SINGLE ORIGIN VS. BLEND: HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR NEXT BAG OF BEANS
Bean Knowledge — 1 July 2026
Both have their place. Understanding the difference — and when each shines — will change the way you buy and brew coffee.
The single origin versus blend debate is one of the most common conversations in specialty coffee. It is also one of the most misunderstood. Neither is inherently better. They are different tools for different purposes.
A single origin coffee comes from one place — one country, one region, one farm, or even one specific lot within a farm. The appeal of single origin is transparency and character. When you buy a single origin Ethiopian from Yirgacheffe, you are buying a coffee whose flavour is a direct expression of that specific place: the altitude, the soil, the variety, the processing method, the farmer's decisions. Single origin coffee tells a story.
The best single origins are extraordinary. A well-processed Kenyan can taste of blackcurrant and tomato. A Panamanian Geisha can have the fragrance of jasmine and the sweetness of white peach. A natural Ethiopian can taste almost like blueberry jam. These are not flavour additives; they are the natural compounds produced by exceptional raw material in exceptional conditions.
The trade-off is consistency and versatility. Single origin coffees are seasonal — they are available only when the harvest is ready, and the flavour profile changes from year to year as growing conditions vary. They are also often optimised for a specific brew method. A very bright, high-acid Ethiopian might be spectacular as a filter coffee but challenging as an espresso, where the acidity can become overwhelming.
A blend is a deliberate combination of coffees from different origins, designed to achieve a specific flavour profile that is consistent, balanced, and versatile. The blender's job is to find coffees that complement each other — one that provides body, one that provides sweetness, one that provides brightness — and to combine them in proportions that create something greater than the sum of its parts.
Blends are the workhorses of specialty coffee. They are designed to perform consistently across different brew methods, different milk types, and different extraction variables. Almond Blossom, our signature medium roast, works as espresso, as a long black, as a flat white, and as a filter — because it was designed to. The Ethiopian component brings the floral brightness; the Colombian component brings the caramel body and smooth finish.
Our recommendation: if you want to explore the full range of what coffee can taste like, buy single origins. If you want a reliable, versatile coffee that performs beautifully every morning regardless of how you brew it, a well-designed blend is the better choice. The best coffee collections contain both.