Single Origin, Single Farm, Core Blend Seminar

For my seminars, I put a great deal of thought into each of the coffees we are going to taste. Quite often that choice is made weeks in advance of the seminar. For this seminar, the seminar on Location, I chose the coffees nearly three weeks ago. We were going to taste, the Reserve Brazil California Estate and the Papua New Guinea Single Origin Highlands. But, I changed my mind. In light of the recent volcanic eruption in Guatemala and the death and devastation it has caused, I have decided to feature three Guatemalan coffees. When the Fuego Volcano erupted last Sunday, it affected 1.7 million people. 3 thousand have been evacuated, 200 are missing, 75 are dead. This has deeply affected a country that Starbucks sources a great deal of its coffee from. In places, life will never be the same.  A favourite Starbucks Single Origin is the Casi Ciello. This coffee grows right were the volcano erupted. This years crop has been picked and most likely processed. But after that we may never have another crop of Casi Ciello. Please keep the Guatemala people in your thoughts.

When we enter a café, the one thing that is in abundance are choices.  As far as whole bean coffee is concerned we have, light or blonde roast, medium and dark roast. We have decaf or caffeinated. We have Robusta, Arabica or Peaberry. We also are faced with Core Blends, Single Origin, Single Farm and sometimes Micro-Lot. Today we are going to talk about Core Blends, Single Origin, Single Farm and Micro Lots.

Single origin is a small phrase with a big definition. The meaning’s often simplified to a coffee that’s sourced from one single producer, crop, or region in one country. Single farm and single estate mean that the coffee is sourced from one farm, mill, or co-operative. Then you can go a step further and find coffee labels that tell you the estate name, the specific lot or paddock the coffee was grown on, or if it’s a microlot a specific varietal from a specific farm). Yet this isn’t all the term single origin means. “The most important thing about single origin is its traceability, the fact that you know exactly where your coffee is from and that it’s a specific coffee, not a blend. Usually of a higher quality, it’s the acknowledgment that the coffee is from a particular farm located in a unique setting, its flavour depicts its origin, possessing characteristics of that specific area where the particular coffee was grown.” They’re all about a deeper understanding of your coffee’s profile and how that profile is affected by what goes on at origin.

Single origins appear to be particularly popular because of their traceability. “Educated consumers are looking for guidance: help interpreting and communicating the complex tastes and sensations that they experience from good coffees. Most consumers are not educated and have no interest in becoming educated, but can be subtly guided to better quality coffees. The accompanying information a roaster or retailer provides is extremely helpful, describing its source (the farm, land, people, climate, cultivar, processing and so on) in as much detail as possible.” In a coffee movement that’s fascinated by increased transparency and innovative methods, it’s no surprise that single origins are proving popular.

“’Single origin’ is insisting that the producers and terroir of the coffee drive the sale, not the roaster, “It’s a broad term that sellers use for coffees of an intentionally specific place that are meant to evoke a sense of place through flavor.” The place in question can be many things – a farming cooperative, a particular plot or farm, or even a specific period of picking the coffee beans. “The simplest way to define the term… is coffee beans that come from a specific… country (Ethiopia, Brazil, Costa Rica, etc.),” . “The region can range from a country (i.e. single origin Ethiopian) to a sub-appellation (i.e single origin Ethiopian Yirgacheffe), and all the way down to a single lot on a farm.”  How does “single origin” translate to quality, the way in which the coffee is sourced, and pricing?

It’s a complicated answer to a multi-faceted question, but what it boils down to is that just because coffee is called single origin doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s of a higher quality. “As in any food industry, the product (coffee in this case) could be high or low quality, according on the agriculture practices and the after-harvesting processes,” . An important point is that by calling a coffee single origin, the understanding is that there will be some level of transparency as to where the coffee was grown and how it was processed. “Regarding price, you tend to pay a premium for single origin coffees,”  “as most roasters who offer single origin beans do so with the intent to provide the best representation of coffee from a specific region, farm, etc.”

 Liken the process of a coffee company sourcing single origin coffee to being able to inspect every berry in a basket of strawberries for quality. “Imagine… making one small bowl of only the ripest, reddest, softest strawberries,” he says. “You might get something dramatically sweeter, floral, or more syrupy tasting than the average. You could avoid a lower denominator by isolating only the most compelling, successful strawberries. And for the people interested in connecting with something selective like this, this would be worth a much higher price.” The same goes for coffee.

What is better, Single Origin, Single Farm or Blend?

“The Grade of beans is key. Secondly the way in which they are roasted. Thirdly the process to brew the beans and produce a beverage all are all very important factors. These variables are what make the difference between an average cup and an incredible cup. Blends of high quality beans should generally produce a high quality cup if roasted and brewed properly. Likewise with Single Origin. The major difference in quality is seen when dealing with the highest quality beans, beans that fetch very high price per kg.” In a nutshell, both Single Origin and Coffee blends can create beautiful coffee experiences with a variety of flavours to suit your taste. It all depends on how you like to drink your coffee and whether you enjoy intense flavours… or not!