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What to Consider When Buying SOE Coffee Beans_Pros and Cons of SOE Beans_How Much Do SOE Coffee Beans Cost

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 official account: cafe_style). In fact, SOE coffee beans first appeared in 2007 and had gradually matured by 2010. North American consumers had become accustomed to ordering seasonal SOE offerings at coffee shops. The popularity of SOE has made people realize that with exceptional quality beans, espresso blends don't necessarily need to follow traditional formulas.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style)

Actually, SOE coffee beans first appeared in 2007 and gradually matured by 2010. Consumers in North America have become accustomed to ordering a seasonal SOE at coffee shops. The popularity of SOE has made people realize that with excellent beans, espresso formulas don't need to be complicated.

What is "SOE"?

SOE is actually an abbreviation for "Single Origin Espresso," which means single-origin espresso coffee in Chinese.

Surprised? It's not some profound coffee concept—it's simply replacing the typical "blended coffee beans" used for espresso with "single-origin coffee beans," still extracted through high pressure using an espresso machine to make a cup of espresso. Similarly, SOE latte is a latte made with single-origin coffee beans; SOE Americano is an Americano made with single-origin coffee beans... and so on.

Common Misconceptions About SOE

SOE is quite simple, but it's easy for people to have some misunderstandings, such as the following aspects:

SOE tastes better than blended coffee. Many factors determine whether a cup of coffee tastes good, including coffee beans, roasting, coffee machine, brewing process, and personal taste preferences.

SOE simply refers to espresso made with single-origin coffee beans. The beans used are not necessarily better than those used in blended coffee. Other factors also significantly impact coffee quality, so we cannot generalize about which coffee tastes better! Based on these reasons, believing that SOE must be higher quality and more expensive than blended coffee is also incorrect.

Similarities Between Single-Origin Coffee and SOE

Both use single-origin beans, but their roasting purposes are completely different.

Differences between single-origin coffee and SOE: Single-origin coffee in most coffee shops is typically brewed using pour-over methods, while SOE is made with an espresso machine—two completely different brewing processes.

Difference between Espresso and SOE: SOE uses beans from a single producing region, while regular espresso uses blended beans from multiple producing regions.

What to Consider When Making SOE

Choose beans with high flavor recognition for SOE. Using single-origin coffee beans for espresso is simply to allow espresso and milk coffee lovers to appreciate the inherent flavors of single-origin beans.

If a single-origin bean has low flavor recognition and most people cannot taste its unique characteristics, it's better to drink a cup of blended coffee with balanced flavors and strong body.

Instability of SOE Coffee Beans

Coffee is an agricultural product, and single-origin coffee beans are affected by factors such as weather and cultivation, which can cause flavor variations in beans from the same producing region. This distinguishes them from blended coffee beans that pursue flavor stability.

If we order the same SOE made from the same beans at the same shop on different occasions but taste slightly different flavors, this is completely normal, and there's no need to question the shop's professionalism on this point.

SOE Coffee Bean Brand Recommendations

SOE coffee beans roasted by FrontStreet Coffee offer excellent assurance in both brand and quality. More importantly, they provide exceptional value—a half-pound (227 grams) package costs only about 80-90 yuan. Calculating at 10 grams of coffee powder per single-shot espresso, one package can make 22 cups of coffee, with each cup of SOE costing only about 3-4 yuan. This offers excellent value compared to coffee shops that sell each cup for dozens of yuan.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, offering both famous and lesser-known beans, plus online shop services at https://shop104210103.taobao.com