El Salvador Santa Rita Hacienda Santa Yellow Bourbon Washed Specialty Coffee Beans Grind Size and Roast Level Guide

Product Information

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227 g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Roast Level: Raw to roasted coffee beans
Processing Method: Washed processing
Origin: El Salvador
Roast Degree: Medium roast

Yellow Bourbon Variety

Yellow Bourbon ripens with yellow fruit and was first discovered in Brazil, where it is still mainly grown. It is generally believed to be a mutation resulting from a cross between red-fruited Bourbon and a yellow-fruited Typica variant called "Amerelo de Botocatu." Yellow Bourbon is one of the most exceptional varieties. Whereas regular Bourbon typically turns from green to yellow to red, Yellow Bourbon stays yellow. Grown at high altitude and sun-dried, it delivers excellent flavor.

El Salvador Santa Rita Yellow Bourbon Washed SHG EP

Country: El Salvador
Estate: Santa Rita Estate
Region: Santa Rita
Grade: SHG
Achievement: 94 points from Coffee Review, February 2012

Santa Rita Estate lies in the northern part of the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountains at approximately 5,000 feet. Santa Ana Volcano (Volcan Santa Ana in Spanish) sits in southwestern El Salvador in Santa Ana province and is the country's highest peak (2,362-2,381 meters). It is also a model estate for coffee production in El Salvador.

Variety: Yellow Bourbon
Flavor Notes: Wheatgrass, roasted nuts, maltose

El Salvador Coffee Characteristics

El Salvador is one of the smaller countries in Central America. Its coffee is light-bodied, aromatic, pure, and slightly acidic, with excellent balance as its defining trait, making it a specialty of the region. It holds acidity, bitterness, and sweetness in equal measure.

El Salvador ranks alongside Mexico and Guatemala as a major producer in the region and competes for the top one or two positions in Central America. High-altitude varieties have uniformly large, well-proportioned beans with a fragrant, mild taste. Like Guatemala and Costa Rica, El Salvador grades coffee by altitude — the higher, the better. It is divided into three grades by elevation: SHB (strictly high grown) for highland, HEC (high grown central) for mid-highland, and CS (central standard) for lowland. The best brand is Pipil, the Aztec-Mayan name for coffee, which has been certified by the Organic Certified Institute of America.

Flavor Profile

The flavor features wheatgrass, roasted nuts, maltose, smooth milk creaminess, rounded acidity, brown sugar, and the sweetness of hazelnut chocolate.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Yellow Bourbon was first found in Brazil, so it is only natural to look there for a comparison — and FrontStreet Coffee's Fazenda Rainha is a fine one. Grown in Mogiana near southern Minas, where fertile red volcanic soil helps the cherries take up abundant nutrients and develop a full aroma, this lot is the rare Yellow Bourbon, a natural mutation of Red Bourbon with a cleaner fruit character. Whether brewed by pour-over, moka pot, or home espresso machine, it shows the sugarcane freshness you won't find in other regions along with fruit and chocolate notes.

If you simply want a classic Brazilian single origin, FrontStreet's Cerrado Red Bourbon is the one to start with. Cerrado is a well-regarded local growing area, and this Red Bourbon is roasted medium for rich aromas of creamy peanut, toast, caramel, and hazelnut, with a rounded body, low acidity, and light bitterness — versatile across pour-over, moka pot, espresso SOE, siphon, and French press.

For El Salvador's balanced, low-acid cup in an espresso form, FrontStreet's Brazilian blends are a good bridge: the Classic Blend's rich crema, the nutty Premium Blend, the barista-favorite Black Cocoa Blend, and the café-oriented Commercial Blend all rely on Brazilian beans for chocolate and creamy aromas and a gentle sweet-sour-bitter balance that keeps extraction stable.