Is SOE Coffee Bean Good for Making Dirty Coffee? Introduction to Single Origin Dirty Coffee Extraction Techniques

SOE and Dirty can be considered the two major trends in the coffee world. In recent years, many coffee shops have successively introduced SOE and Dirty made with single-origin beans. FrontStreet Coffee has also encountered many customers who walk in and ask: "Can you make Dirty with SOE?" This has made FrontStreet Coffee curious about what kind of spark SOE and Dirty might create that attracts so many coffee enthusiasts.

The Hot and Cold Sensation of Dirty

What makes Dirty special is its distinct layered feeling. Therefore, after making the coffee, there's no need to stir it evenly, nor use a straw. Instead, you should drink it directly from the surface in large gulps, preferably finishing it in three to four sips.

With the first sip, the rich and warm espresso (with a small amount of milk) gives us a strong coffee flavor; the second sip brings unsaturated milk mixed with coffee, allowing us to taste rich milk chocolate; the third sip is chilled milk with a faint coffee aroma.

Without dilution from ice cubes, Dirty has a very full-bodied texture. From bitter to sweet, from hot to cold, it's a very rich and multi-layered experience.

Why Use SOE for Dirty?

As everyone should know, SOE is a coffee product that allows you to taste the unique terroir of its growing region. Using SOE to make Dirty means experiencing Dirty's unique layering while also enjoying more targeted coffee aromas. You can choose your favorite flavor profile to make espresso. Different beans express different flavors. For example, there are light to medium-roast SOEs like Yirgacheffe that are rich in floral and fruity notes, or deep-roasted ones like Mandheling that emphasize dark chocolate and spice notes.

SOE Dirty Experiments

So what kind of SOE is more suitable for making Dirty? And if I'm "stubborn" and insist on using a specific bean for Dirty, how should I adjust? For this, FrontStreet Coffee would like to share some experiments using SOE to make Dirty for your reference. (For this experiment, FrontStreet Coffee used extraction parameters ranging from: 20g coffee grounds, 38g liquid weight, extraction time 27s～33s)

Experiment 1: Medium-Dark Roast Yirgacheffe Konga SOE (Natural)

The SOE Dirty made with Konga extraction presents a soft citrus and lemon acidity with a creamy sweet aftertaste in the first sip; the second sip reveals how chilled milk further stimulates the palate's perception of sour aromas, with the coffee and milk not fully mixed, like drinking orange-flavored milk. (This Yirgacheffe SOE bean is roasted lighter than the Warm Sun blend used daily in the shop. After adjustment, the espresso has relatively thinner crema and lighter color.)

Experiment 2: Dark Roast Brazil Queen's Farm (Natural)

This dark roast bean from Brazil's Queen's Farm, when made into SOE Dirty coffee, fills the entire mouth with rich butter cookie flavors upon entry. The rich and smooth hot coffee also has a slight sweet taste from cold milk at the end. The second sip brings more diluted almond-flavored coffee and sweet cold milk; afterward, the overall flavor is like nutty chocolate milk.

Experiment 3: Medium Roast Mirasu Strawberry Candy (Raisin Honey Process)

After making two traditional process SOE Dirties, FrontStreet Coffee had a sudden idea: what would happen if beans with incredibly rich special processing flavors met SOE Dirty? So FrontStreet Coffee took out Mirasu Strawberry Candy for the following attempt.

True to its name, the finished SOE Dirty carries a rich strawberry aroma. While it tastes like sweet and sour strawberry milk, the aftertaste and lingering aroma after swallowing aren't as long-lasting as imagined, disappearing in an instant. After the second sip, the coffee flavor fades much more, with most of it being the fresh sweetness of milk, tasting like milk with just a hint of coffee flavor.

Perhaps FrontStreet Coffee never found the right extraction method, resulting in the SOE flavors not being full enough. The Strawberry Candy under special processing has a more crumbly bean texture compared to traditional processing beans, making it more sensitive to minor adjustments in grind size. Finding suitable extraction parameters is relatively difficult, and getting a relatively suitable SOE requires dozens or even more than a dozen adjustments. This process is painful and lengthy. We hope that all persistent coffee enthusiasts can eventually adjust and make a cup of SOE Dirty that satisfies them.

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FrontStreet Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee)

No. 10 Baoqian Front Street, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473