single origin coffees can be intimidating the labels are filled with strange information about
varieties processing methods the altitude of the farm and of course then there's the tasty notes
which can be pretentious confusing and often downright ridiculous
today i want to give you a few tips on how to get the best out of these coffees and
give you a simple unpretentious guide to single origin coffees
you know so you can be the coffee snob that looks down on all your instant coffee drinking friends
hey it's josh from the coffee science and education center here at seven miles before
we get too far into the details let's start with a quick definition on what the term single origin
actually means a single origin coffee is simply a coffee that is grown in one location
this contrasts against blends which are a mix of coffees from more than one place or a mix of
different varieties blends are great at balancing out the sweetness the acidity and the bitterness
of different coffees they help to even out the bumps and provide a more consistent flavor from
season to season so you can enjoy your favorite coffee all year round they are a great choice when
you want a reliable everyday got your back kind of coffee while consistency is great we love single
origin coffees for the opposite reason because we want to experience the unique flavors of
where that coffee came from single origin coffees can be unashamedly deep and fruity they might be
light and floral or earthy and spicy sure they're not the coffee you take home to meet your mother
but it is fun while it lasts on a pack of a single origin coffee you'll normally find
a few key pieces of information where it was grown the variety of coffee they grew the processing
method that they used and some tasting notes from the roaster let's start with where it was
grown the location on the label might show you a few different things it can refer to coffees that
come from a whole country from a particular region from a specific processing mill or a cooperative
an individual farm and even a particular lot of coffee on that farm
not only that but these details will vary in each of the producing countries for example in ethiopia
it is common for single coffee to come from hundreds of tiny family-run farms these coffees
are then processed and sold as a lot by the local mill on the other hand in brazil coffee estates
are much larger so it's very typical to see the name of the estate and the family that owns it
it is also common for people to talk about coffees grown in a particular country as if they all taste
the same they'll say ethiopian coffees are fruity or indonesian coffees are earthy things like this
now there is some truth to these statements but location isn't the only factor in fact
i would argue that it's not even the biggest factor on why coffee from a particular country
tastes the way that it does this brings us to the next item the variety of coffee you've
probably heard of the two main species of coffee arabica and robusta there are other species of
coffee that exist but these two are by far the most widely grown and known when we're talking
about coffees sold as a single origin they are almost always a variety of the arabica species
within the arabica species there are actually many different types of coffee trees these types are
called cultivars or varieties each one of these produces slightly different coffee with distinct
flavor characteristics if that's confusing it might help to think of varieties of apples
if you go to the fruit shop you can buy red delicious gala fuji my favorite the pink
lady and about a thousand others they're all apples but each variety has a different taste
and texture so with coffee you'll see traditional varieties like typica bourbon and caturra which
often produce a classic chocolate or caramel type flavor you might see a variety like the
geisha which is known for delicate floral flavors and even native heirloom varieties which often
produce more fruity tea like notes farmers choose to grow one or more of these varieties
not only because they produce different flavors they also choose them for how well they resist
diseases bug infestations how much fruit they produce and a whole lot of other environmental
factors all up there is way too many varieties to go through them one by one so for now all you
really need to know is that each variety produces its own distinct flavor and the more that you're
aware of this as you try them the more you'll discover the unique differences between them
the next category is processing method which many roasters and coffee producers argue is the
single biggest factor that affects the taste of a particular coffee when we say processing we're
talking about a method the producer uses to remove the green coffee seeds what we ordinary humans
call the coffee beans from the sticky layers of fruit flesh there are two main ways they do this
the washed or wet process and the natural or dry process with washed coffees the coffee cherries
are allowed to ferment in tanks of water with the outer layers of the fruit then being washed away
the remaining green beans are then dried and packed ready for shipping this method typically
produces coffee with clean balanced flavors and plenty of acidity and is a method traditionally
used in kenya colombia and throughout central america with natural coffees the ripe red coffee
cherries are sun-dried whole either on concrete patios or on raised beds over a week or two
