What are Espresso Coffee Beans? What's the Difference Between Espresso Beans and Single-Origin Coffee Beans?

Understanding Coffee Beans: Espresso vs. Single Origin

Perhaps you know about coffee beans, but you might not be aware that they are categorized into espresso and single origin varieties. This is actually quite easy to understand. The lattes we often drink belong to espresso coffee, which requires corresponding coffee beans—not all coffee beans can be used for espresso. Some people might ask FrontStreet Coffee: What kind of coffee beans can be used for espresso? And how should we understand single origin coffee beans?

Listen to FrontStreet Coffee's explanation, and perhaps you'll understand.

What Are Espresso Coffee Beans?

So-called espresso coffee beans refer to coffee beans used to make espresso. The steam pressure extraction machine was invented by Italians. The concentrated coffee made by steam pressure coffee machines is espresso. For example, lattes and cappuccinos both use espresso as a base, then blend with milk, sugar, or other ingredients. Espresso is made with an espresso machine, so coffee made with espresso as a base is often called espresso coffee. The beans used for espresso are mostly made by mixing coffee beans from several different origins in certain proportions. These coffee beans are also called blend coffee beans. Of course, nowadays there are also single origin beans used to make espresso, such as Single Origin Espresso (SOE).

Blended beans are generally medium to dark roasted. For blended beans, sometimes the beans are mixed first and then roasted—this is called green blending. Sometimes the beans are roasted first and then mixed—this is called roasted blending. Whether it's green blending or roasted blending, before blending beans, you must first understand the different flavors of various coffee varieties. Coffee beans from different origins have different characteristics. Different coffee beans have different personalities due to different varieties and origins, with subtle differences in acidity, bitterness, sweetness, aroma, body, and other flavors. To create better blended beans, roasters must not only have a thorough understanding of coffee bean characteristics but also master excellent roasting techniques. Therefore, creating a good blended bean is quite difficult.

Because coffee beans are an agricultural product, even the same variety of coffee beans will have different flavors each year. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee believes that mixing several coffee beans together solves this problem well, allowing the flavor to remain basically consistent each year. At the same time, it also requires major coffee-producing countries to ensure the demand for coffee beans.

According to the producing country, region, and variety of coffee beans, espresso beans can be divided into three types: Arabica + Robusta blend, 100% Arabica blend, and Single Origin Espresso (SOE).

Arabica + Robusta Blend

Adding Robusta beans in blending can increase body, enrich crema, and reduce costs. Therefore, this blending method is very common and mainstream.

100% Arabica Blend

Generally speaking, Arabica is a superior variety to Robusta, with more elegant flavor profiles and more complex flavors, so 100% Arabica blends theoretically have better flavors and higher prices. However, we cannot simply judge bean superiority by variety type because there are too many factors affecting coffee beans (producing country, region, processing method, roasting, etc.), so naturally there are also poor Arabica beans and good Robusta beans.

FrontStreet Coffee's blended beans include the following varieties: FrontStreet Coffee Basic Espresso Blend, FrontStreet Coffee Premium Espresso Blend, FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Espresso Blend, and FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Sunshine Espresso Blend.

What Are Single Origin Coffee Beans?

Single origin coffee beans refer to coffee beans from a single origin or single variety, similar to grapes used for winemaking, coming from a specific estate in a specific region of a specific country. Like the famous FrontStreet Coffee Blue Mountain coffee, it belongs to the category of single origin coffee.

Single origin coffee can choose beans with different roasting levels, such as light roast, medium roast, and dark roast, with corresponding differences in aroma, taste, and mouthfeel. You can also choose beans from different countries—Africa, South America, Asia, etc. FrontStreet Coffee uses specialty coffee beans for single origin coffee.

With the third wave of specialty coffee, more and more coffee shops are offering single origin coffee. According to SCAE, the emergence of single origin coffee is most importantly about traceability, allowing coffee enthusiasts to know the origin, region, estate, and variety of these high-quality coffees. It is precisely because of the third coffee wave, which emphasizes the pursuit of coffee knowledge such as brewing methods and origin flavors, that single origin coffee has become more popular. Single origin coffee beans are generally suitable for pour-over, ice drip, and cold brew. Friends who pursue higher standards in coffee might be more inclined toward specialty single origin coffee.

The recently popular SOE is actually an abbreviation for "Single Origin Espresso," meaning in Chinese: single origin espresso. It involves replacing the "blended coffee beans" typically used for espresso with "single origin coffee beans," making a cup of espresso through high-pressure extraction using an espresso machine.

SOE can produce espresso with unique and typical flavors. For example, the typical citrus flavor of FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe and the fruit flavors of FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya, plus espresso amplifies the coffee's flavors, making specific flavors more prominent compared to pour-over. However, because it comes from a single origin, disadvantages are also relatively easy to amplify. Therefore, SOE made from lighter roasted coffee beans can be quite unpleasant to drink. For example, if FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe were made into SOE, it would be rather sharp and acidic, making it less pleasant to drink. So SOE is not necessarily better than blended espresso. Single origin coffee beans used for SOE generally require a darker roast than those used for pour-over.

