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Friends who love coffee know about espresso and single-origin coffee, but SOE coffee seems to have only recently been heard of. Have you ever walked into a café and been asked by a barista, "Would you like to try SOE coffee?" The first time you hear it, you might be confused—what exactly is "SOE"? After a brief introduction, you'll discover that SOE is not only a bit more expensive than regular options, but also seems to offer more flavor descriptions, making you want to order a cup and try it. Today, Front Street Coffee will explain what this industry term SOE actually means, and whether SOE coffee tastes good.

SOE is the abbreviation for "Single Origin Espresso," which in Chinese means: an espresso made from single-origin coffee beans, which can be used to make lattes, Americanos, and other types of espresso drinks. For example, when Front Street Golden Mandheling coffee beans are used to make an Americano, it can be called a "Golden Mandheling SOE Americano." If Front Street Brazil Queen's Estate coffee beans are used to make a latte, it's a "Brazil SOE Latte." Similarly, using Front Street Sun-Dried Huakui coffee beans to make a Dirty coffee gives you a "Huakui SOE Dirty." Pretty easy to understand, right?

The reason coffee shops emphasize SOE is mainly because there is an even more common category—blended coffee.Blended coffee beans refer to the intentional blending of coffee beans from two or more origins (usually measured by producing country) for the purposes of cost, stability, and flavor. Similarly, blended coffee is divided into those used for espresso and those used for pour-over, but it is mainly used for espresso machines. Recommended blends include Front Street Classic Espresso Blend, Front Street Specialty Espresso Blend, and Front Street Dark Cocoa Espresso Blend. These are all suitable for common coffee machines and moka pots, easily extracting thick crema and rich coffee aroma.

Back to today's SOE topic. In Front Street's view, the rise of single-origin coffee starts with the concept of specialty coffee. In summary, a group of coffee industry leaders sought to solve the problem of inconsistent coffee quality at its root, through a series of measures such as establishing standards, teaching coffee farmers scientific cultivation methods, and purchasing high-quality coffee at premium prices to incentivize farmers in coffee-growing regions to cultivate with care. As coffee bean quality improves, the brewed flavor naturally becomes better.

In the past, our impression ofespresso coffeewas that it tasted balanced—a bitter black coffee that only tasted good with milk added. This is not a problem with the extraction method, but with the coffee beans used. Espresso coffee cannot be too expensive and uses large quantities, so when it comes to bean requirements, cost comes first, then stability, and flavor last.

Blending is the safest approach. The raw beans used in blends must have high yields and stable supply, so the raw materials can basically only be selected from the top ten coffee-producing countries. As for flavor, it is basically fixed within the range of caramel, nuts, cream, and cocoa, because to accommodate the flavor and taste compatibility of various coffee beans, roasting all beans dark is the most hassle-free method (of course, market taste demand is also a leading factor). At that time, traceability was relatively poor, and consumers could only identify which roaster or coffee shop had good-tasting coffee.

Single-origin coffee, on the other hand, emphasizes the flavor of the coffee-growing region and the story of traceability. It achieved success through extraction methods like pour-over and siphon, and has gradually been applied to espresso as well—which became "SOE."

The primary condition for a good cup of coffee is high-quality coffee beans, and the beans selected for SOE should also be higher-quality single-origin coffee beans. Front Street's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," hoping that every customer can enjoy fresh and aromatic coffee at home. All shipped coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days.

Besides freshness, making a delicious SOE coffee also depends on the flavor profile of the beans themselves. In other words, we should purchase SOE coffee beans according to our own taste preferences. If we use taste as the standard, coffee beans can be divided into two directions: "bitter" and "sour."

If you like SOE coffee with fruity acidity and floral aromas, you can prioritize Front Street Huakui SOE coffee beans, Front Street Red Cherry SOE coffee beans, and Front Street Gesha Village Chaka SOE coffee beans;

But if you dislike sourness and prefer mellow, rich coffee, we recommend purchasing Front Street Queen's Estate coffee beans, Front Street Golden Mandheling coffee beans, and Front Street Huilan coffee beans—these three single-origin options for extraction.

Let us show you how to make a Brazil SOE using Front Street Brazil Cerrado coffee beans Dirty.

The coffee machine at Front Street's shop is a 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 the functions of extraction and milk frothing, paired with an espresso grinder.

SOE coffeeextraction parameters to share

Coffee beans: Front Street Cerrado coffee beans

Coffee dose: 20g

Coffee liquid yield: 40g

Dose-to-yield ratio: 1:2

Extraction time:  26–33 seconds  

Grind setting: Galileo 2.0

Front Street uses a double basket capacity, with a dose of about 18–20 grams. Front Street uses 20 grams of coffee grounds when producing.

Usually the ratio of coffee grounds to coffee liquid is between 1:1.5 and 1:2.5. Front Street's extraction ratio is 1:2, meaning 20 grams of coffee grounds yields 40 grams of coffee liquid. Time is related to the flow rate of the coffee. Generally, a single extraction is controlled between 20 and 35 seconds, because within 20 seconds the coffee usually tastes thin, while exceeding 35 seconds tends to over-extract and produce a burnt bitter taste. Front Street's espresso mostly falls within the 28–30 second range.

Before making the coffee, we first prepare a 200ml transparent glass and fill it with 160ml of fresh milk.

Front Street first wipes the portafilter basket dry, turns on the grinder, and grinds out a double dose of coffee grounds. Place on an electronic scale and adjust to reach 20 grams. Then use a tool to distribute the grounds evenly and tamp the coffee puck firmly to ensure more stable extraction. Then turn on the extraction switch to release water, wetting the group head while rinsing away stuck coffee grounds. Gently lock the portafilter onto the group head, place the prepared fresh milk underneath the portafilter, and begin the extraction.

When the electronic scale shows 40 grams of extracted coffee liquid, at about 28–33 seconds, you can pull down the extraction switch. A cup of BrazilSOE Dirty coffee is now complete.

Made this way, the BrazilSOE Dirty coffeegreets you with the nutty aroma of almonds and caramel peanuts, silky like cream. The top layer is warm espresso, and the bottom layer is cold fresh milk—one bitter, one sweet, creating a very unique mouthfeel, and it's incredibly satisfying after finishing.

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