What's the Difference Between Single-Origin Coffee and Pour-Over Blend Coffee? How to Brew Pour-Over Blended Coffee?

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What's the Difference Between Single Origin Coffee and Hand-Poured Blend Coffee? How to Brew Hand-Poured Blend Coffee?

Generally, single-origin Arabica coffee beans are sufficient to produce coffee with excellent taste - fragrant aroma, smooth mouthfeel, and sweet aftertaste. Therefore, there's no need for "blending." Hand-poured blend coffee beans, also known as hand-poured comprehensive blend coffee beans, mixed coffee beans, or blend coffee beans in English, are a concept relative to single-origin coffee beans. Every master roaster has their own secret hand-poured blend, sometimes more than one recipe, which can be considered their unique skill and treasure of the shop. They treat two or more coffee beans from different regions with different characteristics as independent works with distinct flavors, and blend three types of beans in different proportions and roast them separately to create layered tastes.

Hand-poured blend coffee beans (Blend, also known as hand-poured comprehensive blend coffee beans or blend coffee beans) are named in contrast to single-origin coffee beans (Single Origin). As the name suggests, they involve mixing different types of coffee beans together for brewing.

If a specialty coffee shop has the capability to prepare hand-poured comprehensive blend coffee beans, they might sometimes create several different blends with varied flavors, making the shop's beverage offerings more diverse. This is somewhat similar to whiskey. Is single malt necessarily better than blended whiskey? Not necessarily - each has its own merits. Some people don't like flavors with overly distinct characteristics, some seek balance and harmony, while others only care about "smoothness..."

But Must Coffee Always Be Single Origin?

Creating a coffee blend with balanced, smooth mouthfeel and sweet aftertaste is not an easy task. Just as a bartender creates a well-balanced cocktail, it requires long hours of practice and experimentation. Both involve highly difficult techniques in the craft definition of beverages. Therefore, neither single origin nor blends can be categorized as good or bad - they are simply selected based on personal taste preferences. Perhaps for most specialty coffee professionals who research hand-poured comprehensive blends, the main focus isn't on specific equipment, but rather on challenging their own imagination of taste and roasting skills, allowing consumers to enjoy black coffee brewed with specially prepared hand-poured comprehensive blend beans in addition to single-origin beans, savoring the unique blends thoughtfully developed by roasters.

Blending Principles

Generally, blending focuses on balancing flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel around a central theme. From sweet, bitter, or acidic coffees, select preferred flavors and then mix them in certain proportions. Coffee flavor includes the aroma sensed before drinking, the aroma experienced in the mouth, and the aroma that rises from the throat after drinking. Select preferred aromas to create richness while maintaining a focused character. Through blending, one can emphasize the taste and aroma of coffee, discovering a "personal coffee" that matches their preferences. First, before blending, one must understand the different flavor profiles of coffee varieties from around the world, as beans have different characteristics based on their origin.

Central and South American coffees have mild flavors and balanced aromas; African coffees offer refreshing notes with charming floral aromas; after understanding Asian coffees' rich body, one can create excellent blends. You can also select one coffee from different continents to mix. Blending 2-3 varieties together and giving it a special name works well whether for personal enjoyment or as a gift. Among blending methods, the most representative approaches are "roast then blend" and "blend then roast." Blending also varies depending on different green bean roasting methods, each with different advantages and disadvantages. While it's difficult to say which method is better, "roast then blend" is superior in flavor, while "blend then roast" is better for management.

Roast Then Blend:

Roast each variety's green beans separately, then mix them in certain proportions according to the coffee beverage and taste. Label each separately roasted bean and mix them manually in small batches according to fixed proportions; you can also use blending machines with stirring functions to achieve optimal coffee flavor. The disadvantage is that when roasting separately, strict quality management is required to maintain flavor.

Blend Then Roast:

Mix various green bean varieties together, then roast them. During roasting, as the aromas of different varieties mix together, individual aroma characteristics are reduced while emphasizing overall aroma. The advantage of roasting green beans all at once is that the process is simple and easy, but the disadvantage is the inability to preserve the original characteristics of each green bean.

Benefits of Hand-Poured Blends:

There are no fixed rules for hand-poured comprehensive blends. Although you can mix coffee green beans according to personal taste, you must first understand the aroma characteristics of different types of beans to create delicious hand-poured comprehensive blends. Generally, hand-poured comprehensive blends mainly mix 2-5 varieties, but for beginners, starting with mixing 3 or fewer varieties is easier to succeed. It's better to increase the proportion of green beans (or coffee beans) whose flavors you want to emphasize to over 30%.

1. Creating Rich Mouthfeel:

Coffee extracted through high pressure often presents concentrated and singular flavors. If using single-origin beans, it's difficult to balance [aroma], [body], and [aftertaste], which is more evident in commercial beans with less prominent flavors. Therefore, using coffees from different regions and roast degrees in proportion can achieve complementary taste performance.

2. Stable Flavor Performance:

Coffee beans are agricultural products after all. Even from the same region, beans from different years and batches still have flavor variations. In the end consumer market, to provide stable flavor, different coffee blends are used to achieve similar flavors and stable cup quality.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Hand-Pour Method:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 89-90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, using 15g of coffee. First infusion with 25g of water for 25s bloom. Second infusion to 120g, then pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g. Total extraction time around 2:00.

Analysis: Using a three-stage brewing method to clearly define the flavors in the front, middle, and back sections. Because the V60 has many ribs and faster drainage, pausing the water flow can extend the extraction time.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473