Hint – it has nothing to do with chocolate (almost).
You’ve probably heard about the “Mocha Java” blend of coffee and, if you’re like most people, figured it was something to do with chocolate flavoring. Not really the case.
Where Mocha Java Comes From
Mocha Java coffee is one of the first coffee blends in the world. This coffee blend goes all the way back to when traders were sailing from Europe to Indonesia. Ships would stop in the port of Java and pick up the typically bold and earthy coffees that area of Indonesia had to offer. Then, on their way back, they would stop in the very busy port of Mocha in Yemen, picking up more coffee. Like the nearby coffees from Ethiopia, coffees from Mocha were lighter, fruitier and brighter than their Java counterparts.
Coming back to Europe, coffees from these two parts of the world were mixed together resulting in one of the first known coffee blends. The bright, fruity notes of the African coffee paired beautifully with the deep, rich undertones of the Indonesian Java coffee and became known as the Mocha Java Blend.
What About Today?
Today, you rarely find Mocha Java coffees that are blended with exactly these two components. Typically, roasters will get a similar mix by using coffees from Sumatra, and bright coffees from Ethiopia to make their Mocha Java blend. That’s what we’ve done with our 321. It’s a fantastic mix of bright, fruity Ethiopian coffees and deep, rich, full bodied Sumatra.
About the only thing a Mocha Java blend has to do with chocolate is some of the rich, chocolate flavors you get in the cup from our Sumatra Aceh coffee.
You owe it to yourself to try some of this rich coffee tradition.
Try some of our Mocha Java Blend
Sweet Ethiopian coffees combined with full bodied Sumatra to make a classic mocha java blend.
Cool beans as an old GF used to say. One question though about the proportion if you actually have Mokka and Java beans. Is it 1:1 for the traditional mix or was the proportion different? Thanks in advance if you can enlighten me. p.s. I always used to do Sumatra/Kenya.
Bill Curtin
DC
Bill – I haven’t been able to find any definitive information about proportions. The one that I see pop up the most is 25% Sumatra and 75% of the other. However, we’ve been doing 33% Sumatra in ours.
I can imagine Sumatra/Kenya is a fantastic mix as well.
Thanks much for the reply which I just discovered (it didn’t go to my mail). I used to do (roughly) 2 Sumatra to 3 Kenya/Ethiopia/Tanzania, depending on which looked freshest (I was shopping out of open barrels back in the 80s). Of course you can get actual Mokka and Java beans now – but they tend to be real expensive, what with the war in the one place and an expanding population in the other.