About Aromas Single Origin Coffee Beans
Single Origin coffee beans have been growing in popularity over the last decade or so due to the rise in specialty coffee across Australia and the US. While Aromas has been offering single origin coffee for several decades, it's wonderful to see so many people becoming interested in really tasting the unique characteristics of coffees grown in different regions, with different climates and different coffee processing methods. Each of these factors contributes a lot to the ultimate flavour of brewed coffee. The purpose of drinking coffee beans from just one origin (this could be one farm, estate, region etc) is to appreciate all of the local factors that contribute to a coffee's resulting flavour.
How do single origin coffee beans compare to blends?
The main difference lies in the intention behind producing each coffee. Single O's are intended to be tasted for exactly what they are whereas blends are intended to produce a certain flavour profile. When we are tasting single origin coffee, our interest is in appreciating the taste of just one region, with unique soil composition, unique climate, varying altitude and whatever processing methods are common to local coffee farmers. The pleasure in this lies in comparing the big differences from coffee to coffee. Blends, on the other hand have a purpose in mind. When we blend coffee, we have a flavour profile in mind first and we are trying to achieve this by combining single origin coffees which add together in just the right way.
Do you roast single origin coffee beans any differently?
Almost always, yes! If we roast coffee past a certain point, it starts to lose its uniqueness, tasting more and more like generic coffee. Since this counteracts the main purpose of drinking single origins, almost all good coffee roasters will offer single origins as a light roast.
Why are single origin coffees a bit more expensive?
Again, this boils down to the fact that appreciating the qualities of coffee is the main point of drinking single origins. We tend to source only the highest-quality single origin coffee beans to brew since lighter-roasting can actually reveal any defects that may be present.
