Behind the Label Design
Have you ever wondered why our labels for new single-origin coffee are designed the way they are?
If you're new to us as a specialty coffee roaster... Hi! Hello! Welcome! We are so glad you're here.
If you've been here for a while, you know that you can usually identify our whole-bean coffee bags by identifying the large shapes on the front label. So we're taking a little time to dive deeper and help you understand how all of these labels come to be for their flavours and taste profile via colours, shapes and all!
So how do these shapes show up on different labels anyways!?
Take a look below for some examples for each of the four major breakdowns coffees could look like...
Circular Based Designs
Square Based Designs
Triangular Based Designs
Eclectic, Complex Based Designs
We have put together a list of some of our favourite origins and some of the flavours notes and label shapes they'd be associated with:
AFRICA: Complex, wild, fruit forward, and delicate flavour profiles with a lot of exotic and tea-like characteristics.
-
ETHIOPIA – tea-like, delicate, floral, fruity, citrus
- ⭐️ These coffees would generally contain ELEGANT shapes like circles or ovals
-
KENYA – bright, berry-like, fruity, winey, acidic, savoury
- ⭐️ These coffees would be described as VIBRANT generally contain triangular shapes
-
RWANDA/BURUNDI – earthy, wild, fruity, tea-like, sweet
- ⭐️ These coffees would generally contain COMPLEX shapes on their labels, like a combination of squares, triangles and circles.
CENTRAL AMERICA: Approachable flavour profile characterized by familiar tasting notes, balance, and an abundance of sweetness.
- COSTA RICA – citrus, soft fruit, honey, sugary
-
GUATEMALA – mild fruit, sweet, balanced
- ⭐️ These coffees would generally contain BALANCED shapes on their labels, like squares and rectangles.
SOUTH AMERICA: Diverse continental flavour profiles that can differ significantly based on sub-regionality. Some regions offer more classic profiles that are very comforting with rich, deep, nutty, and chocolatey notes, while others offer big, complex and fruity profiles.
- COLOMBIA – tropical, stone fruit, vegetal, cola-like
-
BRAZIL – chocolate, nut, subtle fruit
- ⭐️ These coffees would generally contain BALANCED shapes on their labels, like squares and rectangles.
ASIA: Unique, polarizing profiles characterized by earthy, smoky, herbal notes.
-
INDONESIA/SUMATRA – earthy, smoky, tobacco
- ⭐️ These coffees would generally contain COMPLEX shapes on their labels, like a combination of squares, triangles and circles.
You just never know when inspiration will strike...
Once in a while, under special circumstances, you may see labels that may tell a deeper story behind them. Single-origin Guatemalan coffee, A'xola, which you might have seen on our menu for the last two years, has featured a 3D square-shape based label art and shares a deeper story that holds a special place in our hearts. This label was modelled after the floor tiles on our Origin sourcing trip with Primavera Coffee in 2023 to Guatemala.
Original tile noticed while we were invited to a small cupping organized by Metic's yearly specialty coffee quality competition...
➡️ high-resolution imagery processed
➡️ to the label design
2023 Label Design 2024 Label Design
➡️ to you brewing & enjoying at home!!
We hoped this has helped you understand our thought process behind designing single-origin coffees from our menu!! and help you navigate shopping and identify new brews from our website or out of cafes near you!!
Happy brewing!!
