The Difference Between Single-Origin Coffee and American Coffee: Learn the Three Steps to Tasting Pour-Over Coffee

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FrontStreet Coffee - Differences Between Pour-Over and Americano, Single Origin Coffee Introduction

Although many coffee shops in China group these three together, they are quite different. Single origin coffee refers to coffee made from one type of coffee bean, espresso is a coffee brewing method, while Americano was created because Americans couldn't handle overly strong coffee and added water, making it a variation of espresso.

1. Single Origin Coffee

Single origin coffee means using only one type of coffee bean, but the "single variety" mentioned here doesn't refer to species like Arabica (which accounts for 65%-80% of global coffee production), but rather to regional divisions, such as Brazilian coffee, Blue Mountain coffee, Colombian coffee...

3. Americano

Strictly speaking, Americano belongs to a variation of espresso brewing. It can be understood as creative coffee made from espresso plus water.

Of course, Americano has its own system, which is coffee made with American drip coffee makers. At Starbucks, this is called "Freshly Brewed Coffee." For home coffee enthusiasts, saying they like Americano could mean coffee made with an American drip machine, or with a fully automatic espresso machine, or even taking out a bag of "American beans" and making a cup of "Americano" with a moka pot. This is quite confusing, reflecting that our country's public understanding of coffee is still in the instant coffee and charlatan stage.

Aroma: Dry Aroma

When you bring freshly ground coffee powder close to your mouth and nose, you will perceive the dry aroma from different coffee origins. For example, in Latin American coffees, you will smell nutty and dark chocolate-like flavors; while African region coffees often have floral and fruit-type flavors.

Tasting Flavor

When coffee enters your mouth, you can feel its flavor. In this regard, many enthusiasts, especially those just beginning to explore coffee tasting, always think that coffee doesn't taste as good as it smells. Indeed, sensory discrimination of coffee liquid in the mouth requires some training, but over time, the flavors within can be detected.

Perceiving Aftertaste

The final aspect of tasting is the aftertaste. The so-called aftertaste refers to the lingering notes that coffee brings in the mouth and throat. After swallowing coffee, there is always a flavor that returns from the throat. Some aftertastes are long-lasting and clear, while others are brief and vague. We say that a longer-lasting and clearer aftertaste is good, indicating higher quality green coffee beans.

Knowledge Point

According to coffee bean combinations, Arabica and Robusta species are divided into single origin coffee and espresso coffee.

In Short

FrontStreet Coffee is a dedicated coffee research establishment, happy to share coffee knowledge with everyone. Our unreserved sharing is only to help more friends fall in love with coffee, and we hold three discounted coffee events every month. This is because FrontStreet Coffee wants to let more friends enjoy the best coffee at the lowest price, which has been FrontStreet Coffee's principle for six years!

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