THE HISTORY OF OUR BLENDS

 

Have you ever wondered how and why Darks Coffee Roasters decided on their blend names? scroll down to find out more >>

 
 
 
 
 

Our 3 flagship espresso blends, U47, M49 and LA2A all take their names from vintage microphones and musical equipment! At Darks, as well as being coffee roasters we’re also longtime musicians and in a previous life, we even ran a recording studio!

When coming up with our espresso blends we realised the way we described them sounded a lot like the way we described the sound of our favourite music gear. Tops, mid-range and lows could be translated to acidity, body and finish in the coffee.

 
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U47

U47 is a valve microphone made by the German manufacturer, Neumann.

Everyone from the Beatles to Sinatra used the U47 and it is more or less the grand-daddy of all mics.

It has a clear top end, with a nice bump in the upper mid-range and an extended bottom end, which make it the every persons mic.

And that’s the way we made our U47 blend, the every person coffee. Delicate acids (tops) with a nice, medium weight palette (upper-mids) and a long, dark and clean finish (low end).

Origins: Colombia, PNG, Guatemala.

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M49

M49 is another Neumann valve microphone and was used in 1959 by Miles Davis on ‘Kind of Blue’, our favourite jazz recording.

For this reason we had to have our full and rich blend named in honour of this classic mic. It’s a mic that reflects perfectly in its description as it does in relation to our M49 espresso coffee.

Mild in terms of hype in its tops (low but present acids) smooth, detailed and rich in its mid-range (mellow, dark and a full mouth feel) and smooth and round in its low range (long, rich and dark after taste).

Origins: Brazil, Sumatra, India.

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LA-2A

The LA-2A is a very simple to use optical compressor or a ‘Limiting Amplifier’ hence the LA part.

It’s been used since the 1960’s on all types of recordings and when used in conjunction with a vocal take cut along with a U47 or M49, it adds a richness, depth and smoothness to the vocal like no other device. It kind of makes a halo around the sound.

Our LA2A pays homage to just that.

Rich, deep and smooth with a complexity like no other.

Origins: Ethiopia, Sumatra.

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SATAN'S CROWBAR

This is our take on a darker roasted ‘Italian style’ coffee. It is very different from our core range of coffee and unlike the rest of our range is not named after a piece of musical equipment.

We thought Satan’s Crowbar was a very fitting name for this blend due to its intensity in flavour. It is our fullest bodied coffee and also has a higher caffeine content due to a small amount of Robusta coffee beans used in the blend. Robusta can be a dirty word in the coffee industry but used in small amounts it adds something that Arabica beans can’t in this particular coffee. We use a high grade washed Robusta coffee from India called Kappi Royale. After all if we are going to use Robusta we might as well use the best we can find.

This is one seriously strong coffee, so consider yourself warned!

Origins: Brazil, Sumatra, India.