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You may have noticed the phrases "Single Origin" or "Double Origin" when buying or ordering our coffee. This is how many roasters distinguish between the nature of their coffees. Below we break down what those mean and provide some clarity to the characteristics of each.
What does Single Origin mean?
When broken down, this label makes a lot of sense. It means that the coffee beans originate from one single farm. If you look at our transparency page you will see all the coffees we have carried and the regions and farms they came from. Take for example our Colombia single origin offering right now, Luis Jose Valdez's washed coffee from his farm, Finca La Cristalina, in Caldas, Colombia. This means that the coffee was grown in Colombia but more importantly it was grown in the town of Caldas. If you wanted to get even more specific you would notice that the producer’s name is also there, the producer is the farmer that cultivated, grew and harvested the coffee plants at origin.
Why are single origins so prized?
What makes single origins unique is that you get to taste the specific and unique characteristics of the coffee from a specific region. Coffee is a lot like wine in that the growing conditions and varietals affect the flavor of the end product. Much like a Sauvignon Blanc from Napa will taste different than a Sangiovese from Tuscany, each growing region and specific farm will produce uniquely different flavors within the coffee grown there. The farming practices, altitude, shade, varietal of coffee plant, fertilizer used or not used, the soil, the things that live in the soil, how the coffee is processed and roasted and about a thousand other factors affect the end product. When these things are carefully managed by the producers and roasters the result is an exceptional coffee that stands on its own. Single origins are prized for their exceptional intrinsic flavor that is carefully cultivated throughout the coffee supply chain.
What is a Double Origin?
Much like Single Origin, this name breaks down easily. Basically it’s two Single Origins blended together. Does this mean that a Double Origin is just a blend? Yes, but it’s more specific than that.
Why Double Origin instead of Blend?
We use this term for our blends because we try our hardest to be transparent in everything we do. When you see the word blend it can create a lot of mystery, many times you aren’t told about the beans that make up the blend you are drinking and we didn’t want that. We wanted to remove the mystery and tell you exactly what you were getting. Any bag labelled as a double origin is a blend of two beans and two beans only, it’s as simple as that. We believe that this also helps exemplify our motto “better together”, we bring the best of two coffees together to create something even better than the sum of its parts.
