What is SOE Espresso Coffee? Is SOE a Single Origin Bean? Flavor Profile and Brewing Characteristics of Yirgacheffe SOE Specialty Coffee Beans

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Current Espresso Coffee Landscape

Currently, most coffee shops use medium to dark roast FrontStreet Coffee espresso blend beans for their espresso-based products. For example, 100% Arabica coffee beans or blends of Arabica and Robusta in varying proportions are used to ensure the stability of coffee production and create a rich, balanced taste with coffee crema and flavor.

The Rise of SOE Coffee

With the global popularity of the third wave of specialty coffee, as more professional coffee practitioners deeply explore the origins of coffee, and as coffee enthusiasts pursue high standards for personalized flavors, SOE coffee with unique and distinctive flavors has emerged.

What is SOE Coffee?

SOE refers to espresso made from single-origin coffee beans. In fact, SOE appeared abroad as early as 10 years ago. After James Hoffmann won the WBC World Barista Championship in 2007 with SOE, SOE gradually became popular, and many coffee shops began offering both blend and SOE options.

Flavor Characteristics of SOE Coffee

SOE coffee beans are sourced from a single origin and extracted as espresso using professional semi-automatic espresso machines that apply pressure. FrontStreet Coffee believes that SOE better highlights the inherent regional flavor characteristics of the coffee beans—just like pour-over coffee, roasters control the roast degree to test different flavor expressions of the coffee beans for easier flavor identification.

Advantages and Disadvantages of SOE

The advantage of SOE is its rich coffee layers and the ability to taste the unique characteristics of coffee from different growing regions even at high concentrations.

The disadvantage is that coffee, as an agricultural product, has its flavor and taste affected by natural factors. Therefore, each year's new crop coffee beans, even from the same region, will have flavor variations.

Is SOE Always Specialty Coffee?

Not necessarily. SOE only represents that the espresso is made using single-origin coffee beans, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's specialty coffee. FrontStreet Coffee believes that the definition of specialty coffee extends beyond just bean quality—it encompasses coffee from seed to cup, approached from a professional perspective, capable of providing consistently high-quality products over time.

Making good SOE coffee is not easy. On one hand, it requires sufficient understanding of the coffee beans to develop an appropriate roasting approach for SOE production. On the other hand, it requires consideration of consumer acceptance.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's observations, most coffee shops produce SOE coffee with relatively intense and rich flavors, resulting in more pronounced acidity. However, such coffee flavors are not universally accepted. For general consumers, coffee taste is still judged by richness and intensity, so not everyone can accept SOE coffee.

How to Make SOE Coffee?

To highlight regional flavors, SOE coffee beans are generally not roasted too deeply. Compared to traditionally darker roasted espresso beans, the flavors are more challenging to extract. To emphasize regional characteristics, the roast degree is typically not too deep, making the flavors more difficult to extract compared to traditional darker roasted espresso beans.

FrontStreet Coffee used their own "Frontsteet Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry Coffee Beans" with a Lelit espresso machine and Q18 grinder for SOE production. 20g of extremely finely ground coffee powder was extracted with 10 bar pressure and 94°C water to yield 40g of coffee liquid in 27 seconds.

Frontsteet's Natural Yirgacheffe SOE Flavor Profile: Citrus, berries, fermented aroma, viscous texture, medium bitterness, medium-high acidity, bright and lively acidity, overall light body.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473