A Guide to Single-Origin Coffee Bean Varieties from Around the World - Comprehensive Coffee Bean Encyclopedia

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In the world of specialty coffee, there are many choices. Just at FrontStreet Coffee alone, there are over 50 varieties of single-origin coffee beans. In the world of single-origin coffee, there are diverse flavor profiles that fascinate coffee enthusiasts. FrontStreet Coffee would like to provide this guide to single-origin coffee bean varieties.

What Are Single-Origin Coffee Beans?

So what exactly are single-origin coffee beans? Single-origin coffee refers to coffee made from beans from a single origin that can be traced back to the coffee's place of origin. This traceability isn't just about the coffee-producing country - it extends to the specific plot of land where the coffee was grown. Through getting to know coffee farm owners, visiting coffee origins firsthand, understanding coffee origin stories from the source, and purchasing green beans, this complete traceability is achieved.

Regular customers at FrontStreet Coffee know that our pour-over single-origin coffees can be traced back to specific producing farms and regions. FrontStreet Coffee also indicates this basic information on every package of coffee beans. This is because many unscrupulous merchants sell inferior products as premium ones. Even if the coffee comes from the same producing region, differences in altitude, climate, and other factors can result in varying quality of coffee beans. Therefore, coffee beans from well-known, guaranteed quality farms naturally have assured quality and can be understood by coffee enthusiasts.

What Is Regional Flavor?

Coffee, as an agricultural product, is influenced by multiple factors including altitude, climate, soil, cultivation techniques, and green bean processing methods. Moreover, coffee is just a general term that encompasses many varieties. For example, the pour-over single-origin coffee beans most commonly used for daily consumption at FrontStreet Coffee belong to the Arabica species, which is further subdivided into specific coffee varieties such as Typica, Bourbon, and others - all of which affect the flavor of coffee beans from the source. This is what FrontStreet Coffee often refers to as regional flavor.

All specialty coffee varieties are derivatives of the Arabica species, but there are also some hybrid varieties resulting from crosses between Arabica and Robusta species. For example, Indonesia's renowned Frontsteet PWN Gold Mandheling introduced the Ateng variety coffee beans in 2020, which is the result of combining Robusta and Arabica coffee varieties.

What Factors Determine Single-Origin Coffee Flavor?

The flavor of a coffee bean is mainly influenced by three major factors: coffee producing region, variety, and processing method. Coffee producing regions are divided into Asia, Africa, and Latin America, with each region having unique characteristic flavors. Coffee varieties, as FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, are mostly Arabica variety coffee beans for single-origin coffee. Coffee processing methods are even more diverse, with common ones including washed processing, natural processing, honey processing, and more. These are all factors that affect coffee flavor. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will recommend some single-origin coffees to coffee enthusiasts based on these points.

Flavor Characteristics of the Three Major Coffee Regions

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, coffee producing regions are mainly divided into Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Among them, African regions are famous for their bright acidity. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe from Ethiopia, with its captivating citrus acidity, is loved by many coffee enthusiasts. Asian coffees are known for their full body and spicy, herbal notes. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Mandheling coffee, with its unique herbal, spicy flavors and full mouthfeel, has attracted batch after batch of coffee lovers. Latin American coffee flavors fall between these two regions - relatively balanced with varied flavors, but mainly featuring nut and cocoa notes. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian Queen Estate Farm coffee beans in the shop are known to coffee enthusiasts for their rich nut and cocoa flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Washed Gedeb Coffee Beans

Country: Ethiopia
Region: Yirgacheffe
Altitude: 1900-2300m
Variety: Local landrace
Processing: Washed
Flavor: Tropical fruits, cream, honey, berries, citrus

FrontStreet Coffee Indonesia Lintong Mandheling Coffee Beans

Country: Indonesia
Region: Sumatra (Lintong)
Altitude: 1100-1600m
Variety: Typica, Caturra
Processing: Wet-hulled
Flavor: Toasted bread, nuts, caramel, pine, herbs

FrontStreet Coffee Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon Coffee Beans

Country: Brazil
Region: São Paulo State (Queen Estate Farm)
Altitude: 1400-1950m
Variety: Yellow Bourbon
Processing Method: Pulped natural/Natural
Flavor: Nuts, cream, peanuts, fermented fruits, cane sugar

Common Coffee Processing Methods for Single-Origin Coffee

The representative coffees from the three major coffee regions listed above each have distinct flavor characteristics, and their coffee processing methods also differ. Next, FrontStreet Coffee will explain the differences between these three processing methods.

