Latin Blend

The Latin Blend is a specialty coffee blend from the Dutch roastery Brandzaak, created with one goal in mind, to craft the ultimate “chocolate bomb.” This blend combines two Latin American coffees in equal parts, Brazil and Guatemala, to deliver a rich flavor experience with sweet notes of toffee and dark chocolate. Coffee professionals appreciate this blend for its full body and accessible character, both black and with milk.

The Latin Blend consists of 50% Brazilian and 50% Guatemalan coffee beans. The Brazilian component comes from Fazenda Rainha in the Mogiana/Minas Gerais region, a volcanic valley at elevations around 1,150–1,350 meters. The farm grows the Yellow Bourbon variety, known for its sweet, classic coffee profile with caramel and milk-chocolate accents. Fazenda Rainha has built a strong reputation, with its coffee regularly reaching the finals of Brazil’s Cup of Excellence competitions and even taking first place in 2011. The Guatemalan beans come from the high-altitude Huehuetenango region, one of Guatemala’s most renowned coffee areas. In this western highland, at 1,500–2,000 meters, coffee cherries ripen slowly in a cool climate. The elevation, indicated as “Strictly High Grown,” produces dense beans with rich, layered flavors and a pronounced aroma. The Huehuetenango coffee in this blend is organically grown and is known for its caramel-sweet, nutty taste with an intensely clean chocolate finish. Together, these two origin stories bring the best of Latin America into a single cup.

After many test roastings (cuppings), Brandzaak deliberately chose a medium roasting profile for the Latin Blend. The beans are roasted to a medium level, roughly a 6 out of 10 in intensity. This medium roast preserves the balance between sweetness and strength, letting the toffee and chocolate notes shine without excessive bitterness. During blend development, different roast curves were tested to keep the individual origin characters while still achieving a harmonious flavor. The result is a balanced roast that makes the blend highly versatile. The medium roast also ensures the coffee beans are not oily on the outside, which is beneficial for use in coffee machines. At Brandzaak, Latin Blend beans are always roasted fresh to order, meaning customers receive the coffee ultra-fresh, complete with the roast date on the package.

As the nickname “chocolate bomb” suggests, the Latin Blend excels in flavors of chocolate and caramel-like toffee. On the nose and first sip, sweet, dessert-like aromas stand out immediately. The Brazil Yellow Bourbon beans in this blend deliver a classic, sweet coffee profile with hints of caramelized sugar and milk chocolate. The Guatemalan Huehuetenango beans add a layer of nutty nuances, a sturdy body, and a pure dark-chocolate finish. The interplay of these components results in a rich and full aroma profile that appeals to lovers of sweet coffees as well as powerful espressos. Drinkers experience a balanced cup, full-flavored, with low acidity and a long, pleasant aftertaste reminiscent of cocoa. Thanks to the rich bouquet, every sip delights the senses, as if tasting a piece of Latin America in every cup.

An interesting aspect of the Latin Blend is that its two components are processed differently, which contributes to the complex flavor profile. The Brazilian Yellow Bourbon undergoes a pulped naturalprocessing (also called semi-washed). After harvest, part of the fruit flesh is removed, but the beans dry with some sticky mucilage still attached. This method gives the Brazil beans their characteristic sweetness and full body, bringing forward notes of nuts and caramel. The Guatemalan Huehuetenango beans, by contrast, are fully washed. In the washed process, producers remove the skin and fruit flesh almost immediately and briefly ferment the beans in water. This results in a clean, bright coffee in which delicate fruity and floral nuances are not influenced by pulp. The choice of pulped natural in Brazil and washed in Guatemala ensures the Latin Blend has both deep sweetness and a pure, penetrating taste. Coffee aficionados will notice the blend offers a beautiful mix of a thick, molasses-like body and a clean impression on the palate, without murky flavors.

The Latin Blend consists of 100% Arabica coffee beans from specific varieties beloved in the coffee world. On the Brazilian side, that is Yellow Bourbon, a distinctive yellow-fruiting member of the Bourbon family. Yellow Bourbon is known for its high sugar content and mild acidity, contributing to sweet, almost honey-like undertones in the cup. On the Guatemalan side, it involves traditional heritage: varieties such as Bourbon (one of the oldest Arabica cultivars) and Typica grow on high-altitude fincas, often referred to as “Arabigo” in Guatemala. These varieties typically provide a fine balance of light fruit tones, floral hints, and a refined body. The “SHG” (Strictly High Grown) label on the Guatemalan Arabica indicates cultivation above ~1350 meters, associated with slow-ripened beans of higher density and quality. In practice, this is evident in the cup: the combination of Yellow Bourbon from Brazil and Bourbon/Typica from Guatemala gives this blend its layered yet accessible flavor profile. All beans are of specialty quality and carefully selected, as confirmed by their high cupping scores (both around 84 out of 100 points according to the SCA).

