First, espresso beans—obviously, these are the coffee beans used in espresso machines. In the past, it generally referred to blend beans, but not anymore. Nowadays,it's not just blend beans that can be used as espresso beans; single-origin coffee beans can also be used as espresso beans. Let's first look at what blend beans are. Blend beans are made by mixing various single-origin coffee beans together, and it's usually more common to blend two or three types of coffee beans.

This is when professional roasters mix different varieties of coffee beans and then roast them, fully bringing out the strengths of each single-origin coffee bean to create a more balanced flavor. That is, if one coffee bean has a mild taste lacking in body, you can add another bean with a full body, so that the strengths of individual coffee beans complement each other—whether in flavor or by enhancing one another—thereby creating coffee with a richer taste.

For example, the delicious yet affordable Front Street Specialty Blend uses the nutty aroma of Brazilian coffee and the cocoa flavor of Colombian coffee, adding more layers to the espresso's flavor. The taste has a mild, slight acidity, a light sweetness, and a nutty aftertaste. Overall, it's not too stimulating, it's smooth, and the crema is medium.

Single-origin coffee beans are also a type of espresso bean. Espresso made from single-origin coffee beans is also calledSOE coffee. SOE is actually the abbreviation of "Single Origin Espresso," which in Chinese means: espresso from a single origin. It's not actually some profound coffee—it's just replacing the "blend beans" typically used for espresso with "single-origin coffee beans," still extracted under high pressure by an espresso machine to make a cup of espresso.

Although single-origin coffee beans can make very delicious pour-over coffee, if they are made into espresso, they require a darker roast than usual pour-over roasts. Because espresso beans need to be extracted under high pressure into a small cup of espresso, it's generally more suitable to use medium-dark roasted coffee beans. Medium-dark roasted coffee beans contain more carbon dioxide, forming more crema.

1. Front Street Queen ManorSOE single-origincoffee beans

2. Front Street Bird of ParadiseSOE single-origincoffee beans

The medium roast gives the coffee a roasted aroma while retaining a slight citrus acidity. The SOE made from it highlights nutty and creamy aromas; when milk is added, it presents a smooth, chocolate-cream texture. The overall taste is relatively mild, with a slight cocoa in the aftertaste. Made intoan SOE americano, it's refreshing on the palate, with balanced acidity, sweetness, and bitterness.

3. FrontStreet MozartSOE single-origincoffee beans

This Front Street Mozart belongs to the Costa Rican Musician Series.The anaerobic honey process allows the coffee beans to retain the mucilage layer for sealed fermentation before drying, maximizing the sweetness of the coffee beans. When pour-over brewed, this coffee presents rich rose fragrance and the high sweetness of raisins. Extracted as SOE, it expresses intense tropical fruit and fermented flavor notes.

The flavors of the above coffees all depend on the freshness of the coffee beans to make even more delicious coffee! Because the freshness of coffee beans directly affects the taste of the coffee.Front Street deeply understands that the freshness of coffee beans has a great impact on flavor. Front Street's roasting philosophy is "Freshly roasted good coffee," so every bag of coffee beans shipped is roasted within 5 days, just to let everyone drink coffee rich in the fullest aroma.

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