the cherries shrivel up and begin to ferment under the hot sun before being milled to remove the
soft layers of fruit the end result is a coffee with distinct fruity and fermented flavors with
increased sweetness and lower acidity than washed coffees the natural process is commonly used by
producers in africa and brazil natural coffees can be a love-hate relationship for some people
the fermented flavors are not for everyone and the sun drying process can be unpredictable which is
a risk for producers but when it's done right this method can produce some incredibly fruit
bomb coffees that taste absolutely huge there are a number of other processing methods you'll
come across i won't go through all of these but one method you'll see a lot is the honey process
the honey process is a variation of the natural processing methods the cherries are pulped to
remove the skin of the fruit and then turned multiple times to aerate them before drying
them and sending them off to market this produces a coffee with the sweetness of a natural processed
coffee but less of those funky fruity flavors of a traditional natural processed coffee next let's
talk about tasting notes at first glance they can seem pretty pretentious i mean most people
don't go around describing their favorite coffee as basmati rice or as jasmine ordinary coffee
drinkers might describe a coffee they like as smooth or strong or perhaps something a little bit
more specific like nutty or chocolaty so why do professionals use these foreign terms to describe
flavor no it's not because coffee roasters are self-absorbed snobs well you know not all of
them but the reason we use these specific terms is thanks to the official coffee tasters flavor wheel
the flavor wheel is an industry standard tool that professional coffee tasters use to describe
specific nuances of flavor in coffee here's how it works you start with the middle layer
this describes the broad categories of flavor that you can expect to find in coffees like
fruity sour sweet and nutty once you've identified the broad category of flavor that you're tasting
you can then move out to the next layer so if we're picking up some fruity flavors we can
then decide if those flavor notes taste more like berries dried fruit citrus or something completely
different if we do if you dare we can then go to the outer layer which is more specific again
so perhaps the berry note that we're tasting tastes more like blackberry and so we add that as
one of our flavor descriptors of course it usually takes some time and practice to pick up some more
subtle nuances like this but in most coffees there are many different notes that you can pick out
once you've trained your palette a great way to educate yourself is to go along to coffee tasting
often this is called a coffee cupping or just a cupping coffee roasters often make these available
to the public and there is no better way to try a diverse range of coffees than side by side
this is where you're really going to pick up the differences another option is to go to a cafe that
offers different single origin coffees order one and ask the barista about it most baristas love
nothing more than talking coffee with someone that really does appreciate it
so we've got our bag of fresh single origin coffee how do we get the best out of it here's
a few quick tips to help you get good results first try it without milk single origin coffees
are typically roasted lighter than a blend as a coffee is roasted darker the roasted flavors
start becoming more dominant and the nuances of that coffee's origin start to become a little bit
more muted now that's not to say that you can't add milk if you want to but with these lighter
roasts the milk is going to cover up some of those subtle nuances of the coffee just from the simple
fats and sugars in it and you'll miss out on some of that magic that you're paying that extra for
next check the recommended brewing information the roaster often has specific brewing methods
in mind when they roast a coffee often they'll even include brewing recommendations and a guide
on the pack professional coffee tasters use a process called cupping to evaluate the coffee
a french press or a coffee plunger as we call it in australia produces a similar style of
coffee this method is a great place to start but other brewing methods like the pour over filter
an aeropress or a chemex are a great way to bring out the individual characteristics
of these coffees of course you can also make espresso with single origin coffees in fact
some of the roasters will also offer a slightly darker espresso roast designed to suit espresso
brewing so if you're used to working with an espresso blend you will often find that
you need to use a slightly different brew ratio to get the best results often the roaster will
provide a suggested espresso recipe which is a good starting point for getting a balanced flavor
for each individual origin just bear in mind that every espresso setup is different
different grinders filter baskets water chemistry and more will affect the way that your espresso
extracts so use these recipes as a starting point and then adjust by taste from there all
right that is our introduction to single origin coffees i am very partial to naturals myself and
the fruity types of coffee but let me know down below what is your favorite single origin coffee
that you've ever tasted i've had some pretty wild ones but until next time catch you around