Part II: Single Origin Coffee
*This is the second part of my three-part treatise on coffee.
Preamble
Attributes
Cafés are places where people enjoy coffee among other benefits but are not necessarily the same and the selection of coffee offered are not the same. Most places offer a blend of coffee beans to minimize transaction cost associated with sourcing, make low quality saleable, gain economies of scale and maximize profits. This situation creates a condition where consumers can source coffee from three main outlets; a mainstream café or store, a specialty café with blended coffee beans, and a café with single origin coffee. My direct observation of these outlets for patronage indicates that mainstream cafés have an average[1] of 30 people/hr (morning), 17 people/hr (afternoon), and 12 people/hr (evening) excluding drive through. The specialty cafés with blend coffee have on average 26 people/hr (afternoon), and 25 people/hr (evening: most are closed by 6pm after COVID-19). The cafés with single origin coffee have an average of 24 people/hr (morning) and 15 people/hr in the afternoon. Public holidays, summer periods, and weekends all affect the number of customers.
The payment method in the cafés also differ among different generations. GenZ[2] people usually pay with smartphone; millennials[3] use smartphones or card more often; GenX[4] tend to use cards, and the baby boomers[5] and silent generation[6] usually use cash or cards. Exceptions exist; for example, I have preferences for the use of cash though I am a GenX, because it allows me to monitor my expenditure and it’s an austerity measure. There is a possibility that the payment method is a function of the prevailing technology when each group started handling financial transaction. The payment behaviour of consumers was observed with our extensive coverage of cafés in Ontario. Moreover, the use of smartphones was more pronounced in mainstream[7] cafés as compared to specialty cafés. The drive through culture was also non-existent in specialty cafés and fourth wave plus (4thW+). Specialty cafés are ahead of mainstream cafés with respect to innovative subscription models. They also seem to be a safe space for women. The population of women in specialty cafés is higher than males as observed in my ten years exploration of specialty cafés.
The general impression is that there are three types of coffee roasts, light, medium, and dark. Most of the exceptional single origin coffee are light roast to bring out the flavour and notes of the coffee. Apart from the known types of coffee roast, there is a type of roast that is not popular because some coffee drinkers don’t see it as coffee. This is referred to as white coffee. ‘White coffee’[8] is not well documented. It is referred to as biji kopi putih in Indonesia but the one I consumed was roasted at Cavan with coffee beans from Las Nubes Farm, Oaxaca[9], Mexico. A white coffee is produced when coffee beans spend half of the time they are supposed to spend in a roaster at half of the temperature. Roasting stops before sugar caramelizes. As indicated by a chief roaster during my field work, the caffeine content is not necessarily more than light, medium, or dark roast. Specie, variety, and production technique are the most important factors in terms of caffeine content. It has a savoury, mild, and nutty taste[10]. It can be consumed with or without milk but it’s better with oat milk (non-dairy)[11]. The addition of oat milk is complimentary and adds to the smoothness of the drink including health and sustainability reasons. There are no sediments whatsoever, the glass cup was clean after consumption.
Health Implications
Doepker and her colleagues in 2022 posit that policy that directs consumers to avoid drinking coffee may be detrimental because an increase in consumption of coffee may promote public health. Recent studies also indicate that drinking your coffee black increases longevity. Coffee consumption is even more desirable if the coffee beans are grown ethically and organically. Conventionally raised coffee may inadvertently lead to the consumption of chemical residues. Consumption of coffee is also associated with lower risk of depression and anxiety.
The health benefits of coffee because of its antioxidants notwithstanding, caffeine consumption make some people nervous and unable to sleep. The panacea is to consume coffee early in the day or consume decaffeinated products. Alternatively, such consumers can consume non-caffeinated beverages like red cappuccino from rooibos, a plant with geographical indications that can only be grown in the Cederberg region of South Africa.
The implication on health is enhanced by the consumption of single origin coffee because they are supposed to be organic and traceability is easy, and beans are usually of high quality unlike a blend which at times can be a way of selling low quality or damaged beans.
Single Origin
A single origin coffee is from a coffee bean which is grown and harvested from a specific location. The location can be a farm, group of farms, cooperative, or country. Under the fourth wave plus (4thW+)[12], single origin should be a single producer (With the name of the farmer on the label) or a group of farms in the same neighbourhood who belong to a cooperative. There is also what is referred to as a field blend, where different cultivars/varieties are grown on the same land. Dating is very important in the production of single origin coffee and the 4thW+ regime. Date of planting, harvest, processing, and roasting are well documented and published on the label. Single origin coffee is for a niche market and is the highest end of specialty coffee. Coming exclusively from a region ensures that the flavours, unique taste, and quality are guaranteed. Coffee is picked by hand, and it makes the growing and production labour intensive.
Large producers such as Brazil practice mostly mechanized farming. The challenge with mechanized production is that it mixes ripe and unripe berries together and coffee beans out of this process are mostly used for instant low-quality coffee. Unlike, Panama where coffee farms are small and mostly interested in producing high Arabica coffee. Cooperatives are important for processing to gain economics of scale – reduce per unit cost. Moreover, high attitude coffee produces fruity and floral flavour, and this is the reason why roasters indicate the altitude of the farm where the coffee was grown on the label.
The stages of coffee processing start with red berries, then wet parchment, dry parchment after drying. The green coffee is the next stage after the dry parchment, and the final stage is the roasted coffee. Single origin coffees are usually light roast unlike commodity coffee that are dark roast a technique usually used to cover defects and make the product bitter – the expectation of most people of what coffee should taste like. Single origin coffees are supposed to taste differently, and this is the reason why Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, and Harrar coffees all taste and smell differently even though they are from the same country.
One of the challenges with the sustainability of single origin and coffee in general is the rising temperature and erratic rainfall because of climate change. This challenge will require the growing of Arabica, the most preferred coffee, under regenerative agriculture and agroforestry. There are also coffee species, apart from Coffea arabica (Arabica) and Coffea canephora (Robusta), indigenous to Sierra Leone and DRC that are able to thrive with the challenges of climate change. Examples of lost species in Sierra Leone are Coffea stenophylla which when brewed seems to be tastier than Arabica and Coffea affinis. The specie indigenous to DRC is Coffea dewevrei – Excelsa.
Single Origin and Geographical Indications: The Nexus
A geographical indication (GI) is a label on a product that indicates that product is from a specific location and exhibit the attributes associated with the location. A single origin coffee is a type of geographical indications without a recognized certification as intellectual property. Some single origin coffees already have certification as GI. For example, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has assigned appellation of origin to single origin coffees such as AO840: Café Veracruz (Mexico); AO852: Café Chiapas (Mexico); AO893: Café Villa Rica (Peru); AO902: Café Machu Picchu (Peru); AO1151 TARRAZU (Costa Rica). Furthermore, the European Union (EU) also accepted GIs for El Salvador’s Café Alotepec, Balsamo Quezaltepec, Cacahuatique, Chichontepec, and Tecapa Chinameca in June 2022.
Preference for Single Origin: An Explanation
Imagine Mr. A has the option to consume coffee in three places. The first place is a mainstream café (CM), the second place is a specialty café where they offer blend coffee (CB), and the last place is specialty café with single origin coffee (CS). The utility derived from the consumption of mainstream coffee is U(CM), while that of blend and single origin coffee are U(CB) and U(CS) respectively.
Suppose Mr. A has spent 10 years visiting mainstream cafés, eight years consuming coffee at café with blended coffee, and six years exploring single origin cafés. The experience of Mr. A is presented below:
Mainstream café: coffee is bitter and there is need to add sweetener and milk to douse the acidity of the beverage. Baristas are interested in the volume of sales and not necessarily quality of service. Ambience is good but not extraordinary, and traceability is not published.
