What does SOE coffee bean mean? Why is SOE more expensive than blends? Brazilian SOE coffee bean recommendations and flavor profile descriptions

In the world of coffee, SOE stands for Single Origin Espresso. When expanded from this English abbreviation, it means Single Origin Espresso, which directly contrasts with Espresso Blend, referring to blended coffee beans for espresso.

The SOE Coffee Revolution: Tasting Terroir and Characteristics

The full name behind the English abbreviation SOE is Single Origin Espresso, which can be described as single-origin espresso, where "Single Origin" means coffee beans from a single estate, while "Espresso" signifies crafting these single-origin beans into espresso.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that traditional espresso has historically followed the Italian blending concept, where multiple different beans are combined to showcase optimal balance, providing a smooth mouthfeel and consistent performance from beginning to end. However, the advantages of blended espresso, beyond balance, include stable formulations and controlled pricing, making it naturally the most favorable choice in commercial settings.

Coffee beans from different estates each carry distinct terroir characteristics. Combined with the amplification effect of espresso concentration, plus varying interpretations by professional baristas in roasting and brewing, technical skill becomes crucial to successful execution.

Higher technical skill is required because single-origin beans come from different regions. While their characteristics are prominent, their relative flaws are also amplified. Therefore, roast degree and grind size naturally affect flavor, making this one of the most challenging aspects of creating SOE.

Additionally, while taste is important today, there's also a need to introduce and explain to consumers the flavors and significance of Single Origin coffee beans. Beyond the drinking experience, storytelling is even more important.

Not All Single-Origin Coffee Beans Can Make Delicious Espresso

SOE does not equal specialty coffee, SOE does not equal delicious, SOE does not equal higher quality than blended beans, and SOE does not equal light roast espresso. FrontStreet Coffee has noticed that many enthusiasts understand SOE similarly to pour-over single-origin coffee, where light-roasted coffee beans can showcase more rich and layered flavors.

However, compared to pour-over coffee, espresso uses a completely different extraction method. Espresso making involves pressurized, high-temperature, rapid extraction to produce highly concentrated coffee liquid, where coffee flavors and tastes are extremely concentrated.

Meanwhile, pour-over coffee uses natural gravity, with higher temperature water passing through coffee grounds to extract flavor compounds. After large-scale dilution, coffee flavors have better room to express themselves.

If light-roasted coffee beans are used to make SOE coffee, the acidity might present a sharp, sour taste. Additionally, the short roasting time fails to develop more flavor compounds, ultimately resulting in a thin coffee mouthfeel. Therefore, for making SOE coffee, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using medium to medium-dark roasted coffee beans.

Brazil SOE Single-Origin Coffee Bean Recommendation

For making Brazil SOE coffee, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using Yellow Bourbon coffee beans grown at 1400-1950m altitude from Queen's Estate in Mogiana Province, Brazil. After deep roasting by FrontStreet Coffee, these Yellow Bourbon beans offer balanced, smooth acidity with very pronounced sweetness, featuring roasted nuts, dark chocolate, peanut butter-like smoothness, and sugarcane-like clean, sweet aftertaste.

When extracted as espresso, it expresses the rich, aromatic intensity of nuts and dark chocolate, peanut butter-like smoothness, and a caramel-like finish.

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