I came to coffee from the kitchen, and I still think about it the way a cook does. A single origin is like a perfect piece of produce, served simply so you can taste exactly what it is. A blend is a dish: several ingredients, each doing a job, combined into something none of them could be alone.

Neither is better. They're just different, and both deserve a place in your cupboard.

Single origin: a taste of place

Single origin coffee comes from one country, one region, and sometimes one farm. Its flavour is shaped by where it's grown: the altitude, the soil, the climate, the coffee varieties, and how the cherries are processed after picking.

That's why coffees from different origins taste so different:

  • Ethiopia often brings floral, tea-like and berry notes. Try our Yirgacheffe, from a region famous for its floral, citrusy coffees, or our Guji Natural, where drying the whole cherry brings out fruit and sweetness.
  • Sumatra is known for full body and earthy, spicy depth, thanks to the island's unique wet-hulled processing. Try our Sumatra Blue Bianca.
  • East Timor gives clean, sweet coffees from small, shade-grown farms. Read the story of our Maubisse.

Single origins change with each harvest, just like wine does with each vintage. That's part of their charm. Each new crop is a little different from the last.

Best for: exploring flavour, and brewing black, especially as pour-over or filter.

Blends: built for balance

A blend combines coffees from different origins. Each one is chosen to do a specific job. One brings body, another sweetness, another brightness.

Our Blend 2 was the first blend I ever designed, and it took me the best part of a year to get right. It uses five origins: Brazil for chocolate and body, Sumatra for weight, Colombia for brightness, India for spice and Ethiopia for berries. Together they make a cup that's richer and more balanced than any one of them alone.

Blends also give you consistency. Harvests change and lots run out. So as new crops arrive, we adjust the components to keep hitting the same flavour, batch after batch. A single origin can't always promise that.

Best for: espresso and milk drinks. A good blend has the balance and body to stand up to milk without losing its character.

Which should you choose?

  • Choose a single origin if you want to explore flavour, drink your coffee black or brew pour-over and filter.
  • Choose a blend if you want the same great cup every day, make espresso, or drink your coffee with milk.

Plenty of our customers keep one of each: a blend for weekday flat whites and a single origin for a slow weekend pour-over.

Our blends

Not sure where to start? Try our bean finder quiz, or read our guide to choosing a roast level.