Onyx approach to creating blends is a bit different. Instead of choosing coffees from specific countries or regions that will, in theory, intertwine well to create complex & cohesive flavors like most, we start from the end and work our way back. This perspective means we choose to create a particular flavor profile first, deciding which acidities, sugars, and fats we want to accentuate for the coffee. Once a flavor profile has been set- in this case, dark chocolate, red wine, molasses, and orange peel for Monarch- we then start cupping blind through many coffees to find these specific attributes. For Monarch, we use a natural Ethiopia roasted longer than normal to take bright fruits to a wine-like sweetness. Then we use Guatemalan coffees to find extra chocolate and caramel notes and create a dense, heavy body. The purpose is that once a flavor profile is created, we update the coffees that make up Monarch every 3-4 months. This allows us to have a year-round blend and flavor profile of high quality while retaining our commitment to seasonal coffees. This vigorous amount of cupping and blending takes a considerable amount of time, but we think it makes the difference and is a system we use for all our blends. Currently, this blend is Ethiopia Gotiti Natural and Colombia Buesaco.
 
Feel excited that the coffee you are drinking is always in season, and therefore, it is cupping and tasting to its full potential. We will never compromise our commitment to high-quality coffees and blends, whether it’s a single origin release or a blend component. You will not find Onyx buying “blender” coffees to save cost or prolong a good coffee. We also always keep blends to three coffees or less and maintain ratios in the build. This way what you extract is the flavor profile we designed.