Exploring Distinctions: Single Origin Coffee and Coffee Blends
A general definition for single origin coffee is that it comes from a specific location, while a blend of coffee includes beans from a variety of locations. While these definitions offer some clarity, they are quite imprecise, especially when it comes to the term “location” in the diverse coffee supply chain. Single origin can encompass:
- Coffee from a specific plot on a farm
- Coffee from a particular farm
- Coffee from a cooperative that represents several farms
- Coffee from a mill that mixes beans from various local farms
- Coffee from one region, consolidated by an exporter from several small mills
Despite these different levels of specificity, they all align enough with the idea that coffee comes from a single place to be grouped under the single-origin category. When a bag of coffee is exported without being combined with other bags, it is considered single-origin coffee, with rare exceptions.
Coffee blends, on the other hand, involve combining two or more different single-origin coffees, either before or after roasting. Blending serves a number of purposes, including ensuring consistency. Given the seasonality of coffee, where beans from different origins are harvested at different times, roasters blend to maintain a consistent flavor profile throughout the year. For example, by blending a Guatemalan coffee in late summer with one from Papua New Guinea in late fall and another from Peru in late winter, a roaster can achieve similar flavors and tasting notes, delivering a consistent product.
Blending is also a kind of alchemy, disproving the stigma of using low-quality coffees. Combining two coffees can result in a more balanced and flavorful blend than each coffee individually. For example, pairing a Brazilian coffee with a lot of body but little acidity with a Colombian coffee that has good acidity creates a balanced blend of medium body and medium acidity, likely appealing to a broader audience.
While exploring single-origin coffees can lead to more unique discoveries, the world of blends is far from ordinary. Creative roasters are experimenting with unexpected combinations, such as blends that feature coffees from Ethiopia with different processing methods.
Whether you choose to dive into the subtleties of single-origin coffees to explore different origins and processing methods, or appreciate the delicious blends created by roasters, remember that at the end of the day, they all share the common thread of being, quite simply, coffee.