SOE means single origin espresso

SOE appeared abroad ten years ago and has now developed very maturely, while in China it has only gradually become popular in the past two years. If you still do not know what SOE is, then you really should learn about it, because this word will appear more and more on cafe menus in the future. 

SOE, which became popular in 2007, has gradually matured since 2010. Most typically, those of us who follow the WBC will notice that most competitors at the WBC (World Barista Championship) use SOE coffee, that is, single origin coffee.

For example, take two coffee beans, A and B. A uses Brazil and Mandheling, while B uses Mandheling, so A is a blend in the broad sense, while B is considered an SOE. Labeling SOE as very expensive is just a misconception; it can also be very accessible and accepted by the general public. As long as there are beans with exciting enough flavor, an espresso bean recipe does not need to be very complex, and a single bean can still be wonderful. Of course, this is also a major trend in modern coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee believes that SOE is increasingly popular for one reason: contestants in major coffee competitions are using single-origin coffee beans to make espresso, which has led many coffee professionals and coffee enthusiasts to understand that SOE is superior to blended espresso, and it has also become one of the ways to highlight one's professionalism.

Another reason is that, with the continuous spread of specialty coffee culture, consumers have gradually come to appreciate the inherent taste and flavor layers of coffee when it is extracted in a conventional way without adding any ingredients, and single-origin coffee beans can better satisfy this need. Therefore, regardless of the extraction method, more and more people will pursue the use of single-origin coffee beans.

Although single-origin coffee beans make delicious espresso, not all single-origin coffee beans are suitable for making espresso. One reason is that coffee is an agricultural product, and its flavor quality is affected by the climate of its origin, so the coffee flavor cannot remain stable over a long period.

The other is that espresso is a method in which coffee is ground extremely fine and then rapidly extracted under high temperature and machine pressure to produce a highly concentrated coffee liquid, so all the flavors of the coffee beans themselves are concentrated and amplified. Some sour or full-bodied compounds tend to show sharp sourness and astringency, with a thin body and an unbearably burnt, bitter taste.

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee does not recommend that everyone blindly try to extract espresso using single-origin coffee beans. If you really want to drink SOE, you can directly purchase coffee beans specially roasted for SOE, or choose coffee beans with a medium roast level or darker.

What isblended espresso?

Blended espresso is the most common espresso we see, and it is also the default espresso method at most coffee shops. It is usually made with a blend of coffee beans from 2 origins, and its characteristics are a full-bodied flavor, a rich and solid mouthfeel, low acidity with a strong sweet aftertaste, but the flavor layers are not as rich as SOE.

Blended coffee beans came into being precisely to alleviate the problem that single-origin coffee beans will excessively show their own defective flavors during high-pressure espresso extraction, while also being unable to deliver a stable flavor performance over a long period. Therefore, coffee professionals began to blend coffee beans from different origins in different proportions, complementing each other's strengths and weaknesses, to create a blended coffee that can deliver a stable and balanced flavor performance no matter how many years pass.

Therefore, for coffee shop offerings, FrontStreet Coffee recommends that everyone use blended coffee beans as the default beans for espresso, and if needed, add SOE coffee beans as an option.

FrontStreet Coffee currently sells 4 espresso blend coffee beans. So that everyone can taste the most complete coffee flavor, all coffee beans sold by FrontStreet Coffee are shipped within 5 days after roasting is completed.

The "Warm Sun Blend" consists of Ethiopian natural Red Cherry coffee beans (30%) + Honduras Sherry wine barrel coffee beans (70%), with rich wine aroma, vanilla cream, the sweet-tartness of berries, and roasted nut flavors.

The "Specialty Blend" consists of Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans (70%), with nut, dark chocolate, and caramel flavors.

The "Commercial Blend" consists of Robusta washed coffee beans (10%) + Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee (60%), with nut, cocoa, and caramel flavors.

The "Basic Blend" consists of Yunnan washed small-bean coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans (70%), with soft fruit acidity, caramel, and nut flavors.

Does SOE taste better than espresso blends?

Many factors determine whether a cup of coffee tastes good, such as bean quality, freshness, roasting, the coffee machine, the brewing process and personal taste preferences, while SOE simply refers to espresso made with single-origin coffee beans; the beans used are not necessarily better than those used in a blend, and the other factors also have a big impact on coffee quality, so what kind of coffee tastes good cannot be generalised.

Affordable everyday pour-over coffee beans: Qianjie Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Gutingding, Qianjie Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Green Label Geisha coffee beans

Espresso coffee beans: Qianjie Classic Blend, Strawberry Candy Espresso Blend

The above coffee beans can now be purchased at the Tmall "Qianjie Flagship Store", where you can also find 60 single-origin pour-over coffee beans and espresso coffee beans from around the world; Qianjie coffee beans are freshly roasted and shipped within 24 hours.

Tmall Qianjie Flagship Store link: https://qianjieshipin.tmall.com

Or search "Qianjie Flagship Store" directly on Taobao

Qianjie Coffee store address: No. 315 Donghuadong Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou