An espresso blend or espresso roast simply means that the coffee roaster has formulated a blend that they feel tastes good brewed as espresso. 

Espresso is a brew method where espresso machines force hot water through a tightly packed bed of very finely ground coffee under pressure.

Any coffee can be ground and brewed as espresso, it does not refer to the shade the coffee is roasted to.

What's the difference between the 1936 and 1976 espresso?

It's no mistake that we have two different espresso roasts. Both are named after the years that something integral to our company was created, and they turned out to be two of our three best selling coffees (scroll down to see the third).

We always have these two blends on our offering list. The 1936 was named for our first coffee roaster, which was manufactured in that year. The 1936 roast is an ever changing blend using two coffees from our current list of single origins. We have a profile that we shoot for and a few guidelines but ultimately it is driven by our baristas communicating with our roasters. It has a main component or “base” flavour that is milder and then a pop of flavour from a natural processed coffee. While it does change constantly, we strive to keep it at a medium brightness and have high sweetness.

The 1976 is a staple blend that is made up of Peruvian and Guatemalan coffees and is consistent throughout the year. It has a profile that is lower acidity with notes of rich chocolate and nuts. The 1976 is our take on a traditional Northern Italian espresso roast. Oh, and it's the year that Fernwood Coffee's co-founder was born. It just sounded like a good pairing with 1936.