How does SOE espresso differ from blended coffee?

SOE stands for Single Origin Espresso: single-origin beans replace the blend on an espresso machine and are extracted under high pressure. The flavor difference from blended coffee comes from that single origin, so a Yirgacheffe SOE americano shows one clear regional profile rather than the rounded, steady taste a blend is built to deliver.

Front Street currently offers one espresso bean, the Sunflower Warm Sun blend of Honduras Sherry and Natural Red Cherry, whose high Sherry proportion gives the iced americano a wine-like aroma. SOE gained wide popularity abroad more than a decade ago and has matured there, while it has only emerged in China in recent years.

Customers who frequently come to Front Street for coffee always ask: Does espresso have beans to choose from? Can you make single-origin coffee? In fact, this brings up an important concept—SOE (Single Origin Espresso). What exactly is the difference in flavor between SOE and blended coffee? Is Yirgacheffe SOE americano actually good? Starting from Front Street Coffee's production experience, this article systematically sorts out the definition of SOE, its differences from blended beans, the flavor performance of Yirgacheffe SOE, and the roasting choices and extraction parameters to note when making SOE at home, helping coffee enthusiasts more clearly understand this form of espresso that has gradually become popular in China in recent years.

When drinking coffee at Front Street, customers often ask the baristas whether espresso has beans to choose from and whether single-origin beans can be used. When encountering such inquiries, Front Street Coffee usually has to explain with a slight apology: the shop currently only offers one espresso bean—Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun Espresso Blend (Front Street Honduras Sherry blended with Front Street Natural Red Cherry). Because the proportion of Sherry beans is relatively high, Front Street's iced americano carries a rich aroma of wine. As soon as the grinder starts, that aroma rushes straight into the nasal cavity, and the taste on the palate feels like savoring a cup of aged old wine. Every time the barista describes the unique flavor of this espresso to customers, they often light up and readily accept it.

This brings us to today's topic: What exactly did the customer mean at first when they wanted to order single-origin coffee?

Front Street Science Popularization: SOE coffee actually became widely popular abroad more than a decade ago and has now developed quite maturely, while in China it has only gradually emerged in recent years, so quite a few people still do not know what SOE is. SOE is the abbreviation of Single Origin Espresso, which in Chinese means "single origin espresso." It suddenly becomes clear—it is not anything profound, but simply replacing the "blend beans" commonly used for espresso with "single-origin beans," still using an espresso machine to extract espresso under high pressure.

So is SOE really better tasting than blended coffee? Many factors determine whether a cup of coffee is good or bad, including coffee beans, roasting, the coffee machine, brewing technique, and personal taste preferences. SOE only indicates the use of a single coffee bean to make espresso; the bean quality is not necessarily better than blended beans, and other factors also deeply affect coffee quality, so one cannot make a sweeping conclusion about which coffee is better.

Take Front Street Coffee's iced americano as an example. The Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun Blend used is not intended to cut costs or mask inferior flavors, but is a formula carefully designed to create a new unique flavor and to express Front Street Coffee's differentiation from other cafes.

Back to the title: What is the difference between Yirgacheffe americano and standard americano? From the above explanation by Front Street Coffee, everyone should already understand that Yirgacheffe americano is SOE americano. Front Street Yirgacheffe coffee beans themselves carry a quite subtle floral aroma, with a round and smooth mouthfeel hiding the fragrance of flowers, fruit, and high mountain black tea; the Front Street Yirgacheffe coffee beans used for espresso extraction even present the taste of dark chocolate, paired with clean and bright acidity, interweaving a soft and pleasant flavor and aftertaste. This is the performance a good cup of Yirgacheffe americano should have.

Front Street believes that using single-origin beans to make espresso is simply to let people who prefer espresso and milk coffee also taste the flavor of the single-origin bean itself. If a single-origin bean lacks enough distinctiveness and the whole cup cannot show its due characteristics, then it would be better to drink a balanced, full-bodied blended coffee. The difference between americano and latte is: both are based on espresso, americano is diluted with water, and latte is diluted with milk. If making SOE, even more consideration must be given to the flavor of the latte, because the taste of milk may overshadow the single-origin bean. Regarding single-origin coffee, Front Street has one more view: there is no need to pursue the stability of SOE. Coffee is an agricultural product, and single-origin beans are affected by factors such as weather and cultivation, so SOE from the same origin but different years differing in flavor is a very normal thing.

What should be noted when making SOE?

Front Street has found that many people think SOE is just directly applying single-origin beans to espresso machine extraction to make a single-origin espresso series, until they bring home all kinds of floral and fruity beans, try them with a coffee machine, and only then discover something is wrong. First comes the scene of splashing and spraying like this, then they are startled by extremely sour espresso and dare not take a second sip, and then they begin to suspect whether their equipment is too poor or whether they made a mistake somewhere in operation.

