Coffee Blend v's Single Origin Coffee - What is the difference?

Let's move on to blends. A blend is a carefully selected combination of three to five single-origin coffees. The aim? To create the specific, balanced final flavour we're looking for. Each single-origin coffee brings its unique notes, whether in different levels of acidity, body, or sweetness. By adjusting the recipe for these combinations, we can control and adapt the final flavour profile of the blend. For example, here at Inasbay, we typically offer three distinct blends, a single-origin coffee highlighted each month, and of course, our decaffeinated coffee.

Our decaffeinated coffee, for example, is technically a single origin: it's a single bean, sourced from a specific Colombian farm, processed through an organic mountain water decaffeination process, then roasted especially for our decaf lovers.

When it comes to the other single-origin coffees, we strive to unearth extraordinary beans from the four corners of the globe. Each producing region offers unique and fascinating flavours that we can't wait to share with you. But that's not all! These single-origin coffees are often chosen to be enhanced by alternative brewing methods.

Over the past few months, we've had the pleasure of bringing you a variety of single-origin coffees:  a Brazilian, an Ethiopian, a Nicaraguan, a Colombian and more. We also had another coffee from Nicaragua and an Ethiopian Grade One from Kiara. Each of these coffees has a distinct taste profile due to its specific terroir.

The uniqueness of single-origin coffees lies not only in regional characteristics but also in processing characteristics. By “processing”, we mean how the coffee cherry is prepared after harvesting. Some countries don't have enough water to process coffee to a washed profile. The washed process simply means that the cherry is removed from the tree, the outer layer of skin is crushed, and then the mucilage (a gelatinous substance) surrounding the bean must ferment before being washed. This gives the coffee a clean, crisp flavour typical of the region, a “washed coffee”.

In other parts of the world that don't have the water for this, they can opt for a natural process. This involves leaving the cherry to shrivel like a raisin on the vine. Next, the outer layer of the cherry is removed, leaving the “parchment” (a different step for a coffee cherry) before it too is removed to obtain the green bean. So, you have washed coffees or natural coffees; these are the two main concepts.

Because single-origin coffees are pretty special and allow us to share incredible flavours with our customers, you'll find a little more information. Most roasters, like us, provide a small tasting sheet so you can find out more about the coffee before you buy it. For example, our Santa Teresa Zarina Bunny coffee from Brazil, which we've profiled, offers notes of baking spices, dried dates and passion fruit.

Speaking of our three blends, we've designed them to offer a distinctive taste experience, especially when brewed as espresso with a coffee machine or a high-pressure appliance such as a stovetop coffee maker. These methods produce a very rich, intense flavour, ideal for adding milk afterwards. The addition of milk, in general, will complement the espresso and create a more balanced flavour. We strive to offer a strong coffee, a medium coffee and a lighter coffee, allowing you to choose the coffee you like to make at home.

Each of our blended coffees contains different beans: our "Fix" blend contains three types of beans, the "Champion" has four, and the "Delicate" is made up of three organic coffees. They are all very different in their actual blends, even if some of the origins may be the same from one blend to the next. It's the intensity of the roast that makes all the difference: the darker the roast, the heavier the flavours; the lighter the roast, the more acidity and sweetness we get from these beans.

To illustrate this, we have here an example of a much lighter single-origin coffee, which we hope will help us get specific flavours from these beans in an alternative infusion. And here's one of our blends, generally a little darker, designed to pair well with milk.