What Is the Allure of Single Origin Coffee?
As a beverage to be savored with the same discriminating taste as a fine wine, coffee has undergone quite a maturation since the 1980s. We are now in what many experts term the third wave of coffee production. And with that third wave has come a few big things, not the least of which is single origin coffee.
What is single origin coffee? More importantly, what is its allure? To better understand the single origin coffee phenomenon, we can approach coffee in the same way an experienced wine taster approaches a new vintage. There are a lot of similarities.
Single Vineyard vs. Single Origin
Winemakers have long used terms like ‘single vineyard’ to designate unique vintages considered a step above average. Those terms are very specific. The single vineyard designation indicates that a wine was made using the grapes of either a single vineyard or, in some cases, a single portion of one vineyard.
This creates a unique wine inasmuch as it boasts the features of that particular geographic area. Experienced wine tasters say they can taste the difference in single vineyard wines from multiple wineries even within a close proximity of one another. That is the same idea behind a single origin coffee, though the definition of ‘single origin’ is a lot more fluid.
Our industry generally accepts single origin coffee as coffee that is specific to a single geographic region. How big that region is depends on who you are talking to. It could be a multi-farm region, a single farm, or just one cultivated lot on a farm.
Regardless of how large the region is, here’s the point: the coffee beans from that region are the only ones used to create a single origin product. Growers and roasters are not mixing beans from multiple regions and countries to create a more generic blend.
Why People Love Single Origin
You might have a good idea of why people love single origin coffee now that you know what it is. Indeed, single origin coffee is considered among coffee connoisseurs as being the absolute best you can get. Why? Because each roast is absolutely unique. A coffee made with beans from a single farm on one side of a Colombian mountain will taste different from another product that comes from the other side of the mountain.
You and I may not have pallets discerning enough to tell the difference between one single origin coffee and another. But those who do say single origin is tops. They can taste complex flavor profiles that reveal the soil the coffee was grown in, the general weather conditions during the growing season, and more. It is really quite fascinating.
We do not consider ourselves single origin coffee experts here at Galaxie Coffee. But we are experts in office coffee service. If your office doesn’t have a professional coffee service, you’re missing out on something great. Give us a call to learn more about how our coffee service can benefit your company.