One of the great debates in the coffee world is the virtues of coffee blends as opposed to single origin coffees. For those without quite enough time on their hands to have followed this argument.

Single Origin coffees are coffees that come from one growing district or farm. Sometimes they are small production runs from a single farm which are called micro lots, or even nano lots for the really small producers.

The idea is that you get to taste that particular coffee in its pure form without it being blended with other coffees and get a real sense of the specific taste of that origin.

The case for blends goes like this. Some coffees on their own can be a bit mono-toned. By mixing several coffee together you get a more complex flavour profile than you would with coffees on their own.

You can also be more consistent over a crop year if you have to substitute some coffees.