Characteristics of Yirgacheffe Americano Coffee and Flavor Description of Ethiopia Yirgacheffe SOE Coffee Beans

When you visit specialty coffee shops today, you'll always see espresso drinks made from SOE (Single Origin Espresso) on the recommended menu. Are espresso drinks made from single-origin coffee beans necessarily better than those made from blended coffee beans? Which single-origin coffee beans are suitable for making espresso? In this article, FrontStreet Coffee will answer these questions one by one.

What is SOE?

SOE (Single Origin Espresso) represents espresso made from coffee beans from a single origin/region/estate. The emergence of SOE reflects that our pursuit of specialty coffee can no longer be satisfied with pour-over coffee alone. In the past, people believed that using blended coffee beans was the way to achieve stable, rich, and bittersweet flavors in espresso. With the promotion of specialty coffee, there has been a gradual shift toward extracting espresso from single-origin beans that offers strong flavor layers.

SOE is so expensive! It must taste better than regular blended coffee beans, right?

Not necessarily. Since espresso is a high-concentration coffee liquid extracted under pressure and at high speed, the flavors of the coffee beans are concentrated and amplified. Coffee beans that taste just right in pour-over coffee might become extreme when made into espresso. For example, lightly roasted coffee beans might overemphasize acidity, turning what could be pleasant fruit acidity into sharp/acetic acid that's hard to enjoy; similarly, dark roasted coffee beans might intensify bitterness, becoming very bitter/astringent with obvious burnt flavors and a smoky taste that's difficult to swallow.

Why is SOE still so popular?

As FrontStreet Coffee just mentioned, the promotion of SOE reflects coffee lovers' ultimate pursuit of coffee flavor. This has also led many people to form an惯性思维 that SOE coffee flavors are better than blended coffee. Many shops also blindly launch SOE without fully understanding it, believing that beans that taste good as pour-over will certainly taste good when extracted as espresso.

However, they often overlook that as an extract, the quality of coffee beans cannot remain consistently stable. Therefore, in many cases, you might have a delicious SOE at a coffee shop one time, but be disappointed the next time you try it. This is also why blended coffee beans are considered the standard for making espresso - the reason is that by blending different origins/different coffee beans in different proportions, the coffee flavor can remain stable over the long term.

Don't blindly follow the SOE trend!

SOE can be offered as a limited supply drink in the shop, but it cannot be promoted as a long-term mainstay / "My shop only sells SOE!" FrontStreet Coffee has also discussed SOE production issues with many coffee professionals, and their answers were surprisingly similar. They reported that many customers find it underwhelming after trying it, not as good as drinks made from blended coffee beans. Some shops that originally only offered SOE eventually gave in to reality and switched to blended coffee beans.

What coffee beans are suitable for making SOE espresso?

To better express regional flavors, everyone can choose coffee beans with distinct flavors for SOE production. Although FrontStreet Coffee doesn't sell single-origin coffee beans specifically for SOE, it has also explored espresso extraction with several single-origin beans. Finally, FrontStreet Coffee has listed several single-origin coffee beans that you can try for SOE. (Here, we only recommend coffee beans, and no stable parameters can be provided, as every coffee machine has its own temperament.)

The lightly roasted "FrontStreet Coffee Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry Coffee Beans" exhibit berry sweetness and sourness when extracted into espresso, with acidity that isn't particularly stimulating and a caramel-like aftertaste. When made into Americano, it appears particularly gentle; when made into latte, the gentle acidity highlights the sweetness of milk and has a honey-like aftertaste.

The medium roasted "FrontStreet Coffee Costa Rica Mozart Coffee Beans" exhibit very distinct raisin aroma when extracted into espresso, with pleasant sweet and sour notes and fermented aroma. When made into Americano, it has fruit sweetness and sourness as well as fermented aroma, with a slight floral aftertaste; when made into latte, it has charming preserved fruit aroma and sweet and sour notes that bring out the sweetness of milk.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473