Why is Coffee Divided into Single-Origin and Espresso? How Are They Distinguished? How to Drink Single-Origin Coffee

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Science | Coffee Variety Knowledge, Introduction to Types and Flavors of Single Origin Coffee, Single Origin Bean Prices

Why is coffee divided into single origin, dark roast, and espresso? How are these distinguished?

When you walk into a specialty coffee shop or open a professional coffee bean merchant's website, you might be confused by the dazzling array of coffee names. Why do coffee beans have such long names? Why is coffee divided into single origin, dark roast, and espresso? How are these categorized? What do these seemingly complex coffee bean names actually represent? This article guides you through understanding the meaning behind coffee bean names step by step.

1. Origin Indication: "Single Origin" and "Blend" Coffee

Commercially available coffee beans can generally be divided into two broad categories:

Single Origin Coffee

Coffee Blends

"Single origin coffee" generally refers to single-variety coffee beans from a single country or producing region. You can compare it to a coffee solo. If a package is labeled with a coffee-producing country name (the European continent does not produce coffee beans, so if the label shows European city names such as Italy or Vienna, it is not single origin coffee), it generally represents a package of single origin coffee. For example, FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, FrontStreet Coffee Sumatra Lake Tawar, FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Antigua—these are specific coffees produced in particular countries, regions, or estates, known as "single origin coffee." Because each country or region has its own climate, soil, and natural environment, the cultivated coffee has unique characteristics. Tasting "single origin coffee" lets you understand the characteristics and flavors of coffee from a specific country or region.

"Blended coffee" refers to coffee beans mixed and blended from several single origin coffees, which you can compare to a coffee concerto. The blending method can be simple (such as the traditional "Mamba": Mandheling plus Brazil) or a complex art. Through proper blending, single origin coffees with different characteristics can jointly create a more harmonious and wonderful movement. Usually, espresso coffee (espresso, latte, cappuccino) uses blended coffee beans.

2. Roast Level Indication: Dark Roast, Southern Italian, Northern Italian, Vienna, French Roast

Besides origin-related indications, the most common are roast level indications. Raw coffee beans need to go through a roasting process to release their unique charming aroma, and coffee roasting is closely related to flavor. If you see "Italy," "Vienna," "Southern Italian," and similar indications on coffee labels, don't mistake these beans for having any relationship with those place names—they likely have none, because traditionally "Italy" and "Vienna" are synonyms for a degree of roasting (or a blending method), not representing coffee produced in Italy or Vienna (as mentioned above, continental Europe does not cultivate and produce coffee beans). "Northern Italian" represents a medium-light degree, a light brown bean surface without oil release; "Southern Italian" indicates an oily, shiny bean surface and deep brown dark roasting; "Italian Roast" generally refers to a relatively deep degree of roasting. "French Roast" generally refers to extremely dark roasting with a bean surface color near black, a slight charcoal flavor, and no acidity. "Vienna" usually refers to blended coffee mixed from beans of different roast levels.

The deeper the roast level, the higher the roasting temperature. The medium-light "Northern Italian" roast has more complex and bright flavors, with fruit-like acidity and extremely low or no bitterness. The deep, high-temperature "Southern Italian" roast has more mellow, rich, and smooth flavors, with a caramel-like sweet aftertaste. "French Roast" has relatively simple flavors but a slight charcoal flavor and completely no acidity.

3. Coffee Bean Grading, Small Regions, Estates, and Other Indications

Currently, the grading systems for coffee bean producing regions worldwide are not consistent, so you might see terms like "SHB," "AA+," "Supremo," "Extra-Fancy," "Peaberry / Small Berries," and so on on coffee labels. These are coffee bean grading names. Commercially available roasted beans sometimes indicate the grading of single origin coffee, but usually do not.

The best coffees in Central and South America are graded by cultivation altitude, with coffee beans above 4500 feet marked as "SHB (Strictly Hard Bean)"; "AA+" is the highest grade of Kenyan coffee, and only batches with particularly excellent flavor and few defects are allowed to be marked "AA+," while "AA" is the largest grain size, "AB" has smaller grains, and "PB" is peaberry. Colombia also uses bean appearance size and defect rate as grading standards, with "Supremo" indicating the largest grain size. It's worth noting that bean appearance size is not related to flavor, but a higher production altitude usually means better flavor.

Following the country name is the small region indication. Taking FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Yirgacheffe as an example, Ethiopia is the coffee-producing country name, indicating this is a "single origin coffee"; Yirgacheffe is a high-altitude narrow small region within Ethiopia's Sidamo region. Different small regions mean different flavor characteristics. For example, the famous Ethiopia Harrar is produced in southern Ethiopia near Somalia. Harrar has a wine-like aroma and blueberry or grape flavors, with a thick mouthfeel, while Yirgacheffe tastes refreshing and bright, with a citrus or lemon peel-like aroma and a relatively thinner mouthfeel.

Some coffee beans, however, have a string of names following the small region name, which might be the name of a specific coffee estate or processing station. For example, FrontStreet Coffee Guatemala Antigua SHB- Finca Los Volcanes 02 Crop—this long string of name tells us the following information:

Producing Country: Guatemala -- Guatemala is a famous coffee-producing country in Central America.

Region: Antigua Volcano -- This is Guatemala's famous volcanic coffee producing region.

Grading: Strictly Hard Bean (SHB) -- Indicates this coffee grows above 4500 feet altitude.

Producing Estate: Finca Los Volcanes Estate -- "Finca" means "Estate" in Spanish.

Harvest Year: 2017 -- The year is for the roaster's reference, so commercial roasted bean labels usually do not indicate the year.

In commercially available roasted coffee beans, such complex labeling is generally avoided to reduce consumer confusion and the burden of identification. Coffee beans from different small regions and different years may have significant flavor differences. Professional roasters taste the current year's raw coffee beans from each producing region annually and adjust roasting and blending methods so that consumers can receive products with stable flavors and minimal differences.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Once you understand how coffee is classified, the easiest way to put the knowledge to use is to taste a benchmark single origin. For a first step into the category, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Ethiopia Yirgacheffe—its everyday "Daily Bean"—is the most classic choice: it is known for white jasmine, bright citrus and lemon acidity, and a tea-like body, and its friendly price makes it the first specialty bean for many drinkers. Ethiopia Yirgacheffe is a small town in the Sidamo region of southern Ethiopia, at about 1700-2100 meters, with coffee trees planted above 1800 meters, making it one of the highest coffee-growing regions in the world.

If you want to go one step deeper into the region, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Geddin Cooperative is a great next cup. Located in the Worka area at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe, Geddin was once part of the Worka cooperative under the YCFCU union and became an independent cooperative in 2012 when about 300 farmers struck out on their own. Its washed processing brings out fresh, bright citrus and lemon acidity with jasmine fragrance, so it carries none of the traditional bitterness—many drinkers fall for it at the first sip. For a naturally processed alternative from the same region, FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Red Cherry offers citrus-like acidity, juicy berry body, honeyed sweetness, and creamy smoothness.