What Makes Single-Origin Coffee Beans Delicious? What Are the Best Single-Origin Coffee Recommendations?

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What is Single-Origin Coffee?

Nowadays, it's said that those who truly know how to appreciate coffee must drink single-origin coffee. On one hand, this shows respect and support for coffee farmers in the producing regions, and on the other hand, it allows one to experience the unique terroir characteristics from thousands of miles away through a single cup. Indeed, single-origin coffee possesses this magical quality. Single-origin coffee is made from coffee beans produced in a single growing region and is typically consumed without sugar or milk, presenting pure coffee with strong flavor characteristics - either fresh and gentle, or mellow and smooth. In short, each has its own merits, with no two being exactly alike.

Single-origin coffee refers to coffee made from coffee beans of the same variety harvested from a single growing region of origin!

Single-origin coffee is related to its place of origin. Generally, coffee beans from the same region are divided into many grades, with the biggest distinction being between specialty and non-specialty coffee. Non-specialty coffee is further classified within commercial grades, where等级 and身价 are linked!

Single-origin coffee beans generally need to be traced back to their origin. Different regional terroirs will create coffee beans with obvious regional characteristics! And what's traced back is not just the growing area that produces the coffee beans, but also the coffee plantation owner, coffee processing factory, and trader's warehouse - all of which are particularly important for the quality of coffee beans!

There are many processing methods: washed, natural, honey, etc. Nowadays, there are also some processing methods using probiotic fermentation. The same bean with different processing methods will have different flavors.

Roast level: Generally divided into light, medium, and dark, though they can be further subdivided. Basically, light roasts tend to be more acidic, while dark roasts have heavier taste and higher body.

Varieties and Main Origins

01 Varieties

Coffee trees, as a plant, have many varieties - about 70 species. The ones we mainly drink are basically Arabica and Robusta. (Liberica species have too low yield and are basically no longer discussed.)

Arabica species have many specialty varieties and are the bean species used for single-origin coffee, such as Typica, Bourbon, Blue Mountain, Kilimanjaro - these are all sub-varieties of Arabica species.

Robusta species (commonly known as "Robusta beans") are actually sub-variety beans of Canephora species, gradually becoming synonymous with Canephora species. Robusta beans have a heavier bitter taste; well, they're generally used for instant coffee and have higher caffeine content.

02 Main Growing Regions

Coffee growing regions are mainly distributed between 25° south latitude and 25° north latitude centered around the equator. This region is also known as the "Coffee Golden Belt." (Isn't the slogan familiar~~) Because there are too many types of single-origin coffee, I'll choose a few that you often see in coffee shops and write about their basic flavor characteristics for your convenience in selection. (As mentioned before, factors like processing methods, roast level, and barista's skill will all affect the final flavor, so the introduction here is just the most basic, without too much difference.)

1. Mandheling

Main origin: Sumatra Islands, Indonesia. The taste is rich and smooth, with a bitterness similar to dark chocolate, but also with a sweet aftertaste and slight acidity.

2. Yirgacheffe

From Ethiopia (formerly Abyssinia). The fruit flavor is obvious, with acidity similar to wine. If you can't drink very bitter coffee, you can start with this bean. (Also my favorite to drink~~)

3. Brazil

Brazilian beans have a mellow taste, low acidity, heavy nutty flavor, good chocolate sweetness and body, but with a slight woody and earthy taste, and no obvious floral or citrus aroma. South American beans are generally all Colombian.

4. Colombia

Colombian beans generally have a more balanced taste, full body, caramel sweetness, and also some fruit acidity.

5. Guatemala

Coffee from here often has a slightly charred taste, with clearer acidity. High-altitude plantations have exceptionally flavored good coffee.

6. Kenya

Kenyan coffee has rich berry aroma, as well as the sour and sweet aroma of plum juice and grapefruit, and the clear sweet aroma of sugarcane. The overall acidity is moderate, with rich fragrance.

7. Yunnan, China

Yunnan region coffee beans are grown at altitudes of 1000-2000 meters, with fertile soil, sufficient sunlight, abundant rainfall, and large temperature differences between day and night. These excellent attributes create Yunnan small-seed coffee. This coffee is strong but not bitter, with aroma. When processed using honey method, it can have chocolate and toffee sweetness, with a bit of acidity. In recent years, Yunnan beans have gradually been understood and loved by everyone.

Of course, there are many more varieties, including many good beans, such as some red-label, blue-label Geisha, auction-level beans, etc., but getting started is quite luxurious (100 grams for 100 yuan).. Professional stores will have them. There are also many blended beans that can create rich flavors (though those can't be considered single-origin). There are many other small coffee knowledge points to discuss slowly later. If friends are interested in single-origin coffee beans, you can directly scan and add FrontStreet Coffee's official account and WeChat to explore together~

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473