Flavor characteristics of SOE espresso | What is the difference between Italian blended beans and SOE single-origin coffee? Is SOE coffee better than traditional Italian coffee?_Brewing Guides_FrontStreet Coffee

For more knowledge about specialty coffee, please follow the WeChat public account: FrontStreet Coffee

With the process of coffee specialty, SOE has gradually become popular. So what is SOE?SOE coffeeWill it taste better than blended coffee? Now FrontStreet Coffee will help you understandSOE coffee。

What is SOE?

SOE's full name is Single Origin Espresso, which is called in ChineseSingle origin espresso. Although it represents single-origin espresso, it does not necessarily equal specialty coffee. If you select single-origin coffee beans with easily identifiable flavors as SOE, you can create espresso with a unique and typical flavor.

橙子浓缩_6947

For example, the citrus flavor of Yirgacheffe, the berry flavor of Kenya, etc., plus the high pressure of the espresso machine will amplify the flavor of the coffee, so the flavor performance will be more prominent compared to hand brewing. However, although SOE has outstanding performance, since it comes from a single origin, its shortcomings are relatively easy to be magnified. Therefore, factors such as roasting and particle size will affect the flavor. This is why FrontStreet Coffee stores do not provide SOE. FrontStreet hopes that every customer who comes in can drink an espresso drink with a stable and special flavor.

Speaking of the rise of this trend, Chen Zhihuang, founder of Fika Fika Café, which won the Nordic Cup Coffee Roasting Competition in 2013, believes that the development of coffee to this day is similar to whiskey. From the beginning, everyone only knew the brand and tasted blended whiskey. It was not until the past decade that single malt whiskeys from different regions began to become popular, and SOE has the same concept.

At the beginning of this year, after a well-known chain brand launched the SOE Oiran 5.0 series, the terms SOE and Oiran became a hot topic. 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 SOE coffee with a special flavor can make consumers remember this shop.

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.

SOE coffeeIs it equivalent to hand-brewing single-origin beans to make espresso?

According to the concept, making espresso from Pour over(V60) single-origin coffee beans is indeed SOE "single origin espresso", but the actual operation is not as simple as imagined.

Compared with blending, espresso made from coffee beans from a single origin is easier to drink with a clear flavor or the taste of the production area. The biggest advantage of blended coffee beans is balance and stability because it mixes several different coffee beans. However, because there are too many combinations, it is difficult to identify the flavor of the coffee bean producing area.

暖阳拼配豆

Therefore, SOE should be an espresso with a more prominent flavor compared to traditional blended espresso. This characteristic also affects SOE’s selection of beans, which should try to choose coffee beans with high and strong flavor recognition. If you choose Brazilian Cerato (medium roast) with low flavor intensity to make SOE, the espresso produced will be weak. Just imagine, this kind of SOE that has no characteristics and loses the balance and stability of the blended beans is not worth the gain.

Secondly, the roasting degree of SOE beans should be neither too dark nor too shallow. A darker roasting degree will greatly eliminate the flavor of the production area, while a lighter roasting degree will cause the coffee machine to amplify the acidity caused by the light roasting under high pressure, which can easily make the espresso sour. A lighter roasting degree will also make the coffee beans harder and prone to under-extraction. Destroying the flavor of the production area and causing imbalance due to sharp acidity are contrary to the original intention of highlighting the flavor of a single production area. Therefore, the SOE curve of the same bean roasted and the curve of Pour over(V60) coffee should be two different roasting curves.

花魁65b

Taking into account the different brewing methods after purchase, Front Street Street roasters have created two different roasting curves for the single-origin beans of Sunshine Oiran. One is a medium-light roast for cold brewing and hand brewing, and the other is suitable for espresso machines and moka pots.SOEMedium roast. For example, if someone likes simplicity and convenience and prefers cold brewing, or pursues ritualistic extraction by hand, then they can choose medium-light roasting; if you prefer golden fat, or want to create delicate patterns on your latte, Front Street recommends SOE’s roasting curve.

花魁soe烘焙度选择3218

What kind of coffee beans are suitable for makingSOE coffee？

Fresh and sweet flavor: FrontStreet Coffee recommends using Yirgacheffe sun-dried red cherries. This coffee comes from Aletaland Manor in Yirgacheffe, at an altitude of 1700-2200 meters. It uses whole red fruits and is sun-dried. It has a very rich fruit sweetness and floral aroma.

Flavor description: citrus, berry, fermented aroma, viscous, medium bitterness, medium to high acidity, bright and lively acidity.

红樱桃c

Rich aroma and flavor: Front Street recommends using Honduran sherry barrels. This coffee comes from Moca Manor in Honduras, at an altitude of 1500-1700 meters. It is fermented in fine washed sherry barrels and has a very rich fermentation aroma and dark chocolate cream flavor.

Flavor description: Whiskey aroma, soft and high acidity, smooth taste, creamy viscosity, cocoa.

雪莉副本

What should we pay attention to when making SOE?

SOE single origin espressoIn order to highlight the flavor of the production area, the coffee beans selected are generally not roasted too darkly. Compared with traditional darker roasted Italian coffee beans, the flavor will be more difficult to extract.

So on the one hand, it is necessary to adjust the extraction parameters to increase the extraction rate. For example, lengthen the extraction time, adjust the grinding degree, increase the amount of powder, etc. On the other hand, when producing espresso with SOE as the base, the ratio of espresso to milk or water needs to be adjusted. Reduce the milk or water to highlight the flavor of the coffee so that the coffee is not too bland.

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

Flavor characteristics of SOE espresso | What is the difference between Italian blended beans and SOE single-origin coffee? Is SOE coffee better than traditional Italian coffee?

Subscribe to Front Street Updates