Become A True Coffee Connoisseur With Our Guide To Single Origin Beans
We love to wow our friends at dinner parties and brag about our wine expertise like it’s an Olympic sport, but we’ll admit we’re not that knowledgeable when it comes to our morning coffee.
So, if you’re seeking to up the ante on your morning conversations, we’ve got you covered.
We met down with Zarraffa’s Coffee founder Kenton Campbell, armed with a steaming cup of coffee, to get the lowdown on everyone’s favourite golden brew.
The Basics of Single-Origin Coffee
It all comes down to the fact that single origin coffee is only grown in one place. Single origin beans, like wine, are a reflection of the terroir of the coffee. Its flavour and aroma are influenced by where it is cultivated. “Altitude, plant type, farming practises, and climate will all play a role in the details of single origin coffee,” Campbell explains.
“Single origin wine is similar to estate-grown wine, which is made from grapes cultivated in a specific area of the estate. Single origin refers to either a single farm or a single country, and has both micro and macro connotations.”
Single origin beans, on the other hand, have the most natural and unaffected flavour profiles, whereas coffee combines characteristics from other beans.
“Each bean has its own own flavour profile, which can easily be lost in a combination. Campbell argues that single origin coffee is a premium coffee experience since it is a higher quality coffee bean with ethical practises.
“This is because specialised roasters have direct knowledge of the influence of farming and processing on their beans and how this improves coffee quality.” Investing in local farmers? That’s something we can surely support.
“For example, Kenyan Ntongoro (pronounced en-tonn-goro), Zarraffa’s first Black Label Single Origin coffee, is cultivated in red volcanic soils and hand-picked by the local Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Meru County, Kenya. Kenyan Ntongoro has a dark chocolate and walnut flavour with citrous acidity, and a plum sweetness with strong acidity and a balanced body, making it ideal for espresso, drip filter, and cold brew coffee.”
There’s no doubting that we’re preoccupied with food, the way it’s prepared, and the origins of the components. We enjoy forming bonds with farmers, producers, makers, and brewers. Our morning coffee is no different, according to Campbell, which is why single origin beans are so popular right now.
