If you’re into coffee, chances are you’ve come across people talking
enthusiastically about ‘single origin’ coffees. But what does ‘single origin’
mean and what’s so good about it?
Single origin simply means the coffee comes from a single farm. You might
think all coffees come from one farm the same way a tomato you pick up from
the supermarket comes from a single vine on a single farm. But actually a lot
of the time coffees sold in the UK are blends; a mix of different coffees from
different farms.
Single Origin vs. Blends
The coffee industry blends coffee for a number of reasons. Sometimes
roastmasters like to combine different beans to bring together different
characteristics and flavours in a single cup of coffee, like making a
cocktail. Other times, coffee retailers will blend together good beans with
cheaper, less flavoursome beans like robusta beans to cut costs.
Blending coffees isn’t a bad thing and can be done to great effect. In fact,
Pact always has an espresso blend on the menu, which is designed to taste
great when brewed through an espresso machine. Generally though, single origin
coffees are a sure bet because you know anyone touting their coffee as single
origin will be proud enough of its flavours to supply it unedited.
Getting to know coffee
There’s also a certain pleasure in exploring different kinds of single origin
coffees, which typically come with information on the growing conditions. It
gives you the chance to see how things like altitude, the processing method
and crop type combine to produce its flavour.
The tastes in coffees are as complex and diverse as those in the world of wine
and single origin coffees are a great way of getting to understand the
connections between taste and the different ways coffees are grown all around
the world.