Mocha Java

Mocha Java is the oldest known coffee blend. Traditionally, Mocha--a coffee from what is today Yemen--is cut with a coffee from Java. The goal was and still is a gestalt between the fruit-forward berriness of the Mocha and the bodacious earthiness of the Java. Modern interpretations care less about origin than about achieving that gestalt. Often the wild fruitiness comes from a naturally processed Ethiopian, the earthiness from a Sumatra.

ROASTe offers a number of Mocha Javas. There's "Romance" from Paradise. Higher Ground and Klatch, both former "roasters of the year," offer one, though the one from Klatch seems to have taken a hiatus. 

I have the components for a Mocha Java in my pantry, so this morning I decided to concoct my own. I used 15 grams of Kuma's Sumatra--bright, clean, alpine--and 15 grams of PT's naturally berrylicious Ethiopian. 

My sister hates each coffee seperately but loved the combination.

As for me, I thought it was a little schizophrenic. The blend wasn't a blend so much as a juxtaposition. One sip was dominated by the Ethiopian, the next by the Sumatran. They didn't come together for me, which is not necessarily a bad thing. If I had to rank the coffees, my preference ordering would be PTs > Blend > Kuma. The Blend was more interesting than the Kuma alone.

Given that I've nearly reached the end of each bag, tomorrow necessity more than curiosity may lead to another Mocha Java.