What is “single origin”?

It’s pretty simple, really, when you think about it. Single Origin coffee is coffee coming from a single place, whether that be a single farmer or a group of farms from a single country. All of my coffee is single origin, meaning I don’t mix or “blend” my coffee beans.

Pictured here you see a farmer tossing coffee cherries. Inside the cherries is a seed. Coffee beans are actually seeds that are roasted for consumption.

Legend has it that coffee was created so monks could stay awake for long hours of prayer. A goat herder named Kaldi had his flock of goats grazing. He noticed that after his goats ate berries from a coffee tree they became energized and did not want to sleep at night. There you have it. Goats love coffee and the rest is history.

Coffee plants grown at different altitudes and different regions of the world have distinctly different flavors. Like fine wines. That’s why I love single origin coffee. Even coffees produced within the same country can taste different! Some coffee roasters like to blend cheaper beans with more expensive beans, kind of like watering down milk, gross. A good example of this is Kona Coffee from Hawaii. Majority of Kona Coffee here on the “mainland” is a “Kona Blend”, a mix of other origins to make the coffee cheaper. 100% Pure Kona Coffee can range from $40-50 per pound!

Countries of some of my favorite single origin coffees:

  • Ethiopia
  • Guatemala
  • Costa Rica
  • Colombia
  • Brazil
brewing