Natural Processing Method

Natural processing is the oldest processing method, also known as "natural drying." Natural processing doesn't require sophisticated equipment - just consecutive sunny days for sun-drying operations, which take 27-30 days. Therefore, it has relatively strict climate requirements and is suitable for countries with arid regions. Ethiopia, for example, is a coffee-producing country that widely uses natural processing because Ethiopia has high altitude, dry climate, and scarce water resources. However, it's worth noting that although natural processing is relatively simple, precisely because of this, coffee beans processed using natural methods don't look attractive and may have some cracks, making them less appealing.

Washed Processing Method

Most of FrontStreet Coffee's coffee beans from different regions are also washed-processed, especially the daily coffee bean series, because washed-processed coffee beans are cleaner and have more transparent flavor expressions, matching the most original taste of coffee fruit. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee often says that the flavor of washed-processed coffee beans is a guiding light for understanding a region's flavor profile.

Wet-Hulled Processing Method

Wet-hulling is a rapid method for processing coffee beans. It involves removing the coffee cherry's skin and pulp, brief fermentation, then drying, followed by removing the mucilage and parchment layer, continuing with the final drying stage until the moisture content reaches 12%. Mandheling coffee beans processed using wet-hulling clearly show varying degrees of compression cracks. FrontStreet Coffee believes this phenomenon doesn't indicate defective beans but is rather an inherent characteristic of Mandheling coffee beans.

As FrontStreet Coffee mentioned above, wet-hulling processing causes coffee beans to develop "defects." This is because when the parchment is removed during wet-hulling, the coffee's moisture content is still as high as 20-24%. In contrast, in typical processing methods, coffee moisture content is reduced to 10-12% before hulling. In this "semi-dry" state, the parchment tends to adhere to the green bean surface, making hulling more difficult than with "fully dry" beans and requiring greater friction force during the hulling process.

In addition to these methods, there are many other various coffee processing methods that create different flavor expressions in pour-over single-origin coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee would like to recommend these pour-over coffee beans to all coffee enthusiasts.

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Canet Estate Musician Series Mozart Coffee Beans

Country: Costa Rica
Region: Tarrazú
Altitude: 1800m
Variety: Caturra, Catuai
Processing: Anaerobic honey
Flavor: Raisin acidity, berries, floral notes, fermented wine aroma

FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Canet Estate Musician Series Bach Coffee Beans

Country: Costa Rica
Region: Tarrazú
Altitude: 1950m
Variety: Caturra
Processing: Raisin honey
Flavor: Fermented wine aroma, berries, fruit tea notes

FrontStreet Coffee Kenya Asalia Coffee Beans

Country: Kenya
Region: Asali (Honey Processing Station)
Altitude: 1550-1750m
Variety: SL28, SL34
Processing: 72-hour washed processing
Flavor: Snow pear, dried plum, brown sugar, cherry tomato, plum

FrontStreet Coffee Honduras Sherry Barrel Fermented Coffee Beans

Country: Honduras
Region: Marcala (Moca Estate Farm)
Altitude: 1500-1700m
Variety: Caturra, Catuai, Pacas
Processing: Fine washed + whiskey barrel fermentation
Flavor: Vanilla, cream, fermented wine aroma, dark chocolate

FrontStreet Coffee Colombia San José Estate Coffee Beans

Country: Colombia
Region: Caldas
Altitude: 1750m
Variety: Castillo
Processing: Fine washed rum barrel fermentation processing
Flavor: Rum, liquor-filled chocolate, tropical fruits, maple syrup

FrontStreet Coffee Colombia Rose Valley Coffee Beans

Country: Colombia
Region: Támandua (Big Tree Estate Farm)
Altitude: 1700m
Variety: Caturra
Processing: Anaerobic double enzyme washed processing
Flavor: Honey, juicy sensation, strawberry

The above is FrontStreet Coffee's compilation of relevant content and recommendations about single-origin coffee. We hope this helps coffee enthusiasts who want to understand single-origin coffee better, so they can choose single-origin coffee beans that suit their taste preferences in the future.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, WeChat ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473