Single Origin

What do these symbols mean? We are frequently asked what our four symbols represent displayed throughout our branding. We are going to cover a four part blog series to describe each symbol; its use and its purpose within our coffee offering.

The simple round shaped circle represents a single origin coffee. This is one that is grown from a single geographic area or farm. There are no specific rules that dictate what the term ‘single origin’ is. Generally, a single origin can refer to coffee from different farms in the same general area. Some single origin coffees can also come entirely from one farm and this can be called single estate or microlot coffees. When discussing specialty coffee, roasters tend to prefer coffee derived from a single farm for consistency amongst the lot of beans. This generally comes with higher price tag.

Single origin options give us the opportunity to taste a coffee from that specific region or farm. Each coffee growing region has its own generic flavour profile. As we dig a little deeper, each area and/or farm within that region will also have different flavour nuances. Many factors come into play including the altitude, variety of coffee grown and the processing method involved. Single origins give us the experience to taste different coffees from different countries and/or farms. This allows us to understand the general flavour profile of each origin and we generally form a perception or preference with certain regions. This deeper understanding allows us to have a better picture of what goes on at origin.

Another reason for the increased popularity of single origin coffees is the traceability. Unlike a blend, a single origin coffee is generally traceable down to the region it is grown and with higher quality coffees we can identify the farm that grew the coffee. The increasing trend of specialty coffee unravels detailed information of the farm such as the altitude, harvesting techniques, processing methods, soil conditions. etc. This traceability is a progressive trend for specialty coffee and it helps reward farmers that are proactive with their farming methods as it gives roasters an incentive to pay higher for better quality coffee.