How do espresso beans differ from single-origin beans?

Espresso beans are the beans used to pull Espresso, and most are blends of coffees from several origins mixed in set proportions; these are also called blended coffee beans. Single-origin beans instead trace to one origin or variety and suit pour-over and cold drip. The two differ in bean selection, roast level, and flavor.

The espresso machine, invented by Italians, uses steam pressure to extract a concentrated shot, and drinks like lattes and cappuccinos are built on that base. A blend coffee combines origins for balance, while Single Origin Espresso uses one origin. Freshness also affects how each type tastes in the cup.

Friends who regularly drink lattes and cappuccinos may never have thought that the coffee beans used in these drinks and the single-origin beans used for pour-over actually follow two different paths. Espresso beans usually refer to the beans used to make Espresso, most of which are blends of coffees from multiple origins in specific proportions, though there are also SOEs made with single-origin beans. Single-origin coffee beans, on the other hand, emphasize a traceable single origin or variety, and are suited to pour-over, cold drip, and similar methods. The two differ in bean selection, roast level, and flavor expression, and understanding their differences will help you make a more suitable choice based on your taste and equipment. The following article starts from Front Street Coffee's actual products and breaks down, layer by layer, the logic of espresso blending, the characteristics of SOE, and the impact of freshness on flavor.

Many friends may already have come into contact with coffee beans, yet not necessarily realize that they also fall into two major categories: espresso and single-origin. The reasoning is actually not complicated — the lattes, cappuccinos, and other drinks we have in daily life all belong to the category of espresso coffee, so the beans used must naturally correspond to it; not just any coffee bean can handle espresso extraction. People often ask Front Street: exactly what kind of beans are suitable for making espresso? And how should single-origin coffee beans be understood?

You might as well hear what Front Street has to say — perhaps it will suddenly become clear.

So-called espresso beans refer to coffee beans specifically used to make Espresso. The espresso machine was invented by Italians and relies on steam pressure to extract a cup of concentrated coffee, which is the origin of Espresso. Drinks such as lattes and cappuccinos are all made with Espresso as the base, then combined with milk, sugar, or other ingredients. Because Espresso comes from an espresso machine, coffee made with it as the base is collectively called espresso coffee. The beans used to make Espresso are mostly several coffee beans from different origins selected and mixed in specific proportions; these beans are also called blended coffee beans. Of course, nowadays there is also the practice of using single-origin beans to make espresso, such as Single Original Espresso, abbreviated as SOE.

Blended beans usually use a medium-dark roast. There are two blending methods: one is to mix the green beans first and then roast, called green blending; the other is to roast separately first and then mix, called roasted blending. Whether green blending or roasted blending, before blending the beans you must first understand the flavor tendencies of different coffee varieties and the characteristics of coffee beans from different origins. Due to differences in variety and origin, coffee beans show subtle distinctions in acidity, bitterness, sweetness, aroma, body, and so on. To create an ideal blended bean, the roaster must not only have a thorough understanding of the beans' nature but also possess superb roasting skills, so making an excellent blend is by no means easy.

Coffee beans are, after all, an agricultural product; even for the same bean, the flavor performance can fluctuate from year to year. Front Street believes that blending several coffee beans together can precisely address this problem, keeping the taste roughly stable each year, while also requiring the selection of major coffee-producing countries to ensure an adequate supply of beans.

Divided by producing country, region, and type, espresso beans can be categorized into three types: Arabica and Robusta blends, 100% Arabica blends, and single-origin espresso SOE.

Arabica plus Robusta blending method: adding Robusta beans to a blend can enhance body, enrich crema, and lower cost. Therefore this blending method is very common and is also the mainstream practice.

100% Arabica blend: generally speaking, Arabica is a higher-quality variety than Robusta, with a more elegant flavor spectrum and more complex layers, so a pure Arabica blend is theoretically superior in flavor and also more expensive. But one cannot judge quality solely by bean variety, because there are simply too many factors affecting coffee beans (producing country, region, processing method, roast level, etc.), so naturally there are also lower-quality Arabica beans and decent-quality Robusta beans.

Front Street Coffee's blended beans include the following: Front Street Basic Espresso Blend, Front Street Specialty Espresso Blend, Front Street Commercial Espresso Blend, and Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun Espresso Blend.

Then what exactly are single-origin coffee beans?

Single-origin coffee beans refer to coffee beans from a single origin (Single Origin) or a single variety, similar to the grapes used in red wine, coming from a certain estate in a certain region of a certain country. The renowned Front Street Blue Mountain Coffee, for example, belongs to the category of single-origin coffee.

Single-origin coffee can select beans of different roast levels, such as light roast, medium roast, and dark roast, with corresponding aromas, tastes, and mouthfeels that differ, and you can also choose beans from different countries — Africa, South America, Asia, and so on. Front Street Coffee uses specialty coffee beans to make single-origin coffee.

With the rise of the third wave of specialty coffee, more and more cafés have begun to offer single-origin coffee. According to SCAE, the core significance of the emergence of single-origin coffee lies in traceability, letting coffee lovers understand which origin, which region, which estate, and what bean variety this type of high-quality coffee comes from. It is precisely the third wave of coffee's promotion of coffee knowledge such as brewing methods and origin flavors that has driven the growing popularity of single-origin coffee. Single-origin coffee beans are generally suited to pour-over, cold drip, and cold brew. Friends with increasingly high demands for coffee may be more inclined to pursue specialty single-origin coffee.

The recently much-discussed SOE is actually the abbreviation of "Single Origin Espresso," meaning single-origin espresso in Chinese. That is, replacing the blended beans usually used for espresso with single-origin coffee beans, extracting a cup of espresso under high pressure through an espresso machine.

