What is SOE Coffee? Best for Pour-Over or Espresso? Differences Between SOE and Single Origin Beans & Flavor Characteristics

Understanding SOE Coffee: Single Origin Espresso

Everyone knows about espresso, but do you know about SOE coffee? You might have noticed that more and more coffee shops are offering SOE. However, FrontStreet Coffee doesn't have SOE coffee on their menu. Why? Let FrontStreet Coffee explain SOE coffee to you.

SOE stands for "Single Origin Espresso," which is espresso made from coffee beans of a single origin. These are typically specialty-grade beans from a single origin, generally of higher quality than most commercial blends. Can all single-origin pour-over coffee beans be used for SOE coffee? FrontStreet Coffee tells you: Yes, but whether the taste will be good is another matter.

If using single-origin coffee beans for SOE coffee, the flavor profile will exhibit more distinct characteristics compared to commercial blends. Espresso brewing amplifies the coffee's flavors. For example, FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe's typical citrus notes or FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya's fruit flavors would become particularly acidic when made into SOE coffee. If FrontStreet Coffee's Indonesian Mandheling were used for extraction, this bean's flavor characteristics of herbal and earthy notes would result in a very bitter SOE espresso. SOE coffee isn't limited to being served as straight espresso either—like blended coffee beans, it can serve as the base for all espresso-based drinks such as mocha, cappuccino, and latte, and even creative coffee beverages. This is why SOE coffee has become widely consumed in recent years.

So if using single-origin coffee beans for SOE coffee, what should you pay attention to?

For SOE Single Origin Espresso, the selected coffee beans are typically not roasted too dark in order to highlight the origin's flavor characteristics. Compared to traditionally darker-roasted espresso beans, the flavors can be more challenging to extract. Therefore, on one hand, extraction parameters need to be adjusted to increase extraction yield. For example, extending extraction time, adjusting grind finer, increasing dose, etc.

On the other hand, when serving espresso-based drinks using SOE as the base, the ratio of espresso to milk or water needs to be adjusted. Reduce the milk or water to highlight the coffee's flavor, preventing the coffee from becoming too diluted.

Understanding Coffee Blends

Blended coffee, also known as mixed coffee or espresso beans, involves combining various single-origin coffee beans to fully leverage the strengths of each individual bean. Blends are created from coffee beans of different origins to achieve a more balanced flavor profile. For example, if one coffee bean is smooth but lacks aroma, another bean rich in aroma can be added. By complementing each other's strengths and weaknesses in terms of flavor—either through complementation or enhancement—a new, richer taste experience is created. Sometimes beans are mixed before roasting, called "green blending"; sometimes coffee beans are mixed after roasting, called "roasted blending."

What Coffee Beans Are Suitable for SOE?

When selecting coffee beans for SOE Single Origin Espresso, we need to meet several conditions: first, the flavor profile must be appropriate, and second, the roast level must be suitable.

Let's first discuss roasting. What is the characteristic of SOE Single Origin Espresso? It's about expressing the terroir—the taste of a single origin. What does this mean? It means the roast level cannot be too dark. We know that roasting is a crucial factor affecting coffee bean flavor. The darker the roast, the more the origin's inherent flavors are gradually diminished, replaced by caramelization and roasting flavors from the baking process. This contradicts the purpose of highlighting single-origin flavors.

However, it also cannot be too light. Although light roasts better showcase the coffee bean's inherent flavors compared to dark roasts, we must also consider the high-pressure environment that espresso machines create during extraction. Too light a roast means the coffee beans are harder, resulting in slower flow rates, shorter extraction times, and easily leading to under-extraction, causing sharp acidity and incomplete flavors.

Why doesn't FrontStreet Coffee feature SOE coffee on their menu? Because SOE coffee is espresso extracted from single-origin coffee beans, and coffee beans are affected by factors such as weather, cultivation, and roasting, which can cause flavor variations between different batches of the same bean. This makes it impossible to guarantee that every cup of espresso will have the same consistent flavor. FrontStreet Coffee hopes that every friend who visits FrontStreet Coffee can enjoy consistently flavored, distinctly aromatic espresso or milk coffee every time.

The counterpart to SOE is Espresso Blend. Espresso Blend refers to the coffee brewing process where beans from multiple origins are mixed for brewing.

Recommended SOE Coffee Varieties

Fresh and Sweet Flavor Profile

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry. This coffee comes from FrontStreet Coffee's Yirgacheffe Aletaland Estate, situated at 1700-2200 meters altitude, processed using full red cherry natural methods, offering very rich fruit sweetness and floral aromas.

Flavor description: Citrus, berries, fermented aroma, viscous, medium bitterness, medium-high acidity, bright and lively acidity.

Rich Wine-like Flavor Profile

FrontStreet Coffee recommends using FrontStreet Coffee's Honduras Sherry Barrel. This coffee comes from Mocca Estate in Honduras, situated at 1500-1700 meters altitude, processed using refined FrontStreet Coffee washed sherry barrel fermentation, offering very rich wine fermentation aromas and dark chocolate cream flavors.

Flavor description: Whiskey aroma, soft and higher fruit acidity, smooth mouthfeel, creamy viscosity, cocoa.

The Importance of Coffee Freshness

When making espresso, it's also important to pay attention to the freshness of the coffee beans, as the freshness directly affects the coffee's flavor.

FrontStreet Coffee brewing recommendations:

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using freshly roasted coffee beans for brewing to maximize the experience of coffee's rich flavors. Coffee beans shipped by FrontStreet Coffee are all roasted within 5 days, because FrontStreet Coffee deeply understands that coffee bean freshness has a significant impact on flavor. FrontStreet Coffee's roasting philosophy is "Freshly roasted good coffee," ensuring that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee possible. The coffee's degassing period is about 4-7 days, so when customers receive their coffee, it's at its peak flavor.

Of course, some customers ask FrontStreet Coffee to grind the beans for them. FrontStreet Coffee would like to remind you: once coffee beans are ground, they should be brewed as soon as possible, because coffee grounds lose flavor more quickly when exposed to air. Therefore, you may not be able to fully experience the perfect flavor of the coffee. This is why FrontStreet Coffee recommends purchasing whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing to better express the coffee's flavors!

Of course, if these two single-origin specialty coffees were brewed using pour-over methods, they would also taste excellent! FrontStreet Coffee has over fifty different coffee beans from various origins, each with different flavor profiles, fully satisfying everyone's coffee exploration and helping you find coffee that suits your taste!

Contact Information

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

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

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473