Blend coffee café: attention to details better than mainstream, different roasts are available, and baristas have an idea of the origin of the coffee. Products are organic, and artisanal. Ambience is a worthwhile experience, and the attitude of baristas is commendable. They get to know the regulars and offer them bespoke (customized, off the menu drinks) occasionally.
Single origin café is based upon: single origin served, chemistry enhance flavour, meticulous attention paid to the process from growing of the coffee plants to brewing the coffee at the café. Baristas are familiar with regulars and initiate a conversation with explorers’ and newcomers to educate them about the coffee they are drinking. Furthermore, different coffees are available based on origin, processing, roasting (light, medium or dark roast) coupled with the fact that they change their menu weekly or biweekly[13]. Consumers do not need to add sweeteners because the original sweetness of the Arabica coffees[14] comes out with the appropriate roasting, grinding and brewing.
The scenarios presented above creates an incentive for Mr. A to visit the single origin café more. In other words, U(CS) > U(CB) > U(CM), the utility derived from the single origin specialty café U(CS) is more than the blend coffee café U(CB) and the least preferred is the mainstream café U(CM).
The desirability of single origin café is logical based on the premises presented above. But what about the price? Premium single origin coffee can cost between $9 and $12 CAD per serving. A package of roasted beans can cost between $25 - $50 CAD /250g. These coffees are pricey because beans are organic, artisanal, ethically sourced, and farmers are well compensated. The information about free on board (FOB) and farm gate prices, and other important attributes of the coffee are published on the label - an important attribute of 4thW+. It should be noted that a cheap coffee might have created precarious work conditions along the value and supply chains. Quality is also compromised when food is mass produced. Finally, single origin coffee will trump blended coffee an expensive price notwithstanding.
Exploring Single Origin
During my exploration of the single origin coffee landscape, I consumed more than 50 products from different parts of the world. One of the major lessons I learned is that coffee does not necessarily need to be bitter, the taste of coffee is a function of the variety, where it’s grown, climatic condition, post harvest handling and processing (natural, washed, fermentation approach, etc.), and the roasting technique (light, medium, and dark). Examples of single origin coffees are presented in the table below.
The most expensive among the coffees on the tables was Frank Torres, it cost $12 CAD/serving. In terms of aroma, Yirgacheffe is the most outstanding.
A Field Survey
Consultation with people in different parts of the world indicates that most people are not familiar with single origin (more than 90%)[15]. For further empirical details we administered a survey to 291 undergraduate students in a private university in Nigeria[16] in October 2024. Their age was between 15 and 27, the average age was 18 years; 80% drink tea while 50% drink coffee. There was an indication that there is preference for tea as compared to coffee among the undergraduate students. The breakdown of the consumption of coffee indicates that the highest number of the consumers drink latte (30%) followed by cappuccino (26%), and then espresso (20%). Their knowledge of single origin coffee was insignificant – only seven respondents, out of 291, have heard of single origin coffee before the survey. Moreover, an analysis of interviews[17] of selected people, mostly millennials, in Nairobi (Kenya), between July and August 2025 indicated that they drink both tea and coffee though frequency of consumption differs. They spent between 800 and 1500 KES (Kenyan Shillings[18]) for a 500g package. Most of them have consumed single origin but they are not sure of the coffee’s actual attributes. They also struggle with the definition of single origin coffee.
Pour Over Coffee
The rise of ‘pour over’ is one of the attributes of 4thW+. It should be stated that drip coffee is not pour over. Drip coffee process is automated while pour over is manually controlled and customized – it is bespoke, artisanal, and well filtered. Time for preparation, lack of knowledge, and price are the deterrent to the consumption of pour over. It is cheaper if consumers buy a pack of roasted beans and brew it at home.
