The Two Chimps Guide to Single-Origin Coffee

What are the two main types of coffee?

Firstly, let’s talk about the two main types of coffee: Arabica and Robusta! Arabica beans are what you’ll hear most people making a fuss about because they’re packed with flavour and tend to score higher in taste tests.

On the other hand, we have Robusta, which gets its name from being strong and resilient (literally more robust!). These beans can handle rougher conditions and don’t need as much pampering, but that can affect the flavour a bit.

Of course, at Two Chimps, we only want to give you the really tasty stuff, so you’ll only find Arabica beans around here, folks!

What’s all the buzz about speciality coffee?

The grade of coffee you use really makes a difference, and we’re all about that top-notch, speciality-grade coffee.

This is a special title given to brews that have been carefully evaluated by Q Graders certified by the Speciality Coffee Association. They use a method called cupping, scoring the coffee out of 100 based on factors like aroma, mouthfeel, and more.

If a coffee gets a score of 80 or above, it’s considered speciality coffee. Anything below that is called commodity coffee (the kind of stuff you find in your local supermarket).

Not only are all of our coffees here at Two Chimps graded as speciality, we also take it a step further by sourcing our beans from a single origin rather than blending them. So, when you enjoy our ‘Brazilian’ coffee, you can be sure that it comes from one specific farm and a particular plot of land, not a mix from various farms across Brazil. This way, you experience the unique flavours of just one type of bean, rather than a muddled mess!

How are your beans roasted?

To really make the most of these amazing, speciality, single-origin coffee beans, our talented artisan roaster roasts them in small batches rather than in bulk, which can lead to inconsistent flavours.

It is the job of Jordyn, our expert artisan roaster, to ensure that all of the different roast types are as fresh as possible and that’s why we roast our coffee several times each week. As a result, when it arrives on your doorstep, or you collect it in person from our roastery, you get that freshly roasted coffee smell and flavour.

What does roast type mean?

In the world of coffee, the term ‘strength’ can be a little misleading. What we really mean is “roast style”. This tells you how dark the beans have been roasted and gives you a better sense of the flavour intensity you can expect.

At Two Chimps, these styles can be grouped into three main categories: light & fruity, medium, and medium/dark.

What’s more, at Two Chimps, instead of using roast level numbers, we like to have some fun with our Chimpometer. It’s super simple: the more chimp heads filled in on our coffee labels, the darker the roast style. Make sense? Cool.

Now, in case you’re unsure which of our roast types is for you, let’s take a quick look:

Light & fruity

• Ideal if you like clean, sweet flavours like cranberry, pineapple, even marzipan
• Super easy to drink as an Americano
• Best suited to filter brewing or in a cafetiere

Medium

• Often caramelised, sometimes nutty in flavour
• Versatile enough to drink with or without milk
• Great for brewing in an espresso machine, stove top or with an AeroPress

Medium-Dark

• Great if you like bold flavours and a kickstart to your morning
• Enjoy delicious chocolatey tastes combined with caramel or zingy fruits
• We recommend brewing using an espresso machine, stove top or AeroPress

While we’re on roast styles, here’s a common myth to clear up: darker roasted coffees don’t actually have more caffeine! It makes sense to think that the bolder, darker brews pack more caffeine, but that’s not really the case! Most coffees have very similar caffeine levels (except for decaf, of course!).

Where do Two Chimps coffees come from?

When it comes to where coffee is grown, you’d be shocked at how much it affects the flavour! Different regions boast their own unique flavour profiles, but when you buy from Two Chimps you’re getting your brews from countries within an imaginary loop stretching around the world known as the coffee belt.

Coffees from this region that you’ll often find at Two Chimps include:

That’s not to forget other fantastic coffee-growing countries around the belt like India, Cuba, Vietnam, Burundi and South Sudan.

We touched on the fact that each of these countries brings its own special flavour profiles to the table, and that is down to the different coffee bean varieties grown in each region and their own unique conditions, such as soil quality, altitude, and climate.

This is another reason we love sourcing single-origin brews: they offer consistency. Since all the beans come from the same country, they share similar growing conditions, soil, climate, and altitude, resulting in harmonious flavours.

That said, each growing condition can significantly influence the final taste. Here’s what we mean:

• Soil Quality: Coffee is found inside coffee cherries, which grow on coffee plants, which means the soil is super important. If the soil is nutrient-deficient, the plant may not thrive, and the flavours can end up underdeveloped. That’s why we always aim for coffees grown in nutrient-rich volcanic soil or those treated with organic fertilisers.
• Altitude: Arabica thrives at high altitudes due to a slower growth rate, which means the cherries ripen slowly over time, infusing the beans with more delicious flavours. These high altitudes also tend to have fewer pests and general diseases due to the cooler climate.
• Temperature/Climate: Arabica prefers a mild, cooler climate, at around 18-20 degrees Celsius. Anything warmer causes the fruit to ripen too quickly, reducing the quality of the beans inside. Anything too cool can stress the plant, reducing overall yield.

As a result of these specific growing conditions, many countries have a couple of coffee harvest seasons each year. Since our coffees are single-origin, we inevitably use up the entire harvest. When this happens, we shake up the origin of our coffee, and that’s why our coffee names change. More on that shortly.

