The Specialty Coffee Circle Obsessed with Single-Origin Coffees: It's Changing!

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The Rise of Single Origin Coffee

In the specialty coffee circle, it's undeniable that people are increasingly paying attention to sourcing high-quality, sustainable, and traceable coffee, with a large portion revolving around providing single-origin coffee. These coffees grow in a specific location, which can be the same estate or the same region.

For many years, single-origin coffees have been popular in specialty coffee shops around the world and in the World Coffee Championships (WCC)—favored by many coffee professionals for their complex and refined flavor profiles.

In the domestic market, a single-origin trend has also emerged. From new-style tea shops pursuing single-origin teas to chestnut shops introducing SOC (Single Origin Chestnut), this has led more and more consumers to equate single-origin with premium quality.

The Return to Coffee Blends

Returning to the topic of coffee, is single-origin coffee necessarily specialty coffee? In the past year, the global specialty coffee market and world-class coffee competitions have provided a different answer, with everyone turning their attention to high-quality coffee blends.

Reading this, you might find it strange—why has the market that has pursued single-origin for years suddenly returned to emphasizing blends? Because the general consumer is the key to supporting industry development, and what general consumers need are products with stable quality and balanced flavors.

With the influence of major trends in recent years, as well as various adverse climates and transportation impacts, the taste and quality of coffee beans from different regions have been affected to varying degrees. At the same time, with increases in transportation and a series of other operational costs, many coffee shops have seen rising demand for high-quality coffee blends to maintain product quality stability.

More and more competitors in world-class coffee competitions have also begun researching coffee blends, mainly to balance the flavor expression of new varieties. Some competitors have expressed that in recent years, new coffee varieties have performed well in cupping sessions, but always fall short of expectations or seem to be lacking something after extraction. For a good cup of coffee, flavor balance after extraction is particularly crucial.

The True Meaning of Specialty Coffee

From the needs of both sides, we can see that what specialty coffee pursues is not single-origin, but rather coffee with stable and balanced flavors. Although when "specialty coffee" was first proposed, it referred to coffee beans cultivated with regional flavor characteristics under unique microclimates and geographical conditions in the producing region.

However, this doesn't mean all single-origin coffee beans can express regional flavors or necessarily have the best quality. The disadvantage of single-origin coffee is that it's affected annually by regional terroir and climate, so its flavor expression cannot maintain long-term stability.

Are blended coffee beans necessarily of poor quality? Obviously not. In the era when coffee quality didn't receive much attention, blended coffee beans might have had a poor reputation, but this situation is changing now.

With the increasing demand for specialty coffee in recent years, the demand for high-quality coffee blends has also increased. Similar to decaffeinated coffee, blends are not necessarily low-quality, high-yield coffees—something that both coffee professionals and consumers have eventually come to acknowledge.

In this year's WBC (World Barista Championship), Japanese competitor Ishiya Takayuki used Vietnamese Robusta blended with Panama Geisha, creating an impactful impression on the competition audience and changing people's "prejudices" against the Robusta variety and blended coffee.

Although more people are pursuing acidity in coffee flavors, many general coffee consumers still cannot accept coffee with obvious acidity. Some coffees with high body and balance are the mainstream of consumption. Although Robusta coffee flavor may not be good, adding a small amount can appropriately enhance the coffee's mouthfeel and body.

The Art of Coffee Blending

Blending a coffee bean with balanced flavors is not as easy as everyone thinks—it's not just a casual mix followed by dark roasting. Because even from the same region, coffee flavors vary between different harvest seasons; different roasting levels also result in different solubilities of substances during the extraction process.

Compared to single-origin coffee beans, blended coffee beans better test the professionalism of the blender. Not only must they have a deep understanding of the characteristics of coffee beans from different regions and harvest seasons, but they also need in-depth research on roasting and extraction to create a comprehensive bean that can balance and stabilize coffee flavors.

The Evolution of Coffee Culture

The "specialty" in specialty coffee is an important element of a series of quality services because it ensures that the drinker will receive coffee of guaranteed quality, and that this quality is systematically evaluated. Whether coffee tastes good, can achieve high scores, or attract consumer attention—all require professional interpretation and service.

The development of each coffee wave advances iteratively; the emergence of new waves doesn't make old waves worthless. The popularity of single-origin coffee is a manifestation of the development and progress of the specialty coffee market, but it cannot represent all of specialty coffee.

When consumers can recognize a coffee/coffee shop and continuously repurchase, aside from the professionalism of the entire production process, flavor stability is the most important factor.

Image source: Internet

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