The process of pour over starts by boiling water to a specific temperature. The coffee beans are weighed and ground. A cone filter is then moistened with hot water after which a well measured grind of coffee is poured in the filter, hot water is then poured over the grinds for two minutes. The coffee is then allowed to steep for more than two minutes, after which the brewed coffee is released into the carafe below the filter. Baristas have a leeway to do trial and error until they perfect their pour over brew. Pour over brings out the distinct flavours of single origin coffee and it is one of the reasons why the consumption of single origin coffee as pour over is highly recommended. An attribute of the 4thW+ is the chemistry involved in the extraction of brews. During the pour over process when hot water first contacts the coffee grounds in the filter, it results in a "Bloom". This Bloom is caused by the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the coffee grounds.
An example of a cultural pour over is the Vietnamese coffee (cà phê sữa nóng). This is not fully a pour over based on the 4thW+ attributes, but the coffee is also filtered using a Vietnamese Phin filter. The one we tried is from the Dak Nong province of Vietnam and it cost between $5 and $6. The Vietnamese coffee is a partly pour over, the beans are mostly robusta (quality is not at the level of Arabica), condensed milk is part of the ingredients, and the filtration process pays attention to the “bloom” but extraction can not be compared with using a filter paper. The milk has doused the acidity of the coffee because robusta beans are more acidic. The water for the coffee preparation should be 200°F and the condensed milk should be 30g.
Whether traditional or mainstream, the use of pour over gives a cleaner brew of coffee. The consumption of pour over especially when it’s allowed to cool gives distinct notes of coffee and is easy for consumers to identify their favourite coffee based on the aroma and taste.
Brewing of Vietnamese coffee
Exploring Single Origin: A Mathematical Thesis
Production:
Based on my observations and participant observations over the years, below is a model that explains the production of single origin coffee.
SO = ALPαLβOγAδ
Where SO = Production of single origin.
AL = Autonomous production.
P = Consumption of ‘Pour Over’
L = Expertise of coffee farmers
O = Level of organicness of coffee
A = Awareness about the desirability of single origin
α, β, γ, δ are positive integers measuring the relationship between variables and production of single origin.
As seen: SO = ALPαLβOγAδ, is a non-linear relationship as life itself is not linear.
To transform the model to a linear equation the natural logarithm (ln) of both sides was applied.
ln SO = lnAL + αlnP + βlnL + γlnO + δlnA + µ (error term). The error term accounts for the variables that are not in the model but may affect the production of SO.
The Level of organicness of coffee (O) = ƒ (organic coffee beans, climatic condition, organic cultivation, artisanal, collaboration through cooperatives) = ƒ (regenerative agriculture).
Consumption:
My interaction with baristas and my several visits to specialty cafés where single origin coffees are served led to the development of the relationship below:
Cs = ƒ (P, I, HS, Oc, L, Ca, µ)
Where Cs = Consumption of single origin coffee
P = Price of coffee
I = Income
HS = Household size
Oc =Occupation
Ca = Proximity to Specialty café
µ = Other variables not covered by the model
It is also important to note that the consumption of single origin gives more information to consumers. Consumers are in control once they are familiar with the coffee. In other words, there is reduction in asymmetric information. Whereas, when blended coffee is offered, there is asymmetric information and importers, roasters, and cafés are in control. Furthermore, Cs α P {consumption of single origin is directly related to enhanced public health}. The culture of drinking water to complement the coffee, especially sparkling or carbonated, add flavour to douce the acidity. Personal experience indicates that drinking water while consuming coffee adds to the flavour, because of chemistry, of single origin espresso. It also helps with hydration and aesthetic value.
Equilibrium:
The single origin coffee market is an evolving market, and it may be difficult to have an equilibrium condition. This is expected because producers will continue to work on desirable varieties of Arabica including strengthening the processing methods to guarantee sustainable competitive advantage. Furthermore, roasters are working on roasting techniques to enhance the flavour and aroma of the beverage. As for the consumers, who are interested in single origin coffee, they are already knowledgeable about good coffee and will become more sophisticated under the 4thW+ regime. All these scenarios make equilibrium practically impossible. The best that can occur are equilibrating tendencies because players in the market are rivals and will forever try to outdo each other.
