How Does an SOE Americano Differ From a Milk Latte?

An SOE americano and an SOE latte start from the same single-origin espresso shot, so the variable that changes most is what gets added afterward. Ethiopia Huakui, a natural-processed bean from Hambella in Guji, pours as a bright espresso with berry and citrus notes. Served long with hot water, those notes stay clean and readable; combined with steamed milk, they turn softer and sweeter.

Huakui comes from Hambella, Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee sub-region, where cherries are sun-dried to roughly 12% moisture before the skin and pulp are removed. For SOE coffee at home, grind finer than you would for filter, hold a short dose-to-yield ratio, and taste before adding water or milk, since the espresso itself sets the ceiling for both drinks.

Ethiopia, as the birthplace of coffee, boasts a rich variety of cultivars and diverse flavor expressions, with each production region displaying distinctly different characteristics due to terroir differences. Sidamo and Yirgacheffe are both important specialty coffee regions; the former is renowned for its natural processing method, and Front Street Coffee's Huakui is a highly representative single-origin offering. Huakui comes from Hambella in the Guji region, located in Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee sub-region, where natural processing imparts mellow sweetness and complex layers. This article will start from the production region background and processing methods, then further share how to make a delicious Huakui SOE americano or latte at home, including grind adjustment, dose-to-yield ratio, and extraction details, helping coffee enthusiasts consistently present its berry and citrus notes.

The birthplace of coffee is Ethiopia, which not only has abundant cultivar resources but also an extremely broad flavor spectrum; most coffee varieties worldwide can be traced back here. Various coffee regions within Ethiopia nurture their own characteristic flavors due to different terroir conditions. Sidamo and Yirgacheffe both belong to Ethiopia's specialty coffee regions. Yirgacheffe is classically known for its washed processing, while Sidamo is most famous for its natural processing, and Front Street Coffee's Huakui coffee beans are a highly well-known representative single-origin offering among them.

The Huakui beans come from Hambella, located in Guji in southern Ethiopia. It formerly belonged to the Sidamo region and administratively falls under Oromia State. To the west of Hambella, across the highlands from Yirgacheffe's Kochere, the two areas face each other, separated by a highland barrier about 3,200 meters in altitude and about 30 meters wide. To the southeast, east, and north, it borders the Guji sub-regions of Shakiso, Uraga, and Kercha respectively, making it Ethiopia's highest-altitude coffee sub-region.

Coffee beans from the Guji region mainly undergo two processing methods: washed and natural. The washed method first selects high-quality cherries, removes the skin and pulp, then places them in water tanks for soaking and fermentation, followed by drying to a moisture content of about 12%. The natural method is relatively straightforward, using sunlight exposure to reduce the cherries' moisture content to about 12%, after which the skin and pulp are removed.

Different processing methods result in different final flavors in the coffee beans. Washed processing can showcase the most authentic citrus acidity and floral notes of Guji coffee beans, while natural processing adds aroma on top of the original flavors. Front Street's Hambella Huakui is precisely naturally processed, known for its mellow richness, possessing complex sweetness, a viscous and smooth mouthfeel, with spices, florals, and fruit aromas interweaving into rich layers, accompanied by a bright lingering sweetness.

Many friends have heard that Huakui can also be used to make espresso, with a special name for it—Huakui SOE—and thus want to know whether it can be replicated at home and what key points to note.

Actually, making a delicious Huakui SOE is not difficult. First, prepare a bag of medium-roast Huakui coffee beans and confirm it is still within its optimal flavor period. It is recommended to directly purchase Front Street Huakui SOE coffee beans, which ship within 24 hours of ordering and are roasted within 5 days, ensuring freshness upon arrival.

In terms of operation, the approach is consistent with usual espresso dialing-in. The first step in making Huakui SOE is also to apply the basic formula of a "1:2 dose-to-yield ratio" and control the extraction time between 25 and 35 seconds. Whether the grind size is appropriate depends on whether the flow rate falls within this time range.

For example, using 20g of Front Street Huakui SOE coffee grounds to extract 40g of coffee liquid (or 18g of coffee grounds corresponding to 36g of coffee liquid), if the time is far less than 25 seconds, it indicates the grind is too coarse and needs to be finer; if the coffee liquid finishes flowing in about 30 seconds, it indicates the grind size is basically appropriate and no further adjustment to the setting is needed.

Since SOE is ultimately used to make milk-based coffee drinks like americano, latte, and flat white, once the Huakui espresso is determined, we also need to combine the flavor profile of the SOE itself and make slight adjustments to the extraction plan in advance.

If the extracted espresso has thin or even no crema, and the aroma is relatively weak, you can increase the dose by 0.3–0.5g to compensate for the aromatic compounds in the coffee.

For example, Front Street uses 20.5g of Huakui SOE coffee grounds, extracting 40g of coffee liquid in 31 seconds as the base. The resulting Huakui SOE americano can express a refreshing sweet-and-sour taste, with aromas of berries, citrus, and dried mango;

The coffee concentration of a Huakui SOE latte will also be somewhat enhanced, and on the palate you can feel the smooth texture formed by strawberry aroma combining with milk, making it very suitable for friends who dislike bitter coffee.

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