In the coffee world, when SOE coffee is mentioned, it refers to single-originespresso. Expanding this abbreviation gives Single Origin Espresso , which stands in direct contrast to Espresso Blend, meaning espresso blend beans.
SOE has sprung up like bamboo shoots after rain—previously few people in China paid attention to it, but suddenly in the past two years it has become an indispensable option in many specialty coffee shops. In the past, orderingespressoproducts always meant a rich, full-bodied, and aromatic flavor. SOE, on the other hand, allows those who enjoy drinkingespressoto also experience the rich flavor expressions in coffee.
Is SOE so popular because it tastes good? Why is SOE more expensive than regular espresso? In this article, Front Street will discuss what SOE is.
What exactly is SOE?
After SOE became widely promoted, many coffee consumers often compare it with espresso made from blended coffee beans. For example, because it uses coffee beans from only a single origin, it must taste better than blended coffee beans.
As an agricultural product, coffee's own flavor varies with the terroir and climate of each year. Although single-origin coffee beans can express more of their own coffee flavors, the drawback is the inability to maintain consistent espresso quality over the long term. That is why some people thought of blending coffee beans from different origins in different proportions to create coffee beans with stable flavor performance over the long term.
The main reason SOE is more expensive than espresso made from blended beans is the high cost of using single-origin coffee beans, and the fact that dialing in espresso every day requires using more coffee beans for testing. To balance costs, businesses usually need to charge extra for SOE.
Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) believes that whether it isSOE coffeeor regular espresso, there is no saying that one is necessarily better-tasting than the other; the most important thing is that the person drinking it enjoys it. If you like tasting more lively and rich coffee, you can choose SOE. If you like tasting rich and full-bodied coffee, you can choose espresso made from blended coffee beans.
Aboutespresso blend coffee beans
Traditional espresso beans are all made by blending multiple coffee beans. In Italy, a bag of coffee beans can be composed of several, or even dozens, of different coffee beans. The biggest advantage of using multiple coffee beans in a blend is ensuring the stability of the coffee's taste. When the quality of a certain coffee bean changes, or production declines, or the price rises, the roaster can choose coffee beans of similar quality to replace them without affecting the overall taste. Therefore, some famous coffee roasters treat their blend recipes as trade secrets.
The blending methods also vary. Pre-roast blending means mixing different green coffee beans according to the proportions in the recipe, then roasting them. Post-roast blending means roasting different green coffee beans separately first, then mixing them according to the different proportions in the recipe.
The four espresso blend coffee beans sold by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) all use post-roast blending. When facing green beans with greatly differing characteristics, roasting them separately allows for better control of the roasting conditions. Moreover, post-roast blending allows for more precise recipe ratios (each type of coffee bean loses weight differently), and also makes it easier to adjust the weighting of the blend proportions. But the drawbacks are also obvious. For example, if a blend contains 3 types of coffee beans, post-roast blending means at least 3 roasts are needed, and achieving a similar color value (roast level) for each coffee bean requires even more extensive roasting experience.
Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) uses post-roast blending. When formulating the blend plan, it continuously adjusts the roast level and blending ratio, and finally records the roasting curve and ratio plan to achieve a stable state.
"Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans": Ethiopia natural Red Cherry coffee beans (30%) + Honduras Sherry Wine Barrel coffee beans (70%), with rich wine aroma, vanilla cream, berry-like sweet-tartness, and roasted nut flavor.
"Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - Front Street Specialty Blend Coffee Beans": Colombia washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazil semi-washed coffee beans (70%), with nutty, dark chocolate, and caramel flavors.
"Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans": Robusta washed coffee beans (10%) + Colombia washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazil semi-washed coffee (60%), with nutty, cocoa, and caramel flavors.
"Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) - Front Street Dark Cocoa Blend Coffee Beans": Yunnan washed small-bean coffee beans (30%) + Brazil semi-washed coffee beans (70%), with soft fruit acidity, caramel, and nutty flavors.
SOE coffee bean recommendations
For coffee beans used to make SOE, Front Street selects coffee beans with high flavor distinctiveness. Using single-origin coffee beans to make espresso is simply about letting those who like espresso and milk coffee taste the flavor of the single-origin beans themselves. If a single-origin bean does not have high distinctiveness and most people cannot taste its unique flavor, then it would be better to drink a cup of balanced, full-bodied blended coffee.
Do not pursue stability when making SOE. Coffee is an agricultural product, and single-origin coffee beans are affected by factors such as weather and cultivation, causing beans from the same origin to have flavor differences. This is also the difference from blended coffee beans, which pursue flavor stability. If we order SOE made from the same beans at the same shop on separate occasions but taste slightly different flavors, this is very normal.
Front Street has not launched coffee beans specifically for SOE, but in the spirit of experimentation, Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) has tried extracting SOE from all merchants' coffee beans, and some single-origin coffees perform quite well when used to make espresso.
"Front Street - Honduras Sherry Coffee Beans": after extraction as SOE, this medium-roast coffee bean shows a rich fermented wine aroma, vanilla-cream smoothness, and a caramel finish.
"Front Street - Costa Rica Strawberry Candy Coffee Beans": after extraction as SOE, this medium-roast coffee bean shows the sweetness of candied fruit, red floral notes, and berry-like sweet-tartness.
"Front Street - Costa Rica Mozart Coffee Beans": after extraction as SOE, this medium-roast coffee bean shows raisin-like sweetness, slight floral notes, and berry-like sweet-tartness.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