Conclusion
4thW+ and single origin coffee have transformed stakeholders in the value and supply change to scientist. Baristas are becoming meticulous and artistic (extraordinary latte art is now part of the service in specialty cafés) concurrently. Single origin cafés also have signature dinks that can be customized, bespoke, for their regulars.
The Cup of Excellence, a global prestigious coffee competition, has become a key mechanism for locating and certifying single origin coffee. This mechanism employed more in Latin America have created and added premium to the single origin coffee from this region. But the most important variables that give a specific coffee the added value are variables related to geography such as the altitude of the farm, coffee farm size, country of origin and soil type. Enhanced consumption of single origin coffee may lead to uneven development. Scarcity due to seasonality and artisanal practices also make single origin coffee to be procured at a premium.
Regenerative agriculture coupled with community shared agriculture including subscription-based production are all desirable characteristics of sustainable production. Mixed farming of coffee with other crops such as rice and avocado is desirable based on empirical evidence from Vietnam. Organic production of single origin coffee makes the inadvertent consumption of chemicals impossible.
In the summer of 2025, the farmers were busy growing and processing the best coffees wearing their gumboots in Latin America, the roaster in Canada keep improving their roasting techniques, the cafés are getting closer to 4thW+ standards, and the consumers are enjoying the best single origin coffees as espresso, pour over, latte or drip in their Birkenstock sandals. Single origin coffee consumed as a pour over makes the notes discernable, additionally it is a better way to drink coffee black since dinking coffee black seems to be more desirable.
*Part I of the treatise is available at https://bamideleadekunle.substack.com/p/part-i-understanding-coffee.
I acknowledge the support of the Intellectnomics Research Group (IRG).
[1] Numbers vary based on location.
[2] People born between 1997 – 2012.
[3] People born between 1996 and 1981.
[4] People born between 1965 and 1980.
[5] People born between 1946 and 1964.
[6] People born between 1928 and 1945.
[7] Tim Hortons, Starbucks
[8] Consumed at Cavan Coffee based on Rufus Cavan recommendation.
[9] Thanks to Cavan Coffee.
[10] Ardent coffee drinkers don’ t see it as coffee though the caffeine is relatively the same as the normally roasted coffee.
[11] It makes the beverage vegan.
[12] See Adekunle B. 2025. Part I: Understanding Coffee. https://bamideleadekunle.substack.com/p/part-i-understanding-coffee.
[13] Some of their products are also seasonal.
[14] Coffee does not need to be ‘bitter’
[15] Some baristas at both mainstream and specialty cafés became familiar with the concept after a discussion with us.
[16] The survey was administered by Dr. Folasade Bosede Adegboye.
[17] Interviews were conducted by Kageha Ambembo.
[18] The exchange rate as of August 12, 2025: 1CAD = 93.80 KES; 1USD = 129.24 KES (Central Bank of Kenya).
This article truly resonated with me because I enjoy coffee and come from a Balkan culture where it plays a significant role in everyday life. Where I'm from, coffee is more than just a drink; it's a time for reflection, discussion, and connection. I was moved by the significance that even something as basic as a cup of coffee can carry, after reading about single-origin coffee and the ethical and cultural roots of its production.
The conversation about "pour over" caught my eye in particular; the patience and precision it calls to make coffee makes me realize how purposeful coffee consumption can be. I really admired how the future of coffee was examined in connection with climate change and sustainable production. It's amazing how geography, respect, and creativity can influence the shape, taste, and story behind every cup. Overall it was a great read!
This piece of writing emphasises how coffee has evolved from a routine beverage into a cultural, ethical, and experiential product. It also emphasizes the importance of consumer education in appreciating distinctions such as roasting profiles, origins, and brewing techniques. The reflection on pour-over brewing resonates mostly deeply, as it illustrates how patience, precision, and intention can transform a simple cup of coffee into a mindful ritual.