Coffee Roast Lab

Build Your Own Coffee Blend

Create a coffee that is entirely yours. Start with a base for body and character, add up to three accents for brightness, fruit or depth, then set the balance to taste. We combine your chosen coffees into one bag, roasted weekly in small batches. New here? Browse all our coffee or take the Coffee Finder.

Coffee Roast Lab custom coffee blend

New to blending? Start from a popular blend

Tap a recipe to load it into the builder, then adjust it to taste. Every one is a real blend you can order as is.

Your base gives the blend its main body, sweetness and overall character. It usually makes up most of the bag, so pick a coffee you already enjoy on its own.

Accents (optional, up to 3)

Accents shape the blend on top of the base, adding brightness, fruit, or extra depth in smaller amounts. Add a decaf here to make a half-caf.

Quick ratios

Sets base then accents in order. A higher base share keeps the blend closer to that coffee.

Build Your Own Blend, questions and answers

What is a custom blend?

It is one bag of coffee made from a base coffee plus up to three accents that you choose, combined in the percentages you set. We portion your chosen coffees by weight and pack them together as a single blend, roasted weekly in small batches in Ottawa.

How is my blend made, are the coffees roasted together?

Each coffee is roasted separately to the roast level you pick, then we weigh out your chosen percentages and combine them into one bag. Roasting separately means every origin is roasted to suit itself, so the blend keeps the character of each coffee you selected.

I picked coffees with different roast levels, is that a problem?

Not at all. Because the coffees are roasted separately and then combined, a blend with mixed roast levels will simply have beans of slightly different colours in the bag. It brews and tastes as the balanced blend you designed. This is completely normal for a custom blend.

How do I choose a base coffee?

Start with a coffee you already like on its own. The base sets the body and overall character of the blend and usually makes up most of the bag, so a smooth, balanced coffee is an easy foundation. You can then use accents to add the brightness, fruit or depth you are after.

How much of an accent should I add?

Accents work in smaller amounts than the base. Bright or aromatic coffees make their mark even at a small share, while smooth, chocolatey coffees can take a larger share. A good starting point is to keep the base as the majority of the blend and let accents fill the rest. The Quick ratios buttons give you sensible starting splits.

Can I make a half-caf blend?

Yes. Add one of our decaf coffees as an accent and set its share. Decaf still contains a very low amount of caffeine, so this lowers the blend's caffeine rather than removing it. As a rough guide when the rest is regular Arabica coffee, around 40 to 60% decaf gives you roughly half-caf, and 70 to 90% makes a mostly decaf cup. Blends that include our Robusta coffees carry more caffeine, so they need a little more decaf for the same effect.

Can I save my blend, reorder it, or subscribe?

Give your blend a name and tap Save, and it is kept on this device so you can add it to your cart again in one click, no rebuilding. You can also copy a link to your blend to bookmark it or share it. Custom blends are not set up for recurring subscriptions yet, but saving your recipe makes reordering just as quick.

What if it doesn't taste the way I expected?

Blending is personal, and dialling in a recipe can take a try or two. If your blend is not quite right, email us and we will suggest tweaks to the ratios or the coffees to get it closer to what you are after.

How fresh is it, and where do you ship?

Every blend is roasted weekly in small batches and ships within 3 business days of your order. We ship across Canada and to many countries worldwide, with free shipping on qualifying Canadian orders.