Surely you’ve come across the terms Single Origin or Blend in your search for the perfect coffee. The latest trend can now be found in every roastery, and even Starbucks has embraced it: single-origin coffees. But what is actually meant by this? We explain what the hype is all about.
Nowadays, coffee is no longer just a means of waking up – a veritable craze has broken out around the perfect coffee. Manufacturers competed to see who could offer the gentlest roasting, who could produce in the most environmentally friendly way, and who had discovered the best growing region for their beans. The latest trend, “Single Origin,” is all about coffees that come from just one growing region. They promise more traceability and exclusivity than their competition, the Blend blends.
Single Origin
= One origin
- best beans from one region
- exceptional flavors
- Annual variations in taste
Blend
= mixture
- Arabica and Robusta beans
- result harmonious connection
- guarantee consistent taste
Single Origin – The only good coffee?
The English designation “Single Origin” refers to the origin of the coffee. A coffee may only be so named if the beans come from a single growing region and have not been blended. Among frahling lovers, this trend has become more and more popular, because in times of mass industry, we want more individuality and exclusivity. Also with our coffee.
The Single Origin can also convince with its high quality standards. Since the beans are not mixed, they must be of high quality to leave a good taste picture. They come from cool highland regions, where the coffee can develop its aroma more slowly and thus more intensively.
Further selection takes place during harvesting: Only the ripest coffee cherries are picked by hand from the bushes (also called “picking”). Unlike “stripping” (where the whole bush is stripped), it can be ensured that no unripe cherries get into the coffee and distort the taste.
Another difference to blend blends lies in the roasting process: A particularly light roast is selected in order to preserve all the flavor facets typical of the origin. In this way, the Single Origins unmistakably reflect the country from which they originate. Even nuances of surrounding plants are transferred to the coffee bean and give it aromas that know no bounds, from floral-fruity to nutty-chocolate.
So why are there still blends at all?
Single origin coffees come with a distinct disadvantage. Due to annual variations in sunlight and rainfall, the aroma is slightly different each year. Similar to what we know from wine, this also applies to coffee beans.
In blend mixtures, these fluctuations can be compensated by adjusted mixing ratios. If the harvest in one region is not satisfactory, a better area is simply chosen for the year.
If you are interested in developing and blending blends, you can find more information here.
But the decisive reason why we love blends is another: through a skilfully coordinated mixture, they combine the advantages of different varieties and cover up weaknesses in taste. This creates a particularly harmonious and complex coffee.
Does blend also mean inferior quality?
The major coffee producers like to take advantage of the blend to mix in lower quality coffee beans to reduce costs. This has hurt the blend’s image, but nevertheless, this should not be generalized. If you disregard a few black sheep, the blend is in no way inferior to the Single Origin in terms of quality. There are many premium blend blends created by professional sommeliers and master roasters. And not for cost reasons.
Our bestseller is also a blend.
Conclusion: Single Origin or Blend?
Both varieties have their appeal and can score in different ways. So it all depends on your personal taste – and how experimental you are.
If you like to try something new and look for unusual flavors in your coffee, you should reach for a Single Origin the next time you buy it.
If you’d rather enjoy familiar round and harmonious coffee compositions, stick to blend blends.
If you can’t decide, why not try your way through our MyCoffeeCup Grand Selection. It combines our
excellent compositions with the best single origins.
