Every specialty coffee menu splits into two camps, single origins and blends, and most people have been told one is superior. It isn't that simple. They're built for different jobs.

Single origin: coffee from one place

A single origin comes from one country, and usually one region, cooperative or farm. Because it isn't mixed with anything, it tastes of where it was grown: the soil, the altitude, the variety of plant and how it was processed after picking. An Ethiopian coffee can be floral and tea-like; a Brazilian, chocolatey and nutty; a Colombian, sweet with a bright, clean acidity. That variety is the point.

The catch is that single origins are seasonal. A lot comes in, gets sold, and is replaced by the next harvest, so the exact coffee you loved in March may be gone by June. Treat them like fresh produce and enjoy the rotation.

Blend: coffee built for a result

A blend combines coffees from two or more origins to hit a target flavour and, importantly, to keep hitting it all year. Our Balaka Blend uses six origins: Brazil for body and chocolate, Colombia for sweetness, Ethiopia for aromatics, Honduras and Papua New Guinea for depth, India to round out the finish. When one component's season ends, the recipe is adjusted so the cup stays the same. That consistency is why cafes run blends through the machine all day.

Which suits which brew?

Milk drinks. A blend, nearly every time. Milk flattens delicate flavours, so you want body, sweetness and chocolate that can push through. Most single origins get lost in a latte.

Black coffee. This is where single origins shine. A long black, batch brew, pour-over or plunger lets the origin character come through without anything covering it up.

Espresso, black. Either. A blend will be rounder and more forgiving; a single origin will be more distinctive and less tolerant of a bad shot.

Is single origin higher quality?

Not inherently. There are ordinary single origins and superb blends. Single origins tend to cost a bit more because smaller lots are more expensive to source, but price tracks the coffee, not the category.

A sensible way to buy

Keep a blend on hand for everyday milk coffees, and rotate a single origin for the black ones. If you're not sure where to start, the Discovery Pack gives you three 250g bags to compare side by side.