Single Origin Coffee vs Blends: What’s the Difference?

People will often walk into the roastery storefront and ask, “What blends do you have?” or “Oh, I like Coffee X by Roaster Y, do you have one like that?”. When I explain to them that we have an assortment of beans available as single-origin roasts, and maintain one seasonal blend (besides my decaf offering, which may / may not be a blend), sometimes they get a look of fear and wonder as to why I don’t have more blends. It isn’t fear, but a signal that they are maybe outside of their comfort zone. After a bit of a chat around the semantics of it all, 99% of the time, they leave with a skip in their step and a bag of beans in their hands. So, let’s talk about single origin vs blends.  

Single Origin Coffee: What It Means (and Why It Matters)

Single-origin coffee offerings are… well… just that… a roast done on a bean from a single origin.  That may include beans from a few / many farmers when you involve farming cooperatives (some areas have multiple small landholders with plots adjacent to each other, and they will combine forces to ensure a larger quantity of product), but can also just be from one farm / one single plot. 

Coffee Blends: How They’re Crafted for Flavour

Blends are also just that… coffees made up of beans that come from two plus countries / regions to create a unique flavour / acidity / body that isn’t available from a single coffee. When done right, a blend should offer a unique drinking experience better than the individual parts. 

How We Approach Single Origin and Blends, We Offer Both!

We focus on maintaining a selection of single origin coffees (usually based on keeping two coffees that shine as light roasts, and two that shine as medium roasts) and one seasonal blend.  We try to have coffees from a variety of locations within the coffee producing countries, as often folks will come in and say “I prefer coffees from Country Z”.  While we may not have a coffee from Country Z, it’s an opening to discuss why they prefer coffees from that country, and discuss how possibly another coffee can fill that gap for them.  As single-origin coffees can have distinct qualities that make them shine, we want to make sure they get the exposure they deserve. From a beautifully fruit-forward, zingy, acidic, light roasted peaberry coffee from Chania Estate in Kenya, to a rich chocolatey, low acid, smooth, medium roast coffee from Roberto Rueda in Colombia – there are so many beautiful coffees to explore on their own. 

In regards to blends, we focus on having one blend available for Spring-Summer, and one during the Fall-Winter period. We design our Fall-Winter blend (Get Out There Blend, or in the case of 2025/2026 we had a new special blend called The Garage Project) to be a welcoming treat for those colder days – notes such as raisin, almonds, aromas of cedar, and a dark chocolate or rich caramel base. For the Spring-Summer blend (Overland Blend) the aim is to maintain a soul of big chocolate and big fruit. For 2026, we have a blend of Colombia, Tanzania, and Brazil beans to give big chocolate and big cherry (and a hint of plum) notes.  The Overland is also designed to be flexible for all brew methods, and to work great for making your summer cold brew… YUM! 

No matter what you are looking for in coffee, we can help. We are always open to chatting about coffee… from roast levels, to brew methods, to blends and single origins. Ask away!