Single Origin Coffee Beans vs Blends: What’s the Difference?
One of the most common questions we hear is: what’s the difference between single origin coffee beans and blended coffee?
Single Origin Coffee Beans
Comes from one place. The goal is to highlight the distinctive flavours of that specific farm or region. It’s often brighter, more complex, and perfect for people who love exploring new flavours.
Blended Coffee
Combines beans from multiple origins. Roasters create blends to achieve balance and consistency, for example, mixing one coffee’s sweetness with another’s body and another’s acidity. Blends are reliable, versatile, and great for milk-based coffee.
When to Choose Which
Go for single origin coffee beans if you want to experience coffee’s complexity, enjoy filter brewing, or are excited by seasonal releases.
Stick with blends if you prefer a consistent flavour profile and love milk-based coffee.
At The Bean Cartel, we roast both—blends for everyday consistency, and single origins from our trusted farmers to support their communities and to let our customers discover new flavour profiles from around the world.
The Bean Cartel’s Single Origin Coffee Roasting Process
At The Bean Cartel, we take single origin coffee seriously. Our process is built on three pillars:
Direct Sourcing and Relationships
We partner with farms, cooperatives, and importers who share our values of integrity, excellence, passion, innovation, and family. That ensures every coffee has a transparent story and a positive impact at origin.
Roasting to Profile
Each origin is roasted to bring out its best. A floral Ethiopian might be roasted lighter to showcase citrus notes, while a chocolate-heavy Colombian might be roasted slightly deeper to enhance caramel sweetness.
Packaging That Tells a Story
Our new single origin range, coming soon, will each have its own artwork just like our other packaging. Unique to the location your coffee is farmed from, the artwork is created by a Colombian artist in collaboration with our managing director, Stacy Visser, to celebrate the culture of each origin, the people who grew it, the environment that shaped it and what makes it distinct.
For us, this is about more than design. It’s about giving recognition to farmers and letting you, the customer, feel a direct connection from crop to cup.
By choosing single origin coffee, you’re also helping to support jobs and communities at origin. Coffee isn’t just a product—it’s the lifeblood of families and local economies. Every bag you buy contributes to that cycle.
Sneak Peek
Our upcoming single origin releases will include a carefully curated lineup that showcases coffee’s diversity:
Rwanda Inzovu – Bright nectarine, stone fruit and lime up front create a smooth, lingering body. Sparkling stone fruit acidity gives way to a sweet but fresh finish with brown sugar, apple and orange.
Burundi Bujumbura Mutambu – Rich cherry ripe and rum raisin open the cup, rounded out by glacé cherry for layered sweetness and smooth depth.
Timor-Leste Sakoko – A divinely unique cup with notes of lychee in rose syrup, pink marshmallow sweetness, juicy watermelon and smooth cacao.
Each origin will be roasted in-house to highlight its natural character. Whether you’re a pour-over enthusiast or an espresso drinker, there will be something to discover.
Brewing Tips for Single Origin Coffee
One of the best parts of single origin coffee is experimenting with brewing methods to unlock flavour.
Filter – Brings out clarity, floral notes, and brightness.
Aeropress – Versatile for fruity or chocolatey cups.
Espresso – Intense flavour expression, especially for fruity or chocolate-forward single origins.
Try different methods and see how the flavours evolve.
The Bean Cartel’s New Single Origin Coffee Range
We can’t wait to share our new single origin coffee range with you. It’s a celebration of flavour, provenance, and people. At The Bean Cartel, our new range brings together everything we believe in: quality, transparency, and connection to community.
Each release is a chance to experience something truly unique and support farmers and their communities around the world.
Sign up on our website to be the first to shop the official drop.