SOE can present an espresso with a unique and typical flavor. For example, Front Street Yirga's signature citrus flavor, Front Street Kenya's fruity flavor, and so on — plus espresso extraction amplifies the coffee's taste, so specific flavors are more pronounced than in pour-over. But precisely because it comes from a single origin, flaws are also easily amplified, so beans roasted lighter tend to taste not very good as SOE; for example, if Front Street Yirgacheffe were made into SOE, it would appear sharply acidic and pungent, with a less pleasing mouthfeel. Therefore SOE is not necessarily better than blended espresso. And single-origin beans used as SOE are usually required to be roasted somewhat darker than beans used for pour-over.

Let's look at Front Street Coffee's Front Street Basic Espresso Blend:

The espresso moka pot coffee bean recommended by many baristas at Front Street Coffee — Front Street Dark Cocoa Blend: the goal is to blend, at low cost, an espresso bean with a nutty cocoa flavor. Yunnan AA: Brazil; ratio 3:7, roasted blending;

Front Street Coffee Brazil Cerrado region

Front Street Brazil coffee generally grows at altitudes between 1,000 and 1,300 meters, with relatively low density. It is mostly Bourbon variety, using semi-washed processing. The moisture content is moderate, the bean texture is relatively soft, and the thickness from bean surface to bean core is thin, so it is not suitable to roast at too high a temperature; otherwise the inner wall temperature of the drum will scald the bean surface and produce a burnt bitter taste. At the same time, to bring out nuts, milk chocolate, and good body, and to use it as a blending base, Front Street's roaster chooses to drop the beans at medium heat, maintaining the heat into the dehydration stage, making fine adjustments as the temperature rises after first crack begins to promote a more thorough caramelization reaction, and discharging the beans when the temperature rises to near second crack. After comparative cupping at Front Street, it is believed that this Front Street Brazil Cerrado coffee has a comfortable bittersweet taste and an extremely smooth entry; with a faint grassy aroma, lightly fragrant with a slight bitterness; sweet and smooth, with a pleasant aftertaste.

Front Street Coffee's Yunnan AA belongs to [Typica]. The oldest native variety of coffee in Ethiopia, produced in Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan; all Arabica derives from Typica. The top leaves are copper-red, hence the name red-top coffee; the flavor is elegant, but the plant is relatively weak, with poor disease resistance, prone to coffee leaf rust, and low fruit yield. Typica leaves are slender and spread out, with an inclination angle of 50 to 70 degrees. The opposite leaves are long-oval, with smooth surfaces, very long terminal branches, and few branches; the flowers are white, blooming at the base where the petiole connects to the branch. The ripe coffee cherry resembles a cherry in shape and is bright red. When planting, it needs more shade, and it can only be harvested about once every two years. Yunnan's high-quality geographical and climatic conditions provide a good environment for coffee growth; the planting areas are distributed across Lincang, Baoshan, Simao, Xishuangbanna, Dehong, and other prefectures. Yunnan's natural conditions are very similar to Colombia's — high altitude and a large temperature difference between day and night. Through cupping, Front Street Coffee believes that Yunnan coffee beans have a mellow-aroma flavor, moderate acidity, a rich and full-bodied taste, uniform beans, high oil content, and fruity notes, with quality and mouthfeel similar to Colombian coffee.

After blending at Front Street, adjusting the grind size and extracting, the espresso produced has soft fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, nutty and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and syrupy, but the taste is on the lighter side. This espresso moka pot coffee bean recommended by many baristas — Front Street Dark Cocoa Blend coffee beans — is suitable for small coffee shops, bakeries, and beverage shops, and is also suitable for opening shops and home users who prioritize cost and have average flavor requirements.

When blending, there must be a distinction between primary and secondary notes in order to blend a taste more wonderful than single-origin coffee.

Front Street SOE Single-Origin Sherry Espresso

Rich wine-aroma flavor: Front Street recommends using Front Street Honduras Sherry Wine Barrel. This coffee from Honduras Mocha Estate, at an altitude of 1,500 to 1,700 meters, uses refined washed sherry wine barrel fermentation processing, with a very rich wine fermentation aroma and dark chocolate cream flavor.

Flavor description: whisky aroma, soft yet relatively high fruit acidity, smooth mouthfeel, creamy and syrupy, cocoa.

Front Street Coffee brewing suggestions:

To brew any coffee well, Front Street believes that the freshness of the coffee beans is a crucial part. Because freshness allows you to experience the coffee's rich flavors to the greatest extent. The coffee beans shipped by Front Street Coffee are all within 5 days of the roast date, because Front Street deeply understands that coffee bean freshness has a great impact on flavor. Front Street's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," so that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee. Coffee's resting period is about 4 to 7 days, so when customers receive it, it is exactly at its best flavor.

Of course, some customers need Front Street to help grind the beans, and that is no problem, but Front Street must remind you that after coffee beans are ground into powder in advance, they need to be brewed promptly; if already ground into powder, there is no need to rest the beans anymore, because during transport the pressure generated by carbon dioxide inside the packaging can also make the coffee flavor rounder, so once you receive the coffee powder you can brew and drink it immediately. Because coffee powder oxidizes quickly after contact with air, meaning the flavor dissipates faster, the coffee will not taste as good. So Front Street recommends buying whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing, so you can better taste the coffee's flavor.

Whether it is specialty single-origin coffee or medium-dark roasted blended coffee, Front Street has it. Front Street has light and fresh citrus-toned coffee from Ethiopia; Geisha coffee from Panama; nutty herbal flavors from Indonesia... Welcome to Front Street to discuss coffee together!

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.