Is SOE Coffee Better? The Difference Between Espresso Blends and SOE

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Have you ever tried SOE?

When ordering a coffee at a coffee shop, have you ever been asked by the barista: "Would you like to try our SOE?" The so-called "SOE" is an abbreviation for "Single Origin Espresso," which means single-origin espresso coffee. Many people think that single-origin coffee is better to drink than blended coffee (Blend Coffee), but is this really the case?

Traditional Italian Blend Coffee

Traditional Italian coffee beans are blended from multiple coffee beans. In Italy, a bag of coffee beans can be composed of several, or even dozens of, different coffee beans. Many people think that blended coffee is not good to drink, believing it's a mixture of many coffee beans of unknown origin, but the reality is that blended beans can also be made entirely from specialty coffee beans and can be very delicious.

The biggest advantage of using blended coffee beans is ensuring the stability of coffee flavor. When the quality of a certain coffee bean changes, or its production decreases or prices rise, roasters can choose similar coffee beans as substitutes without affecting the overall taste. When selecting blended beans and creating blend formulas, roasters need to first determine the coffee flavor they want to present, such as the expression of acidity, sweetness, bitterness, and even expectations for the coffee's body. Most coffee shops will create their own "Signature Blend," whose flavor absolutely does not lose to single-origin coffee beans.

The Formation of the Single-Origin Trend

SOE represents single-origin espresso. Although it doesn't necessarily equate 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 flavor, Kenya's fruity flavors, etc. Since espresso amplifies the taste of coffee, specific flavors become more prominent compared to pour-over coffee. However, although SOE has outstanding performance, because it comes from a single origin, its flaws are also relatively easily amplified. Therefore, factors such as roasting and grind size will affect the flavor, so it's not necessarily better than blended coffee.

Finding Your Favorite SOE

Talking about the rise of this trend, Chen Zhihuang, founder of Fika Fika Café, which won the Nordic Cup Coffee Roasting Championship in 2013, believes that coffee development today has striking similarities with whiskey; everyone started by only knowing brands and tasting blended whiskeys, until in the past decade, single malt whiskeys from different regions began to gain great popularity, and SOE follows the same concept.

If you want to find espresso that suits your taste, don't decide based solely on single-origin or blended coffee. Next time,不妨 ask the staff about the flavor and roast level of the espresso beans. Only through continuous tasting can you find your favorite flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find various famous and lesser-known beans, while also providing online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

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