FrontStreet Coffee's Basic Espresso Blend

FrontStreet Coffee Basic Espresso Blend: The goal is to create a low-cost blended espresso coffee bean with nut and cocoa flavors. Yunnan AA: Brazil; ratio 3:7, roasted blending.

FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Cerrado Region

FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian coffee generally grows at altitudes of 1000-1300 meters, so its density is relatively low. Mostly Bourbon variety, using semi-washed processing. With moderate moisture content, the bean texture is relatively soft, and the thickness from the bean surface to the core is thin, making it unsuitable for roasting at too high temperatures. The temperature of the roaster's inner wall could scorch the bean surface, creating burnt bitterness. At the same time, to express the characteristics of nuts, milk chocolate, and good body as a blending base, FrontStreet Coffee's roasters choose a medium heat bean-injection method, maintaining heat through the dehydration stage, making fine adjustments as temperature rises after the first crack begins, promoting more complete caramelization reactions, and increasing temperature to near the second crack before discharging the beans. Through FrontStreet Coffee's cupping comparison, it is believed that FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado coffee has a comfortable bitter-sweet taste, extremely smooth entry; with a faint grassy aroma, fresh fragrance with a slight bitterness; sweet and smooth, with a pleasant aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan AA is Typica.

The oldest native coffee variety in Ethiopia, produced in southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan, all Arabica varieties are derived from Typica. The top leaves are bronze-colored, called red-top coffee, with elegant flavor but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, susceptible to leaf rust disease, and low fruit yield. Typica has four slender branches, in an open posture, with a tilt angle of 50-70 degrees. The opposite leaves are long elliptical, with smooth leaf surfaces, long terminal branches with few branches, while the flowers are white, blooming at the base where petioles connect to branches. Mature coffee cherries look like cherries, bright red in color. They require more shade when planted, with harvests only about once every two years. Yunnan's high-quality geographical and climatic conditions provide good conditions for coffee growth, with planting areas in Lincang, Baoshan, Simao, Xishuangbanna, Dehong, and other regions. Yunnan's natural conditions are very similar to Colombia's, with high altitudes and large day-night temperature differences. Through cupping, FrontStreet Coffee believes that Yunnan coffee beans have a mellow aroma type, moderate acidity, rich and mellow flavor, uniform particles, high oil content, and fruity notes, with quality and taste similar to Colombian coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee adjusts grind size and extraction after blending, producing espresso with soft fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, nut and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, but with a relatively light taste. This basic blended coffee bean is suitable for small coffee shops, bakeries, or beverage stores, as well as for shop and home users who prioritize cost and have general flavor requirements.

Blending should have primary and secondary distinctions to create more wonderful flavors than single origin coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee SOE Single Origin Sherry Espresso

Rich wine aroma flavor: FrontStreet Coffee recommends using FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Sherry Barrel. This coffee from Honduras' Moka estate, at an altitude of 1500-1700 meters, uses refined washed sherry barrel fermentation processing, with very rich wine fermentation aroma and dark chocolate cream flavors.

Flavor description: Whiskey aroma, soft and relatively high fruit acidity, smooth mouthfeel, creamy viscosity, cocoa.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Suggestions:

For brewing any coffee, if you want it to taste good, FrontStreet Coffee believes that the freshness of the coffee beans is a very important factor. Because the freshness of coffee beans allows you to experience the rich flavors of coffee to the greatest extent. The coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all within 5 days of roasting time, because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee bean freshness has a great impact on flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly Roasted Good Coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when it arrives. The coffee's resting period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive it, it's precisely at its peak flavor.

Of course, some customers need FrontStreet Coffee to grind the beans for them, which is also fine. However, FrontStreet Coffee reminds you that if coffee beans are ground in advance, they need to be brewed promptly. If already ground into coffee powder, there's no need for further resting, because during transportation, the pressure from carbon dioxide production in the packaging can also make the coffee flavor rounder, so you can brew and drink the coffee powder immediately upon receiving it. Because coffee powder oxidizes relatively quickly after contact with air, meaning the coffee's flavor will dissipate more quickly, and the coffee's flavor won't be as good. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee suggests buying whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better taste the coffee's flavor.

Whether it's specialty single origin coffee or medium-dark roasted blended coffee, FrontStreet Coffee has them all. FrontStreet Coffee has light and fresh citrus-toned coffee from Ethiopia; Geisha coffee from Panama; nutty and herbal flavored coffee from Indonesia... Welcome to FrontStreet Coffee to explore coffee together!

Connect With FrontStreet Coffee

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat account: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473