At Esselon we focus on Single Origin coffee. “Single Origin” means coffee sourced from a specific farm, collective or region. Except for our Espresso we don’t blend our beans, but instead look to display our coffee’s inherent regional characteristics. Over time it helps us understand what makes the bean’s source so remarkable.

Throughout most of the 20^th century, American coffee consumers enjoyed mass-produced, dark roasted coffee blended with Robusta beans for that extra little caffeine kick. Found in cans, the coffee was cheap and easy to find, but also most likely stale and devoid of the characteristics that we now come to expect when purchasing premium coffee.

Single Origin coffee is a relatively new concept with the first modern examples coming onto the scene in 1999. By virtue of its sourcing and the attention focused on maximizing the bean’s potential, Single Origin coffees are noted for their complexity, nuanced flavors and unique attributes. Informing the bean’s sensory characteristics (aroma, mouthfeel, acid, taste and sweetness) are a wide array of influences including varietal, soil type, elevation, rainfall, sunlight, drying processes, length of storage before roasting, roast levels and of course brew method.

Today, we’ve come to understand that those same dark roasted beans had so much more to offer not only as a light or medium roast, but that the individual farms or collectives they came from could so dramatically impact the flavor and quality of the beans – if only we’d taken the time to find out.

We recommend you buy a bag and try making the coffee in different ways: drip, French Press, espresso, AeroPress or pour-over. Once you find your preference let us know. Perhaps you’ll come across something entirely new and unexpected. And if you discover an even better way to make your coffee, then definitely let us know!