Estate Coffee

The Difference Between Single Origin and Estate Coffee

It’s oftentimes confusing as to how to tell the difference between estate coffee and single origin coffee. They sound very similar and are sometimes used interchangeably. But there are a few differences that we believe you should take note of.

Estate coffee typically comes from a specific farm or estate within a country, whereas single origin coffee simply denotes that the coffee came from one country but can often come from multiple farms within that country.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with single origin coffees, and we believe many countries produce some beautiful and flavorful cups of coffee when grouping a collection of various smallholders coffee together. But there’s something to be said about a single estate coffee that highlights the characteristics of all the work that farmers and their team put into creating a wonderful product.

The key component that differs single origin coffee from estate coffee is the traceability of that coffee. There’s a direct link from farmer to processing (often done on or very close to the farm) to exporter to importer to roaster to you that makes it easier to know where exactly your coffee came from.

Due to traceability, it’s often significantly easier to verify that the coffee was produced ethically, sustainably, and with various other certifications (e.g. organic, Rainforest Alliance, Shade Grown, etc.). Whereas single origin coffee can be a grouping of smallholder coffees within a country that are processed together, it’s significantly more difficult to guarantee where and how the coffee was grown.

Some farmers, depending on circumstances and location, unfortunately cannot offer estate coffee, and have to rely on selling their coffees to processing stations that tend to purchase coffee cherries from multiple farms and estates in their area and process and dry them all together.

Perhaps another way to think about it is the difference between roasted coffee from a specific country and roasted coffee that has been blended from multiple countries. Neither are inherently good or bad, and both can produce some great cups of coffee. But the former will highlight the characteristics and qualities of one specific farm or estate, and the latter will oftentimes create an amalgam of different flavors that, while delicious, is simply different.

Difference in Roasting Estate Coffee

Roasting a coffee that hails from a single and specific estate can yield some of the most unique, interesting flavor notes that you’ll ever experience if roasted properly. This generally means that we don’t roast estate coffee particularly dark (unless it calls for it).

The roast profile that we design for our estate coffees are built around the concept of bringing out the best qualities of that specific estate’s coffee. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that every estate coffee will be roasted on the lighter or darker side, it does mean that we take particular care and attention to ensuring that every quality of the coffee, from how it was processed to its soil to how long it was left out to dry in the sun or if it went through a fermentation process, is developed thoroughly to ensure that our estate coffee showcases the best the estate has to offer.