In fact, the reason you cannot make the same SOE at home as in the shop is very likely not your equipment or technique, but that the roast level of this coffee bean was originally not quite suitable for making espresso. Based on the experience of Front Street Coffee baristas, choosing a coffee bean suitable for SOE extraction not only makes it easy to produce delicious espresso, but the americano or latte made after adding water or milk will also get twice the result with half the effort. On Front Street's bean list, two single-origin coffee beans have SOE versions: one is the strawberry-scented Front Street Huakui SOE, and the other is the classic Yirgacheffe-flavored Front Street Konga SOE. We only need to check the espresso roast option when placing an order.

Indeed, many people have asked whether there is Front Street Yirgacheffe SOE coffee. Why is everyone asking about Yirgacheffe? Front Street believes this is related to the fame of Yirgacheffe coffee. Yirgacheffe was originally part of Ethiopia's Sidamo region, but due to its outstanding quality, it was independently subdivided into a new region. Some natural coffees are produced here, but most are currently washed coffees. The coffee aristocracy with a unique lemon fruity aroma comes from Ethiopia's Yirgacheffe, because it is grown almost in a wild manner. Harvested manually, the coffee beans after screening often amount to only 1/4 of the harvest volume. With a light floral aroma and balanced acidity, Yirgacheffe tastes full of aristocratic air and is called the best coffee in Ethiopia.

Front Street Coffee currently has four Front Street Yirgacheffe coffees in store: Front Street Natural Red Cherry (natural), Front Street Konga Cooperative (natural), Front Street Worka Cooperative (washed), and Front Street Gedeb Cooperative (washed). Each bean has its own characteristics, and the overall flavor direction is citrus and berry notes.

Front Street's Red Cherry green coffee beans were purchased from Trabocca, the largest green coffee bean trader in the Netherlands. In pursuit of higher green bean quality, this trader proposed the Red Cherry Project [ORC]. The project requires fully manual harvesting of all-red coffee cherries, with the aim of improving green coffee bean quality, thereby raising coffee prices, bringing higher profits to coffee farmers while also bringing surprises to roasters.

The Konga Cooperative is one of the 26 cooperatives under the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union. What makes Konga special is the red soil where the coffee beans are grown. Red soil is rich in high iron, and iron is a micronutrient that helps plants produce chlorophyll, which is very helpful for photosynthesis, allowing plants to absorb more energy and making the resulting fruit better. Red soil is undoubtedly the key point for the Konga Cooperative's production of delicious coffee beans. Front Street Coffee believes that Front Street SOE Konga coffee beans combine the sweet and sour of fruit, almond cookies, and an elegant floral aroma, making them very suitable for making a balanced and rich latte.

The coffee machine at Front Street's store is the commercial single-group "Lelit Bianca," which can adjust extraction by changing pressure, with a maximum pressure of 11 bar. A home coffee machine only needs to reach 9 bar of pressure to satisfy extraction and milk frothing functions, paired with an espresso grinder.

Sharing SOE coffee extraction parameters

Coffee beans: Front Street Coffee Ethiopia Natural Konga SOE

Coffee powder amount: 20g

Coffee liquid amount: 40g

Powder-to-liquid ratio: 1:2

Extraction time: 26–33 seconds

Grind setting: Galileo 2.0

Front Street uses the capacity of a double basket, with a powder amount of about 18–20 grams. Front Street uses 20 grams of coffee powder when producing.

Usually the ratio of coffee powder to coffee liquid is 1:1.5 to 1:2.5. Front Street's extraction ratio is 1:2, that is, 20 grams of coffee powder extracts 40 grams of coffee liquid. Time is related to the flow rate of the coffee powder. Generally, a single extraction duration is controlled at 20–35 seconds, because within 20 seconds the coffee usually tastes thin, while over 35 seconds it is easy to over-extract and produce a burnt bitter taste. Front Street's espresso is mostly in the range of 28–30 seconds.

Front Street first wipes the basket dry, turns on the grinder, grinds the amount for a double shot of coffee powder, places it on an electronic scale to increase or decrease until it reaches 20 grams. Then use a tool to distribute the powder evenly, tamp the coffee puck firmly, ensuring more stable coffee extraction. Then turn on the extraction switch to release water, wetting the brew head while also washing away the coffee grounds stuck on it. Gently lock the portafilter onto the brew head and start the extraction. When the electronic scale shows 40 grams of coffee liquid extracted, at about 28–33 seconds, the extraction switch can be turned off, and a cup of SOE espresso is complete. We can add an appropriate proportion of ice water or 80°C hot water according to our preference to make a cup of Yirgacheffe SOE americano.

When making SOE hot latte, Front Street uses a 1:6 ratio, adding 40 grams of espresso liquid to a preheated coffee cup, then using the espresso machine steam to froth 240g of milk. The milk temperature is best controlled between 50–65°C to form dense milk foam with moderate thickness, then blend it evenly with the coffee liquid. The Yirgacheffe SOE latte made this way tastes like eating a lemon-flavored cookie at the first sip, with a rich, fragrant, and smooth mouthfeel, and after drinking it the whole body immediately feels warm.

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