While it would be amazing to revisit the same farm and get those perfect beans year after year, that’s not always possible. Arabica coffee is sensitive to changes in its environment, so if a farm changes its fertiliser or a region experiences less rainfall, the flavours can turn out quite different from what you remember.

To keep your coffee experience consistent and delicious, we source from other places while maintaining the familiar flavours you love.
We totally get that this can make things a bit tricky, especially with our coffee names changing every time we bring in a new origin – but don’t worry!
While the name might change, keep an eye on the colour on your coffee label to keep sipping the flavours you’ve come to love. For our standard range (which includes blue, orange, pink, green, yellow, and purple), you can always expect the roast style and flavours to stay consistent with what you’ve had before.

On the other hand, our limited-edition brews: white, red, grey, and lilac; are all about surprises! They change more often, bringing new and exciting flavours along with each new origin.

Doesn’t sourcing coffee from around the world affect your carbon footprint?

If you’re on the hunt for a coffee that delights your taste buds and makes you feel good about your choices in regard to our planet, look no further than Two Chimps!

We’ve been working with Positive Planet since 2023 to calculate our carbon footprint right down to the letter. We were proud to become certified Carbon Neutral in the summer of 2023 and have since gained our Silver Award in July 2025.

We’re working towards our Net Zero goal, and to help us on our journey, we’re excited to share that multiple team members have earned their Carbon Literacy Certification! This allows us to boost our green initiatives across different departments, all fuelled by our shared passion for making a positive impact.

As part of our mission to reduce waste, we’re proud to say that our packaging is completely recyclable (right down to the stickers!). We have multiple green practices on site, such as sensor-controlled lighting and an electric forklift. Check this out: we even have a kettle that glows red to let you know it’s still hot, helping us save energy by avoiding reboiling!

We also use paper tape on all of our deliveries and, as of January 2026, have solar panels installed on the roof of our roastery and an EV car charging station for the team.

How are coffee beans processed?

Did you know that coffee beans are actually the seeds, or what we would call the ‘pit’, inside a cherry? Pretty crazy, right?

We’re not just sharing this fun fact because it’s surprising, but it also has a lot to do with how coffee is “processed”, which is how those beans are taken out of the cherry’s flesh.

Usually, there are two main ways this happens: washed and natural. You might also come across the term “honey,” which is a cool mix of the two methods, or anaerobic. Each of these methods gives slightly different flavours in the cup, so let’s break them down:

• Washed: This is the most popular way to process coffee, as it offers a cleaner, well-balanced flavour in the cup. As the name suggests, this process involves de-pulping the coffee beans from the cherries straight after harvesting, before placing the beans into large fermentation tanks filled with water for 12-27 hours. Once complete, the beans are removed, washed, and spread across large beds to dry in the sun.
• Natural: This is the oldest and most traditional coffee processing method. Farmers allow the whole coffee cherry to dry out before separating the bean from the outer layers. This infuses the beans with flavours naturally found in the fruit’s flesh, giving the coffee some funky flavours in the final cup.
• Honey: Also known as ‘pulped natural’, is a hybrid method of washed and natural processing. This method consists of de-pulping the beans from the cherries, then removing most, but not all, of the flesh. The beans then go straight out to drying patios before being hulled and packed. This process creates a fuller, rounder mouthfeel and a lovely balance of sweet, floral, and fruity flavours.
• Anaerobic fermentation: What a mouthful! An exciting new process, anaerobic fermentation is an experimental method in which coffee cherries are placed in large, oxygen-free tanks to ferment for several hours or even days. The result is bold, fruity flavour profiles that can surprise your palate with hints of tropical fruits (and even a few boozy notes!)

Do coffee beans have their own flavour, or do you add them after?

When it comes to the flavour and notes of your coffee, we don’t add any syrups or extra flavours. Not one. Instead, our talented artisan roaster uses his skills to bring out the beans’ amazing natural qualities.

Now, what amazing, natural flavours are we talking about?

If you enjoy a sweet, fruity coffee then you’ll want to try one of our light and fruity options. For something with a bit more character, our medium coffees are for you; or if you want something strong and bold then our medium-dark roasts are just the ticket.

Flavours might appear across a couple, or occasionally all our roast styles, but to give you a feel for the coffee flavour notes you might find, this table is a good guide:

What about the different coffee brewing types?

Did you know that the flavours of coffee can change ever so slightly depending on how you brew it?

For instance, if you try one of our light and fruity coffees in your espresso machine, it has a bit more acidity than perhaps you might like. To help you choose the perfect coffee for your home coffee brewing method, here’s a friendly little guide to follow:

It’s worth stating that this is only a rough guide. All our coffees taste great in whatever brewing device you’re using, but we want to make sure you get the most out of those flavours, so this is a great place to start!

That’s it! You’re now a Two Chimps expert! If you have any questions, feel free to ask on social media or pop into the roastery if you live locally. If you’re looking for more detailed information, check out our FAQs or our coffee pages, where you’ll find all the nuts and bolts.