Which Coffee Bean Varieties Are Suitable for SOE? Yirgacheffe Specialty Coffee Beans for Espresso: Flavor Characteristics and Taste Profile

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What is SOE?

SOE stands for "Single Origin Espresso," which means espresso made from coffee beans of a single origin. Simply put, it involves replacing the typical "blended coffee beans" used for espresso with "single origin (single region) coffee beans," while still extracting a shot of espresso using an espresso machine under high pressure.

The Importance of Espresso in Coffee Drinks

As we all know, espresso-based coffees (such as lattes, Americanos, etc.) are made using espresso as the base. Therefore, the quality of the espresso itself directly affects the taste and flavor of the entire cup of coffee.

The Rise of SOE

To ensure espresso can exhibit balanced and rich coffee flavors under high temperature and pressure, most coffee shops use blended coffee beans. However, in recent years, using single origin beans for espresso has gradually become a popular trend, which is what FrontStreet Coffee wants to discuss with you today - SOE.

Is Single Origin Espresso Better Than Blended Espresso?

Not necessarily! Many factors determine whether a cup of coffee tastes good, such as coffee bean variety and quality, roasting, coffee machine, brewing process, and personal taste preferences. As the saying goes, "different strokes for different folks," so claiming that SOE is definitely better than blended espresso is quite one-sided.

SOE simply refers to espresso made with single origin coffee beans, and the coffee beans used are not necessarily better than those used in blended coffee. Several other factors also significantly impact coffee quality, so we cannot generalize about what makes good coffee.

Blended vs. Single Origin: Different Pursuits

Blended coffee beans pursue stability, while single origin coffee beans pursue distinctive flavors.

Coffee is an agricultural product, and single regions are affected by factors like weather and cultivation, which can cause flavor variations in beans from the same region. To address the inability of single-origin coffee beans to maintain long-term stable quality and flavor, blends were created. By using coffee beans from two or more different regions in varying proportions, we can complement strengths and weaknesses, allowing a coffee blend to maintain stable flavor over extended periods. Additionally, the price is often significantly lower than using single-origin coffee beans directly.

Using single origin coffee beans for espresso extraction aims to showcase the unique regional flavors of the espresso, satisfying people's pursuit of tasting the distinctive characteristics of coffee beans in specialty coffee. However, true specialty coffee emphasizes professionalism and stability, which happens to be the drawback of SOE.

Recommendations from FrontStreet Coffee

Therefore, for coffee shop offerings, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using blended coffee beans as the default for making espresso, while additionally offering SOE options to give customers more choices.

SOE Coffee Bean Recommendations

Using single origin beans for espresso is essentially to let those who enjoy espresso and milk-based coffee taste the inherent flavors of single origin beans, but this often lacks body. If a single origin bean has low distinctiveness and most people cannot taste its unique flavors, it's better to drink a cup of well-balanced blended coffee with a strong body.

FrontStreet Coffee offers a washed coffee bean from the Gedeb Cooperative in Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. When brewed as pour-over, it exhibits clear floral and fruit aromas, bright and lifted acidity, and a clean, crisp taste. When made as SOE, it has intense fruit acidity, noticeable sweet aftertaste, but lacks body, similar to drinking tea.

Another example from FrontStreet Coffee is the Mozart raisin honey-processed coffee bean from Costa Rica's Musician Series. When brewed as pour-over, it has clear dried fruit aroma, full and soft acidity, and a clean, rich taste. When made as SOE, it has intense raisin aroma, medium body, and a smooth but slightly thin mouthfeel.

Espresso Blend Coffee Bean Recommendations

The greatest characteristic of espresso is its rich, mellow flavor. Even after adding milk, water, or other ingredients, the coffee taste remains prominent. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using fresh coffee beans with medium-dark or darker roasts.

FrontStreet Coffee currently offers four different espresso blends at various price points, three of which use Brazilian coffee beans with excellent balance and rich nutty flavors as the main profile. All coffee beans ordered from FrontStreet Coffee's online stores are shipped within 5 days after roasting.

«FrontStreet Coffee Premium Blend»: Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian natural process coffee beans (70%), with flavors of nuts, dark chocolate, and caramel.

«FrontStreet Coffee Commercial Blend»: Robusta washed coffee beans (10%) + Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian natural process coffee beans (60%), with flavors of nuts, cocoa, and caramel.

«FrontStreet Coffee Basic Blend»: Yunnan washed small bean coffee (30%) + Brazilian natural process coffee beans (70%), with flavors of soft fruit acidity, caramel, and nuts.

There's also «FrontStreet Coffee Sunflower Warm Sunshine Blend», which has the high-distinctiveness flavors of SOE while incorporating coffee beans from other regions to add complexity. Made from Ethiopian sun-dried red cherry coffee beans (30%) + Honduras sherry barrel-aged coffee beans (70%), it offers rich wine aroma, vanilla cream, berry sweetness and acidity, and roasted nut flavors.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473