Single Origin Espresso | Why are SOE coffee beans so popular? Which is better, SOE coffee beans or blended beans? What should you pay attention to when purchasing SOE coffee beans?_Coffee Beans_FrontStreet Coffee

In recent years, many coffee shops have launched SOE coffee. Even many friends who came to the Front Street store asked if there was SOE coffee when they first entered the store. So let’s take a look at Front Street’s analysis of why SOE has become popular.

SOE (single origin espresso) means single origin espresso. Simply put, SOE is espresso made with single origin beans, and the corresponding one is blended coffee beans. As for the noun explanation, this is indeed the case. But usually when something new and unconventional appears, it often doesn’t just mean something literal. The emergence of this word is more like a distinction from old things.

"Front Street has popularized it before. The definition of SOE only distinguishes between Italian single products and Italian blends. There is no distinction between good and bad. What affects the flavor of coffee is the quality of the coffee. Simply put, single products and high-quality products are never bundled together, but in most cases, the coffee presented to the public has these two attributes."

When the concept of single-origin coffee spreads to drip coffee, which is mainly Pour over(V60), the flavor becomes rich and diverse. It is undeniable that the original purpose of proposing single-origin coffee (origin) was to make coffee premium, and in this regard, single-origin coffee does very well.

"A concept is introduced here. Single-origin coffee means that it has been separated at the place of origin to ensure that high-quality coffee is independent, and the eliminated coffee beans are processed separately. This corresponds to not dividing the small origins and directly mixing them as bulk commodities. Blended coffee mostly refers to the roaster's manual re-blending, using single-origin beans from several production areas to blend the ideal formula."

For example, the Front Street classic Italian blend uses a combination of single-origin beans from Indonesia, Mandheling, and single-origin beans from Brazilian Cerato and Vietnamese washes in order to present dense and sticky coffee crema. The extracted concentrate has rich aromas of cocoa, caramel, and chocolate.

According to "Related to the main factors for Chinese coffee consumers to drink coffeeSurvey shows, the top three are refreshing, liking the taste of coffee, and enjoying the atmosphere and service of coffee shops, while only 18.9% have lifestyle habits. In other words, China’s coffee consumption habits are not yet part of daily life, and functionality and coffee taste are still the mainstream. Italian coffee still dominates the consumer market.

Combined with the situation of Italian coffee, the impact of traditional Italian coffee is burnt, bitter, and rich in oil. In the past, there was even a phenomenon that your Italian coffee was not authentic because your Italian coffee beans did not produce oil. But in fact, the reason why the coffee is burnt and bitter is that Italy likes to mix in Robusta to increase the body and roast it very darkly. The reason why the blended coffee beans do not perform well is not because of the blending, but because the blender's philosophy is to sacrifice the flavor for the stable performance and price advantage of the coffee. Over time, consumers will develop stereotypes about Italian coffee beans or blended coffee beans.

It’s not that flavor-based blending has never happened before, but once an impression is formed, it’s difficult to change it with sporadic efforts alone. Since the performance of single-origin beans in hand brewing is marked by flavor, consumers generally accept this statement. Then it is more convenient to move directly to Italian style than to re-educate the market.

Therefore, the most obvious manifestation of the promotion of SOE is to distinguish it from the traditional Italian bean flavor.

Some coffee shops in Australia are equipped with more than two espresso grinders. When producing American style and latte, they use mixed coffee beans to create a classic flavor, while making flat white use SOE to express the alternative flavor of coffee. Later, there were several types of espresso coffee beans for customers to choose from.

For merchants, providing higher-quality coffee can improve the image of the store and objectively and subtly change consumers' impressions of Italian coffee. The concept of SOE makes it easier for consumers to recognize the difference from traditional Italian coffee beans and reduces education costs. Especially for small independent coffee shops, a special flavorSOE coffeeLet consumers remember this store.

For consumers, it is more about the taste that identifies coffee. He does not need to understand the meaning of SOE in depth, but when he drinks a coffee that tastes better than the previous coffee beans and knows that it is made with SOE, it is enough.

