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Traditionally, coffee shops have mainly produced Italian blended coffee. As the coffee drinking atmosphere continues to heat up, many coffee shops have begun to launch SOE coffee, and there are even stores with SOE coffee as their main product. In this article, let’s talk about SOE coffee~
What is SOE coffee?
The full name of SOE is Single Origin Espresso, which means espresso made from coffee beans from a single origin, in contrast to blended coffee.
The so-called House Blend Espresso is a blend of coffee beans selected by roasters from different origins and flavors and roasted (or roasted separately and blended in proportion) to create an espresso with rich and balanced flavor. SOE coffee uses coffee beans from a single origin, aiming to highlight the unique taste of the production area, such as the jasmine aroma and citrus tones of Front Street Yirgacheffe coffee, the tomato acidity of Front Street Kenya coffee, etc.
In the era when Italian coffee first became popular, coffee shops around the world used single-origin coffee beans, but did not put too much emphasis on it. As the consumption demand for coffee continues to increase, coffee from major producing areas is prone to uneven levels and unstable flavor and quality. In order to avoid the impact of this low-quality coffee, some businesses have begun to combine coffee beans from different producing areas to make the coffee taste more stable.
In recent years, the atmosphere of specialty coffee has become more and more intense, and coffee people have begun to emphasize the traceability of coffee beans, hoping to drink some espresso made from coffee beans from well-known specialty coffee producing areas, so SOE has become popular again.
Can SOE coffee beans be brewed by hand?
In recent years, as specialty coffee has been increasingly emphasized, high-quality single-origin coffee has also been singled out and added to the mainstream of Italian coffee, becoming a new trend. However, before SOE became popular, single-origin coffee beans in coffee shops were all produced in the form of hand-brewing, so of course higher-quality SOE coffee beans can be Pour over(V60). Front Street believes that as long as the parameters are appropriate, Pour over(V60) coffee made from SOE coffee beans can present the unique flavor and rich layering of the production area.
SOE single origin espresso flavor characteristics
Different from the traditional Italian blended coffee, which mostly has a rich, mellow and balanced taste, in most cases, merchants launching SOE coffee will use coffee beans that can show the unique flavor of the production area for production, and focus on highlighting the flavor of the place of origin by adjusting the roasting degree. In other words, Yirgacheffe should taste like Yirgacheffe, and Mandheling should taste like Mandheling.
If the single-origin coffee is mainly floral and fruity, it will use a lighter roasting degree, and the SOE flavor will be the bright and sweet and sour flavor of various fruits. For example, the sun-dried Oiran coffee beans on the Front Street Bean List have the sweet and sour taste of strawberry and passion fruit.
Selecting single-origin coffee beans with chocolate and nut tones will be roasted at a darker degree, and the espresso produced will have a strong aroma of roasted hazelnuts. For example, the Brazilian Queen Manor coffee beans on Front Street have the sweetness of buttery peanuts and dark chocolate.
There is also a boozy and fruity Front Street Colombian Hija coffee, which can be ordered directly through the Front Street Taobao store or the Front Street Tmall flagship store. This coffee comes from the boundary line estate of the Cymbidium production area. It is grown at an altitude of 1,700 meters. It uses double anaerobic sun treatment. It has a very rich grape, passion fruit, and citrus flavor. The soe Hija Americano coffee has a refreshing and clear grape juice tone, which is refreshing and pleasant.
Is SOE coffee better than blended coffee?
As mentioned above, SOE is to emphasize the flavor of the production area, so the roasting degree will not be too dark, which also makes it more difficult to extract various flavors. When making espresso, high-temperature pressurized extraction is used, and the coffee powder is ground finer. If it is not extracted properly, it is easy to have a pungent taste. The high-quality blended coffee beans are made from high-quality coffee from different production areas, and are roasted at the appropriate degree to produce an Italian coffee with a rich aroma and balanced taste. So SOE coffee is not necessarily better than blended coffee.
Front Street hopes that the espresso coffee beans produced can present a richer aroma and balanced taste, so the espresso blended coffees launched are based on this blending idea: blending according to sour, bitter, sweet, fragrant and mellow to create another coffee with a unique flavor. There are currently four blends on the store’s daily bean menu, namely Front Street Sunflower Warm Sun Blend, Front Street Boutique Blend 100% Arabica, Front Street Black Cocoa Blend (100% Arabica) and Front Street Commercial Blend.
Among them, the daily Italian product of the Front Street Dongshankou store is the sunflower warm sun blend. Front Street hopes to launch a coffee bean that not only has the aroma of fermented wine, but also presents the sour and sweet fruits. It blends Yirgacheffe sun-dried red cherries and Honduran sherry in a ratio of 7:3. The rich aroma of this blend of coffee beans is also loved by many friends.
Tips for making SOE coffee
Whether SOE tastes good is related to many factors, including the quality of SOE coffee beans, whether the degree of roasting is appropriate, whether the coffee beans are fresh, and the extraction parameter range, etc.
Coffee beans will undergo a process of exhausting and nourishing the beans 4 to 7 days after roasting (a blended coffee with a darker roasting degree will take about 10 days), and then it will enter a stable and optimal tasting period. After the peak of coffee aroma, the coffee flavor will be lost over time, so freshness is very critical to the extraction of coffee flavor. Front Street's roasting purpose is "freshly roasted and good coffee". The coffee beans shipped are guaranteed to be freshly roasted within 5 days. We hope that customers who place orders can enjoy the coffee within the complete best tasting period.
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
