Inside the Cup Archives - Oren's Coffee NYC

Before they called it specialty

How the first coffee Erna Knutsen ever sold found a permanent home on our shelf. Before specialty coffee had a name, it had a woman in San Francisco quietly building the trade that would define it. Erna Knutsen was a secretary at a coffee importer called BC Ireland. She wanted to do more, but the men at the company wouldn’t let her into the cupping room. So she found another way in: selling coffee to the small roasters the industry largely ignored, the ones who only needed a few bags at a time. The industry called them the “small trade.”

June 19, 2026

Where Your Coffee Comes From Matters

The story behind our May Coffee of the Month, and the partnership that makes it possible. Oren has always said that buying the best coffee is a very expensive operation. That belief has shaped every sourcing decision since the shop opened in 1986. It also shapes who we choose to work with. This month, our Coffee of the Month is the Burundi Turihamwe, a new washed crop for 2025/2026 sourced through our partner JNP Coffee. If you have been following us for a while, Burundi coffees are not new to our shelves. Oren visited the country nine years ago and

May 19, 2026

Single Origin vs. Blend: What Your Coffee Bag Isn’t Telling You

Most people assume single origins and blends are just two styles of coffee. They’re actually two different approaches. And depending on who’s roasting, one of them is a lot more transparent than the other. What single origin means A single origin coffee comes from one defined place: a country, a region, sometimes a single farm. That specificity matters because where a coffee grows shapes how it tastes. An Ethiopian coffee can carry wild, almost jammy fruit notes like blueberry and jasmine that you simply won’t find anywhere else. A Sulawesi brings a full, earthy depth rooted in its volcanic soil

April 17, 2026

What Makes Indonesian Coffee So Full-Bodied?

Indonesian coffee tastes different Indonesian coffees are known for their full body. Compared with many African or Latin American coffees, they often have lower acidity, with earthy or herbal notes that give them a unique character. The wet-hulled process A big part of that character comes from a method called giling basah, or wet-hulled processing. After harvesting, the beans are pulped and partially fermented, then dried to about 30-35% moisture before the hull is then removed. They’re dried again to reach stability. This careful, largely Indonesian method produces beans with depth and complexity. Both Sumatra and Sulawesi coffees use wet-hulling,

March 9, 2026

Why We Roast Our Own Coffee — and Why It Matters to You

At Oren’s Coffee, roasting isn’t just a step in the process; it’s where coffee goes from good to genuinely memorable. We roast our own beans because it gives us control over freshness, flavor development, and consistency. These are three things that matter deeply to people who care about what’s in their cup. That control starts and ends with Oren. Why Roasting Matters for Your Cup Coffee doesn’t taste like much straight from green beans. Roasting transforms it, unlocking the oils and aromas that give great coffee its character, making it vibrant, nuanced, and enjoyable. But not all roasting is created

January 23, 2026

Category Archives: Inside the Cup

Before they called it specialty

Where Your Coffee Comes From Matters

Single Origin vs. Blend: What Your Coffee Bag Isn’t Telling You

What Makes Indonesian Coffee So Full-Bodied?

Why We Roast Our Own Coffee — and Why It Matters to You

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