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The Difference Between Specialty Coffee and Single Origin Coffee - What Are the Different Brewing Methods?

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style). Single Origin Coffee - Single Origin - What are single origin coffee beans - Single origin coffee and pour-over coffee. We often see single origin coffee, specialty coffee, or even blended coffee, and many people may be confused. So, what exactly do these terms mean? Today, our editor

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Single Origin Coffee_Single Origin Coffee Bean Varieties_Single Origin Coffee and Pour-Over Coffee

We often see single origin coffee, specialty coffee, or even blended coffee, and many people might be confused. So what do these terms actually mean?

Today, I'll explain in detail the differences between these coffees. If you see a European country name on a coffee menu, such as Italy, Vienna, Ireland, etc., it's not single origin coffee. Because the European continent doesn't produce coffee. These belong to the category of specialty coffee.

Espresso Coffee

This is Italian espresso coffee, which Americans call "Espresso." It's a coffee extraction method that uses high-pressure steam to quickly pass through coffee grounds, resulting in a strong-tasting coffee.

How to taste espresso coffee? First, observe the color—look at the color of the crema, its uniformity, thickness, and spread. Then, smell the aromas—caramel, nutty, chocolate notes. Finally, taste the coffee's sweetness, acidity, body, and aftertaste. Pay special attention to experiencing the "bitter-sweet" flavor of espresso.

Specialty Coffee

So-called "specialty coffee" refers to coffee drinks based on espresso with various flavorings added in different proportions. These often serve as bases for coffee beverages mixed with other ingredients (such as milk or cocoa powder)—what we commonly call specialty coffee. Examples include milk, cream, chocolate, ice cream, various spirits, fruit juices, etc., such as cappuccino, latte, mocha coffee, Vienna coffee, Irish coffee, macchiato coffee, and so on.

Why is Espresso More Suitable for Mixing with Other Ingredients to Make Specialty Coffee?

That's because espresso has a thicker texture than drip coffee and contains higher dissolved solids per unit volume. Typically, it's served in "shots." Chemically, espresso is complex and variable, with many components that break down due to oxidation or temperature reduction.

Properly extracted espresso has one characteristic—the presence of crema, a reddish-brown foam floating on the surface. It's composed of vegetable oils, proteins, and sugars. Crema combines elements of both emulsions and foam colloids, so it's no surprise that it combines more easily with ingredients commonly used in specialty coffee like milk.

Latte

In Italian, "latte" means "milk," so if you order a latte in Italy, you'll only get a glass of milk, not coffee. Some domestic cafes also offer flavored lattes, such as matcha latte and purple sweet potato latte. Remember, these don't contain coffee.

Espresso Con Panna

In this, "Espresso" is espresso, "Con" means "and" in Italian, and "Panna" means fresh cream. As the name suggests, Con Panna is "espresso with fresh cream," making it a good choice for ladies who love cream but want to experience strong coffee flavor.

Espresso Macchiato

"Macchiato" means "mark" or "brand" in Italian. It's made by adding two large spoonfuls of milk foam to espresso. The dense, fine milk foam combines with the espresso—strong coffee flavor meets rich milk foam, creating an explosion on your taste buds. Most people can't handle this taste, so Starbucks improved it by increasing the coffee amount from the previous 30ml to over 100ml and adding caramel, creating Caramel Macchiato, which means "sweet mark."

Affogato

In Italian, "affogato" means "drowned." It's made by pouring espresso over ice cream balls, "drowning" them. Not only is it visually appealing, but it's also a delicious coffee drink that's very popular with ladies in summer.

Café au Lait

French latte, where "Café au lait" in French means coffee with a lot of milk added.

The difference between Café au Lait and latte (Italian style) is that it requires milk and espresso to be poured into the cup together, more precisely into a 300ml or larger round bowl. The coffee and milk meet immediately, reflecting that comfortable and free feeling. In France, this coffee with lots of milk added is a great breakfast companion, perfect with croissants.

Flat White

Whether it was invented in Australia or New Zealand is still debated. Initially, it was translated in China as "xiao bai" (little white), "ping bai" (flat white), or "ao bai" (Australian white). After Starbucks introduced it to China, it was translated as "Fu Rui Bai." Compared to regular latte, its milk foam layer is thinner, the foam is finer and smoother, and the coffee flavor is stronger.

Distinguishing Between Flat White, Latte, and Cappuccino

Deaton Pigot, chief barista at Australia's Toby's Estate café, once called Flat White a "wet cappuccino," while The New York Times called it a "small latte." Levi Hamilton, a barista at Workshop Espresso, believes both descriptions are incorrect.

