Differences Between Single Origin and Coffee Blends How to Distinguish Single Origin Coffee Beans from Blended Beans Flavor Characteristics of Coffee Blends

Today, FrontStreet Coffee would like to share with everyone two main categories of coffee beans: single-origin beans and blended beans.

Blended coffee, also known as house blend, is the art of combining various single-origin coffee beans to fully showcase their unique characteristics. Blends are created by mixing coffee beans from different origins to achieve a more balanced flavor profile. FrontStreet Coffee offers four different styles of espresso blends. For example, if one coffee bean is smooth but lacks aroma, we can add another bean with rich fragrance, complementing each bean's strengths and weaknesses to create a new, richer taste experience. Sometimes beans are mixed before roasting (called green blending), and sometimes they are blended after roasting (called roasted blending).

Whether using pre-mixed green beans or individually roasted beans for blending, the approach must depend on the characteristics of the coffee in the formula. Both methods are acceptable. Blending after roasting allows for different degrees of roasting for each bean, enabling each component to perform at its best.

FrontStreet Coffee generally needs to understand the flavor profiles of different coffee varieties from around the world before creating coffee blends, as beans have distinct characteristics based on their origin. Different coffee beans have unique personalities due to different varieties and origins, with subtle differences in acidity, bitterness, sweetness, aroma, and body. Single-origin coffee beans often emphasize the unique characteristics of a particular coffee type. Blended coffee beans are commonly used for espresso-based drinks such as Espresso, Americano, Latte, or Cappuccino, creating more balanced, smooth, and stable flavors that appeal to a broader audience.

Main Purposes of Coffee Bean Blending

1. Stable Flavor Profile

Since coffee beans are agricultural products, even the same type of coffee bean can have different flavor profiles each year. Mixing several coffee beans together to create a blend effectively solves this problem, allowing the taste to remain basically consistent year after year.

2. Balanced Mouthfeel

Espresso machines have a characteristic of amplifying the most prominent flavor characteristics of coffee beans, which is why we rarely use single-variety coffee to make Espresso. Otherwise, if the coffee bean is particularly bitter, the resulting Espresso will be exceptionally bitter; if it tends toward acidity, it will be very acidic. Therefore, we need to use blending to balance various flavors.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that blending coffee is not simply about addition, but rather about leveraging the blender's unique understanding of coffee flavors to allow different coffee beans to complement each other, creating exceptionally flavored blended coffee beans.

3. Consistent Flavor

Because coffee beans are agricultural products, even coffee beans of the same variety and from the same region can have different flavors each year. Mixing several coffee beans together effectively solves this problem, allowing the flavor to remain basically consistent year after year.

The Rise of Single-Origin Espresso (SOE)

SOE (Single-Origin Espresso) has become popular recently. While not necessarily equivalent to specialty coffee, if you select single-origin coffee beans with easily identifiable flavors as SOE, you can create espresso with unique and typical flavors. For example, Yirgacheffe's typical citrus flavors, Kenya's fruity notes, and since espresso amplifies coffee flavors, specific characteristics become more prominent compared to pour-over brewing. However, FrontStreet Coffee believes that although SOE shows outstanding characteristics, because it comes from a single origin, its disadvantages are also relatively easy to amplify. Factors such as roasting and grind size can affect the flavor, so it's not necessarily better tasting than blended coffee.

How FrontStreet Coffee Baristas Create Unique Blends

(1) FrontStreet Coffee Specialty Blend:

Colombia : Brazil, ratio 3:7

Colombia Huila Region

Located in southwestern Colombia, it is one of the main coffee cultivation areas. Colombian coffee generally grows at altitudes of 1500-1800 meters, mostly Bourbon and Caturra varieties, processed using the washed method. The beans have high density, uniform size, and full body (thick from bean core to surface). Because famous coffee cultivation areas are scattered throughout the Huila region, the names of various small areas have become brand names and circulate in the market. Although cultivation conditions in this region are excellent, the cultivation infrastructure of coffee farms and surrounding conditions is not well-developed. Green bean drying equipment or washing processing facilities are not yet complete, which is quite regrettable. FrontStreet Coffee has cupped multiple coffee beans from the Huila region and believes that Huila region coffee has strong flavor and heavy texture.