According to the current sales model of "additional charges for replacing SOE with ordinary coffee", from a price point of view, it also creates the impression that SOE is superior.

Finally, I still have to talk a little bit more. Buying a pack of single-origin coffee beans for espresso is not SOE. The coffee beans used in producing SOE will have different roasting curves to adjust to the roasting degree suitable for the espresso machine. Therefore, single-origin beans for hand brewing are not necessarily suitable for SOE (although there are some beans that are compatible with hand brewing).

What should I pay attention to when buying SOE coffee beans?

Front Street discovered that many people thought that SOE was a series of single-origin espresso made by directly applying single-origin beans to the extraction of espresso machines. It was not until they brought home various floral and fruit-flavored beans and tried them with a coffee machine that they discovered something was wrong. First, the following scene of squirting appeared, and then I was so shocked by the extremely concentrated acid that I didn't dare to take a second sip. Then I began to wonder if my equipment was too poor, or if there was an error in the operation.

In fact, the reason why you are unable to make the same SOE at home as in the store is probably not due to your equipment and technology, but because the roasting level of this coffee bean is not suitable for making espresso.

Judging from the production experience of Front Street, choosing a coffee bean suitable for SOE extraction will not only make delicious espresso easily, but also add water or milk to make American style or latte coffee with twice the result with half the effort. There are three single-origin coffee beans on the Front Street Bean menu that have launched SOE versions, one is Front Street Oiran with a prominent berry aroma, one is Front Street Red Cherry with classic Yirgacheffe flavor, and the other is Front Street Chaka from Gesha Village.When placing an orderWe just need to check Italian bake.

The coffee machine in the Front Street store is a commercial single-head "Lelit Bianca" that can adjust the extraction by changing the pressure. The maximum pressure can be 11bar. A home coffee machine only needs to reach a pressure of 9 bar to meet the functions of extracting and frothing milk, and is paired with an espresso coffee grinder.

Sharing the extraction parameters of SOE coffee

Coffee Bean: Front StreetSOE Oiran coffee beans

Amount of coffee powder: 20g

Coffee liquid volume: 40g

Powder to liquid ratio: 1:2

Extraction time: 26~33 seconds

Grinding scale: Galileo 2.0 grid

Front Street uses a double powder bowl capacity, and the amount of powder is about 18 to 20 grams. When Front Street produces coffee, 20 grams of coffee powder is used.

Usually the ratio of coffee powder to coffee liquid is 1:1.5~1:2.5. The extraction ratio of Front Street is 1:2, that is, 20 grams of coffee powder extracts 40 grams of coffee liquid. The time is related to the flow rate of the coffee powder. Generally, the duration of a single extraction is controlled between 20 and 35 seconds, because within 20 seconds, the coffee usually tastes thin, and if it exceeds 35 seconds, it is easy to over-extract and produce a burnt and bitter taste. Most of the enrichments on Front Street are in the range of 28 to 30 seconds.

First, wipe the powder bowl dry, turn on the grinder, grind out a double amount of coffee powder, place it on the electronic scale and increase or decrease it to reach a weight of 20 grams. Then use tools to spread the powder evenly and fill the coffee powder cake tightly to ensure more stable coffee extraction.Then turn on the extraction switch and release water, moisten the brewing head and take away the stuck coffee grounds. Gently buckle the handle on the brewing head and start to pull down the brewing extraction.

When the electronic scale shows that 40 grams of coffee liquid has been extracted, which takes about 28 to 33 seconds, you can pull the switch to end the extraction. Next, prepare a coffee cup with a capacity of more than 200 ml, and pour it intosoeConcentrated and 160g of 80 degree hot water, a cup of Oiran SOE Americano is ready.

You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.

The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.

FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.

FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473

Single Origin Espresso | Why are SOE coffee beans so popular? Which is better, SOE coffee beans or blended beans? What should you pay attention to when purchasing SOE coffee beans?

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