Espresso Chupacabra: The Bean, The Myth, The Legend

Since the patent of the first espresso machine in 1884, many of us have come to rely upon a shot, either solo or incorporated into a more complex drink, to both dull our fatigue and sharpen our senses. Despite its widespread presence in the commons, several misconceptions about espresso continue to thrive that we’d like to address and, quite possibly, correct. But first….

We have been serving “Chup” as our house espresso since 2006. Over thirteen painstaking months, we developed the blend to incorporate the three main coffee growing regions (Latin America, Africa, and Indonesia) into one balanced shot; for all you coffee nerds, this blend also encompasses the three main coffee processing methods (washed, semi-washed, and dry). Because we seasonally rotate our single-origin offerings, the profile for Chupacabra is always updating while maintaining its stature as blended and roasted for espresso. Which leads to point number two….

While the phrase often gets used for branding purposes, it has no real application in the coffee roasting world. One can blend and roast coffee specifically for use as espresso but no roasting level exists as “espresso roast”.

Because espresso carries a strong profile, recipients often ascribe said intensity to dark-roasted coffee but all beans, from the lightest to the darkest, can be pulled as espresso. The intense flavor of espresso comes from its extraction method and not specifically the roast level of the beans. 

While no approach is incorrect, our personal philosophy as a specialty coffee roaster is to unlock the most intrinsic flavors of the beans while avoiding the roasting process as a final tasting note. As such, we classify Espresso Chupacabra as a medium roast, a level that allows the tasting notes from all three growing regions to shine through in your drink of choice. Speaking of one’s drink of choice….

Chupacabra translates to “goat-sucker” in Spanish, and references a mythical creature thought to drink the blood of livestock in parts of the Americas. In 1995, a panic began in Puerto Rico when a number of livestock were found bled dry through a series of small circular incisions. Descriptions of the creature responsible ranged from “reptilian,” “alien-like,” and with “a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail.” In the time since these bizarre murders, reports of the chupacabra have been largely debunked but the legend lives on through the namesake of our espresso blend. Besides, it references goats and sounds cool.