I don’t know if you have noticed that many coffee shops now have the option of “changing SOE” on their menus, and some offer several SOE options. I believe many friends have begun to wonder what these letters mean? This article will summarize the differences between SOE and our common coffee blends.
First understand the concept of SOE
SOE is the abbreviation of Single Origin Espresso, which translates as espresso made from coffee beans from a single origin. The proposal of SOE is accompanied by the popularity of the concepts of specialty coffee and single-origin coffee brought by the third wave of coffee.
The so-called specialty coffee comes from production areas with unique micro-climate and geographical conditions, cultivating high-quality coffee with positive aroma and "regional flavor". As more and more consumers understand the origin information of coffee beans and are willing to spend higher prices to consume high-quality coffee beans, producers naturally put more energy into the source of specialty coffee, so single-origin coffee beans that emphasize a single origin have emerged. Originally, single-origin coffee beans were generally extracted by hand. Later, more and more single-origin beans were applied to espresso. Coupled with the promotion of various competitions and chain brands, the SOE concept began to become more and more popular.
Therefore, as long as the espresso made with single-origin coffee beans can be called SOE, it and Italian blend (Blend) are both terms in the category of Italian coffee. In contrast, Italian blend will mix coffee beans from more than two origins, and generally use medium-deep roasting to present a rich and balanced taste. The SOE should highlight the unique flavor of the production area and be lighter in roasting. For example, the SOE extracted from the Front Street Ethiopia sun-dried Yirgacheffe red cherry coffee beans on the Front Street Bean List shows the sour and sweet flavors of berries and citrus.
Is Italian blended beans necessarily worse than SOE?
When we choose to replace the coffee base with SOE, we often need to add a few yuan in fees. At this time, many people subconsciously think that "SOE must be more advanced than blended beans." However, this is not the case. SOE only indicates that the coffee beans come from a single origin, so it does not mean that the quality of the coffee is better, nor does it mean that the taste must be better than a blend.
Until now, most coffee shops still focus on Italian blends. The reason why blended beans have become the mainstream in the market is that it can not only reduce the cost of raw materials, but also provide stable extraction for daily production, and try to ensure the taste of drinks based on espresso. To put it simply, the coffee shop chooses blending to achieve stable and consistent production standards.
The single-origin beans used for hand brewing should take into account the unique regional flavor of the place of origin and the aroma of the coffee beans themselves. For example, Front Street Yirgacheffe will have fresh and bright citrus and citric acid, and Front Street Blue Mountain coffee will have sweet chocolate and caramel aromas. Similarly, SOE should also show the flavor characteristics of the place of origin. If the roasting degree is too deep, the flavor and aroma will be easily obscured by the thick substances after roasting. If the roasting degree is too shallow, it will easily lead to insufficient extraction, resulting in a sour and thin taste. Therefore, whether a cup of SOE coffee tastes good or not will test the roaster and barista's "interpretation" of SOE.
So why is SOE often more expensive than blending?
When ordering a cup of blended coffee beans, the barista will not describe it too much, but if the single-origin beans are replaced, they will emphasize "SOE", mainly to distinguish them from blended coffee beans. Traditionally, coffee beans from a single origin are usually used in drip coffee, such as Pour over(V60) coffee. Supercharged Italian coffee will use blended beans as raw materials. Producers will combine coffee beans from different origins and use deep roasting to highlight the rich, mellow, and bitter taste. The flavor is basically fixed on the tonality of caramel, dark chocolate, nuts, and cocoa.
SOE, which emphasizes a single origin, uses lighter roasting to present a lighter taste that is different from traditional bitter flavors. For example, Ethiopian beans have a citrus and floral flavor. Higher recognition makes it easier for consumers to remember the characteristics of SOE, but from a cost perspective, higher-quality single-origin beans are of course more expensive, so it is reasonable to pay extra.
Which coffee beans are suitable for SOE?
The first prerequisite for a cup of delicious coffee is good-quality coffee beans, and the coffee beans selected by SOE should also be higher-quality single-origin coffee beans. Front Street's roasting purpose is "freshly roasted and good coffee". We hope that every customer will drink freshly roasted coffee beans with full aroma. The coffee beans shipped are all freshly roasted within 5 days. Let’s take the coffee on the Front Street Bean List as an example to introduce which coffee beans are suitable for making SOE.
1. Front Street Yirgacheffe Sun-Dried Red Cherry Coffee Beans
This Front Street Jerga sun-dried red cherry coffee bean was originally used for brewing coffee in the form of hand drip filter. It shows a very high sweetness and a strong fruity aroma. When used to extract espresso coffee (the grinding degree needs to be adjusted), the oil on the surface is fine and the color is light yellow. It smells of sweet berries, sweet and sour berries and caramel, and has a clean taste. Adding the whipped hot milk will bring out the sweetness of honey.
2. Front Street Honduran Whiskey Barrels Processed Sherry Beans
The medium roasting degree gives Front Street Honduran Sherry Coffee a roasted aroma while retaining the acidity of berries. The SO ZeE made highlights the aroma of vanilla biscuits and whiskey. The addition of milk presents the smoothness of chocolate cream, with a tangy aroma, and the overall taste is very soft. The Front Street Sunflower Warm Italian blended coffee beans used in the daily espresso produced at the Front Street store are made from Front Street sherry and Front Street sun-dried red cherry coffee in a ratio of 7:3. The aroma of wine, sweet and sour fruit, and the smoothness of chocolate milk are perfectly integrated in a cup of coffee.
3. Front Street Costa Rican Musician Series Mozart Coffee Beans
Anaerobic honey treatment allows the coffee beans to retain the pectin layer for closed fermentation before drying, maximizing the sweetness of the coffee beans. This Front Street Costa Rica Mozart coffee exhibits a rich rose aroma and high sweetness of raisins when brewed by hand. The SOE extracted shows strong tropical fruit and fermented flavors.
4. Front Street Brazilian Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon Coffee Bean
If none of the above flavors are your favorite, why not take a look at the Front Street Queen Estate coffee beans produced in Brazil, a major coffee country. The medium-dark roasting degree gives the coffee a strong aroma of nuts, cream, and peanuts, and the aftertaste is sweet chocolate. The extracted SOE has beautiful rich oils, and the milk coffee is also full of aroma.
Professional coffee knowledge exchange. For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account cafe_style)
For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, WeChat ID: qjcoffeex
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