Brandzaak presents itself as a sustainable and fair coffee roaster. For the Latin Blend, this concretely means sourcing beans with care for people and the environment. The Guatemala Huehuetenango beans in this blend are, for example, organically certified, indicating cultivation without chemical pesticides and with respect for nature. Brandzaak often purchases green coffee directly from farmers or through cooperatives of smallholders. This way, producers receive a fair price and a direct bond with coffee communities is formed. Well-known cooperatives Brandzaak works with include COMSA (Honduras) and Coope Tarrazú (Costa Rica); such partnerships support social projects and quality on the farms.

In production and packaging as well, Brandzaak takes steps toward sustainability. Brandzaak’s roastery is considered one of the greenest in the Netherlands. Their roasters are equipped with advanced afterburners and even a catalyst to drastically reduce harmful emissions, the first coffee roastery in the Netherlands with such an installation. Moreover, Brandzaak roasts fully CO₂2-compensated on gas and runs the entire operation on Dutch wind energy. This means the carbon footprint of the roasting process is neutralized, among other things through tree planting and investments in renewable energy projects. The sustainability mindset extends to packaging: all coffee is packed in bags without an aluminum layer that are 100% recyclable. From shipping boxes to labels, all paper is FSC/PEFC-certified to support responsible forestry. In this way, Brandzaak guarantees not only delicious coffee, but also a cup that can be enjoyed with a clear conscience.

The versatility of the Latin Blend shows in its brewing options. This blend was originally developed as an espresso blend and excels in super-automatic machines and semi-automatics for espresso. With an espresso grind it produces a powerful shot with a full chocolate flavor. Because the coffee has such a sturdy body and intense taste, it holds its own in milk drinks, cappuccinos, latte macchiatos and flat whites made with Latin Blend have a distinct coffee presence in which the chocolate notes blend beautifully with the milk. According to Brandzaak the blend has been found suitable for practically all classic coffee preparations, from ristretto to lungo. Home baristas use the Latin Blend for cortados, Americanos and even a full caffè latte, with consistent results each time. It also works for a traditional cup of filter coffee or French press, the medium roast and balanced taste ensure it does not become too bitter or sour during longer extraction times. An additional practical advantage is that the beans remain relatively dry (little surface oil due to the medium roast), making them safe to use in super-automatic bean-to-cup machines, without causing the burrs to gum up quickly. In summary, the Latin Blend is a true all-rounder that satisfies both the espresso fanatic and the filter drinker.

Although the Latin Blend itself (as a blend) has not been submitted specifically to competitions, the quality can be inferred from the recognition of its components. For example, Fazenda Rainha, the farm behind the Brazilian half of the blend, won 1st prize in the prestigious Cup of Excellence Brazil (2011) and achieved multiple top-10 placements in other years. That means the Brazil Yellow Bourbon in this blend belongs to the world’s top. The numbers also speak for themselves, both origins score around 84 points on the Specialty Coffee Association cupping scale, which easily meets the threshold for specialty coffee. Beyond industry awards there is the appreciation of coffee lovers themselves. Brandzaak as a company receives an excellent rating from thousands of customers, averaging 9.5 out of 10 according to the review platform Kiyoh. This suggests that blends like the Latin Blend are very well received in practice. On social media and in coffee communities the Latin Blend is praised for its flavor consistency and accessibility, for some espresso fans it is a favorite for daily cappuccinos. In short, both on paper (scores and awards) and in the consumer’s cup, this blend earns praise.

The Latin Blend comes in a sturdy, matte-black coffee bean bag with the distinctive Brandzaak logo and blend label. The front of the package clearly shows the roast level and the name “Latin Blend”, along with the roast date, which is freshly filled in with each order. The bags are available in two sizes, 500 grams and 1000 grams, so both home users and heavy users can choose a suitable amount. Each bag features a one-way valve (freshness valve) and a resealable zip-lock strip. The valve releases degassing carbon dioxide from the fresh beans while keeping oxygen out, preserving the aromas optimally. Thanks to the resealable closure the coffee can be packed airtight after each use, safeguarding freshness for up to 8 weeks after roasting. Sustainability has also been considered, the inner layer contains no aluminum, making the packaging fully recyclable. The sleek, informative design underscores Brandzaak’s motto of freshness and quality, from the moment of roasting to the moment of brewing the coffee stays in top condition.

The Latin Blend is easy to obtain through Brandzaak’s official channels. In particular, Brandzaak’s own webshop offers this coffee year-round, often roasted to order. Consumers can choose the 500 g or 1 kg package, priced at around €14.85 and €25.25 respectively. Orders placed on a working day (or Sunday) before 13:00 are roasted the same day and usually delivered the next day. This means the coffee arrives lightning-fast and super fresh, with the roast date indicated. Brandzaak ships throughout the Netherlands, with free delivery from an order amount of €35, two kilos of Latin Blend already qualifies. For those near the roastery, there is also the option to pick up the order free of charge. Besides the own webshop the Latin Blend has also been available via platforms like Bol.com in the past, though the emphasis is on direct sales to guarantee freshness. The price-quality ratio of this blend is notably favorable, around €25 per kilo for freshly roasted specialty coffee is competitive in the market. This makes the Latin Blend not only compelling in content but also commercially an attractive choice for coffee lovers and hospitality businesses looking for a reliable, consistent blend.