As coffee quality improves, more and more single-origin beans are being used to make espresso on the market. This type of espresso, which emphasizes regional flavors, is different from the espresso made with blended coffee beans in the past. Not all single-origin beans are suitable for making espresso. Today, Front Street Coffee will explain SOE and how to select coffee beans for making SOE.
 
Although SOE stands for Single Origin Espresso, it does not necessarily equal specialty coffee. If you choose single-origin coffee beans with easily recognizable flavors as SOE, you can create espresso with unique and typical flavors.

For example, the citrus flavor of Front Street Yirgacheffe, the berry flavor of Front Street Kenya, etc. In addition, under the high pressure of an espresso machine, espresso magnifies the coffee's taste, so the flavor performance is more prominent compared to pour-over.
 
For SOE single-origin espresso, the coffee beans selected generally are not roasted too dark in order to highlight the regional flavors. Compared with traditional darker-roasted espresso beans, the flavors are harder to extract.
 
Therefore, on one hand, extraction parameters need to be adjusted to increase the extraction yield. For example, prolong the extraction time, make the grind finer, increase the dose, etc.
 
On the other hand, when producing espresso-based drinks using SOE as the base, the ratio of espresso to milk or water needs to be adjusted. Reduce the milk or water to highlight the coffee's taste, so that the coffee does not become too bland.

Finally, there are very strict requirements for choosing beans to make SOE. Although SOE performs prominently, because it comes from a single origin, its shortcomings are also relatively easy to magnify. Therefore, factors such as roasting and particle size will affect the flavor.
 
If you do not have high-quality coffee beans, then the SOE coffee will not taste good, and the flaws cannot even be concealed. Therefore, in actual operation, SOE coffee has very high technical requirements in all aspects, which is also one of the reasons why SOE coffee is usually more expensive than regular Espresso.

The Front Street espresso blend beans used by FrontStreet Coffee are intended to increase the richness and harmony of the flavor, but they are not absolutely necessary. There is now also the SOE coffee approach, which is to use coffee beans from a single origin to make espresso, highlighting the coffee flavor of that origin, but it also easily magnifies its shortcomings. Moreover, the roasting parameters for SOE differ from those for pour-over. FrontStreet Coffee used Front Street Yirgacheffe coffee beans roasted for pour-over to make espresso, and the resulting acidity was very strong, even a bit hard to accept (though some people may like it). Because Front Street Yirgacheffe is famous for its fruity acidity, under the high-pressure and high-temperature conditions of espresso extraction, the acidity of Front Street Yirgacheffe was magnified several times, turning from an advantage into a disadvantage, which goes against the original intention of coffee production. Therefore, when FrontStreet Coffee selects single-origin coffee for making espresso, it uses different roasting parameters.
 
Of course, some beans themselves are very versatile and can adapt to many types of brewing methods. Front Street has identified several for you to choose from.

FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry
Region: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
Estate: Aricha Estate
Altitude: 1700-2200m
Variety: Local heirloom
Processing method: Natural

This coffee was originally part of the Red Cherry Project proposed by a Dutch green bean company to motivate farmers and improve green bean quality, namely encouraging farmers to provide better-quality coffee beans. Fully ripe red cherry coffee fruit is the guarantee of coffee bean quality. It uses refined natural processing, reducing the defect rate of the coffee and also making the coffee sweeter and more fragrant.

 
The Front Street roaster uses a medium-light roast for this bean. While preserving the rich and explosive fruity flavors of Front Street Yirgacheffe coffee beans, it improves sweetness and body, giving the coffee a round mouthfeel. When used to extract espresso, you can also perceive the citrus fruit aroma of Front Street Yirga, with balanced acidity and sweetness and low bitterness. Compared with darker-roasted espresso blends, the mouthfeel is slightly inferior, but the flavor has made a qualitative leap.

Extraction note: Since the roast level is still lighter compared to espresso roasts, the grind should be adjusted finer and the extraction time shorter (about 22 seconds) during extraction. Prevent the sharp acidity of under-extraction. Taking the Pegasus 900N grinder as an example, adjust normal espresso grinding finer by 2 small steps, use 20g of coffee powder to extract 40g of coffee liquid, with a time of 22 seconds.
 

FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Estate
Region: Brazil Mogiana
Estate: Queen Estate
Altitude: 1400-1950m
Variety: Yellow Bourbon
Processing method: Natural

This Front Street Brazil Queen coffee is known for its high balance. The Front Street roaster uses a medium roast, making this coffee suitable for many completely different extraction methods. Its balanced flavor and mouthfeel are very comfortable. Using a semi-automatic espresso machine to extract espresso yields rich nutty aromas, and its crema is also very rich. It tastes intense and full-bodied, very soft, with a chocolate aroma in the finish.

 
Extraction method: Use 20g of coffee powder to extract 40g of coffee liquid, with a time of 27 seconds.

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