The nutty, chocolate, and caramel aromas of Huila region coffee, along with its suitable acidity, can be considered high-quality specialty coffee. The nutty, chocolate, and caramel aromas along with suitable acidity can be considered high-quality specialty coffee.

Flavor characteristics: Rich and solid taste with pleasant acidity, fragrant aroma, moderate acidity, and rich sweetness that is intriguing. Due to its affordable price and smaller bean size, it's suitable for blending coffee. The coffee has strong flavor and heavy texture. Its nutty, chocolate, and caramel aromas along with suitable acidity make it high-quality specialty coffee, suitable for single-origin or as an espresso blend base.

Brazil Cerrado Region

Brazilian coffee generally grows at altitudes of 1000-1300 meters, so its density is relatively low. Mostly Bourbon variety, processed using natural pulped method. Moderate moisture content, softer bean texture, and thin thickness from surface to core, making it unsuitable for high-temperature roasting, as the inner wall temperature of the roasting drum can scorch the bean surface, creating burnt bitterness.

At the same time, to express the characteristics of nuts, milk chocolate, and good body, and serve as a blend base, FrontStreet Coffee chooses to use medium heat input, maintaining the fire through the dehydration stage, making fine adjustments as temperature rises after first crack begins, promoting more complete caramelization reactions, and discharging the beans when temperature approaches second crack.

Flavor characteristics: Comfortable bittersweet taste, extremely smooth entry; with a light grassy fragrance, fresh aroma with slight bitterness; sweet, smooth, and pleasant with a comforting aftertaste.

Blended flavor: Sweet taste. Using medium-dark roast, when making espresso, the taste will have soft, slight acidity, clear sweetness, nutty aftertaste, with an overall feeling that is not too stimulating, balanced, and with medium crema.

(2) FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Espresso Blend:

Colombia : Brazil : Robusta; ratio 3:6:1, green blend;

[Robusta] beans have strong disease and pest resistance and high yield. Usually not as acidic as Arabica beans, often with a slight woody aroma. Caffeine content is 2.2%, higher than Arabica's 1.2%, and chlorogenic acid content is also higher, making it quite bitter. Usually used for commercial beans, it's cheaper than Arabica beans.

In terms of individual bean flavor, commercial coffee beans taste much inferior to specialty coffee beans. Commercial beans are generally chosen for blending. Through blending, they can also produce coffee with excellent taste, suitable for making espresso-based drinks like lattes and cappuccinos. FrontStreet Coffee's commercial blend for Espresso, because it contains Robusta beans, will have richer crema, classic flavor with caramel sweetness, nut and cocoa-like, dark chocolate flavors, balanced sweet and sour, with a slight bittersweet note and persistent aftertaste.

(3) FrontStreet Coffee Basic Espresso Blend:

Yunnan AA : Brazil; ratio 3:7, roasted blend;

FrontStreet Coffee's Yunnan AA is [Typica], the oldest native variety from Ethiopia, originating in southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan. All Arabica varieties are derived from Typica. The top leaves are copper-colored, called red-tipped coffee, with elegant flavor but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, susceptible to leaf rust, and low fruit yield. Typica has slender branches with spreading habit at 50-70 degree angles. Opposite leaves are long-oval shaped with smooth surfaces, terminal branches are long with few branches, and flowers are white, blooming at the base where petioles connect to branches. Mature coffee cherries look like cherries, bright red in color.

It requires more shade during cultivation and can be harvested only about once every two years. Yunnan's excellent geographical and climate conditions provide good conditions for coffee growth. Planting areas include Lincang, Baoshan, Simao, Xishuangbanna, Dehong and other regions. Yunnan's natural conditions are very similar to Colombia's, with high altitude and large temperature differences between day and night. The flavor is mellow and aromatic, with moderate acidity, rich and mellow taste, uniform particles, high oil content, and fruity notes. Its quality and taste are similar to Colombian coffee.

Blended flavor: With soft fruit acidity, caramel sweetness, nut and dark chocolate flavors, smooth and viscous, but the taste is relatively light.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that a good-flavored blend should have primary and secondary components during blending to create a more wonderful taste than single-origin coffee. For example, before formulating a blend plan, Frontsteet first envisions suitable combination methods, then uses appropriate roasting before blending, determining the best plan through cupping and later adjustments, hoping to help everyone.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee's private WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473