We feel honored, and grateful, to be part of the wedding celebrations of our dear friends Ji Ahn and John McKinzie.
Ji and John are very special to us. We connected over coffee and other shared interests, but they bring such radiant grace, joy and generosity that Robin and I would look forward to their next visit to the popup. When they entrusted us with crafting a custom blend for their wedding, I knew this must be something very unique, made just for this occasion, never to be repeated.
Though there is nothing we can possibly put together that would adequately describe their love for each other, I wanted the blend to befit the joy of their celebration. So I asked them for five words that described their relationship. We also went over flavor notes they liked. John preferred a decaf and Ji a caffeinated bean. This would be a half-caf blend — a confluence of flavors.
So I got to work finding the right coffees for the blend. I chose Onyx Coffee's Francisco Florencio, a three-nanolot blend from Francisco Mendez of Guatemala. With its caramel and baker's chocolate base, delicate floral tones and dried fig sweetness, this lot lays down the foundation of the blend. For the decaf I went with an Ethiopia Guji natural process Mountain Water decaf from Royal Coffee's Crown Jewels collection. With its raspberry and peach sweetness and buttery body, it provided a balanced yet intriguing counterpoint to the Guatemala. After a quick tasting we settled on a 60/40 blend of the Guatemala and Ethiopia respectively, and I tried to tune the roast profiles to match.
Fast forward to July 14 — roast day. Ji had delivered the bags ready to fill, with beautifully designed labels affixed. I decided to post-blend, roasting the coffees separately and batching before filling. My daughter Surosree helped fill the bags.
Ji and John, it is an honor and absolute pleasure to be part of your celebration. God bless you both on this day with a lifetime of shared love and joy.
A Bespoke Blend for Ji and John's Wedding