"The real difference lies in the foam on top of the coffee. Cappuccino translates to 'foam hat,' so cappuccino has very thick milk foam. Flat White only has very thin foam on top, making it more palatable and flat." According to Wikipedia, it's a form of latte art, similar to but different from cappuccino and latte.

Cappuccino (180ml cup) and latte coffee (200ml cup) both use single-shot espresso. Flat White (200ml cup) is based on double-shot espresso, and some places extract the espresso longer, using double Ristretto (Ristretto: 1:1 Espresso).

Piccolo Latte

Extract about 20ml of espresso, using a cup of about 100ml. Flat White extracts about 30ml of espresso, using a cup of about 175ml. Latte coffee extracts 30ml of espresso, with a cup of about 225ml (generally not exceeding this).

Vienna Coffee (Einspanner)

The difference from Con Panna is that it contains more coffee liquid—hot water and a small amount of sugar are added to the espresso. In China, it's called Vienna Coffee, but when you go to cafés in Vienna, you won't find Vienna Coffee. Research shows the closest thing is "Fiaker Coffee," which has a story about coachmen. "Einspanner" means "single-horse carriage" in German.

American Coffee / Americano

Espresso plus lots of hot water—hot Americano

Espresso plus lots of ice—iced Americano

Irish Coffee

Add whiskey to coffee and top with cream.

Irish Coffee is a coffee with alcohol added, which seems somewhat unconventional compared to orthodox coffee. It's made by mixing hot coffee, Irish whiskey, cream, and sugar. The cup used is also quite distinctive—often a heat-resistant glass resembling a wine glass or beer mug. This coffee has a touching story behind it—supposedly inspired by a bartender who fell in love with a flight attendant.

Vietnamese Coffee

Coffee grounds are placed in a special metal filter, boiling water is poured in, and the coffee drips drop by drop into the cup. After the coffee finishes dripping, sugar or condensed milk can be added according to personal taste, stirred well, and then consumed. In Vietnam, there are two ways to drink it—hot and cold. Hot coffee is mainly consumed in winter, with the cup placed in another small bowl of hot water to keep it warm. Cold coffee is mostly consumed in hot summer, served with ice cubes after brewing.

Turkish Coffee

Turkish coffee is the ancestor of European coffee! In the past, drinking a cup of Turkish coffee was considered the highest honor. Turks don't filter coffee grounds when drinking coffee, nor do they add any milk or creamer, but they do add sugar while brewing the coffee. Isn't that unique? Let me tell you, the remaining coffee grounds can even be used for fortune-telling!

Yuanyang

Half coffee plus half milk tea—a Hong Kong original.

The 5 Most Common Specialty Coffees

Single Origin Coffee

"Single Origin Coffee" generally refers to single-style coffee beans from a single country or region. It can be compared to a coffee solo. For example, the estate series from the cafetown brand: Colombia Medellin, Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, Costa Rica, Brazil, etc., represent pure coffee made from single-origin coffee beans. Because each country or different region has its own climate, soil, and natural environment, the cultivated coffee beans each have unique characteristics.

Tasting "Single Origin Coffee" allows you to understand the characteristics and flavors of coffee from a specific country or region. It generally refers to single-style coffee beans from a single country or region. For example, the FrontStreet Coffee brand series: Colombia, Medellin, Ethiopia, Yirgacheffe, Costa Rica, Fika, etc., represent pure coffee made from single-origin coffee beans. Because each country or different region has its own climate, soil, and natural environment, the cultivated coffee beans each have unique characteristics.

Tasting "Single Origin Coffee" allows you to understand the characteristics and flavors of coffee from a specific country or region. Generally, single origin coffee servings are about 120ml-250ml and are served with a packet of sugar and a creamer ball or a small cup of whole milk.

It's important to note that if you see a European country name on a coffee menu, such as Italy, Vienna, Ireland, etc., it's not single origin coffee. Because the European continent doesn't produce coffee. These belong to the category of specialty coffee.

SOE - Single Origin Espresso

For example, Kenya AA, Colombia NARINO, etc. Using a single-origin coffee bean to make espresso, and espresso can also use specialty coffee beans, commonly known as "SOE."

Blended Coffee

Blended coffee refers to relatively balanced coffee beans made by blending several single-origin coffees according to their respective characteristics and tastes, such as: Mandheling blend, Blue Mountain blend, Diamond blend, etc. Blended coffee is indispensable because all specialty coffees are made from blended coffee beans, and European coffee brands with hundreds of years of history are actually selling their blending formulas.