product of one harvest and the coffee can be unbalanced, or too fresh from the tree, and not the best tasting, Wayne Archer explains. With a blend, you create harmonies in taste.

Cupping was done using 20g of coarsely ground coffee, both single origin and the two Espresso di Manfredi blends, steeped in hot water for half an hour.

Single origin and blends used in cupping

Starting with the Robusta, this is used in the Classico blend and has earthiness, smokiness, no acidity, a touch of grassy character with no bitterness. The Brazilian is unwashed Arabica, non-selectively harvested, ie a mix of under ripe, overripe and just file berries which yields a delicate aromatic fruity character with little acidity at the back of the tongue. The beans from Peru are floral, fruit driven and have very little acidity. From PNG, the coffee is complex and exhibits the richness of the berry fruit with some acidity and body. Sumatra is a wild coffee, slick, pungent rich, adds the most character to a blend and forms the hero component of Audacia, which is a morning coffee. And lastly, Kenya has lots of berry fruit character, lots of acidity, rich and tangy, gives depth of flavour in a blend.

Chiaro is made from 100% Arabica, is slow-roasted which smooths the coffee and gives it a lighter flavour with the PNG component showing through. Audacia is higher roasted with an additional 1.3 minutes which makes it darker in colour with more depth and caramelisation.

Both blends use the various single origins in the blend in different ratios. Wayne Archer suggests that a blend of 4 to 5 types is a good number as it imparts a contribution from each which is more than the same of the single components.

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