The Story and Origin of El Salvador Himalaya Estate Semi-Dried Red Bourbon Specialty Coffee Beans

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About Project Origin

Sasa Sestic, the 2015 World Barista Championship winner, launched a green bean sourcing project called Project Origin three years ago with his business team, ONA Coffee. The project works directly with coffee-farming families in impoverished countries and regions, improving their production conditions and paying them 20% above fair-trade prices.

The project also set out to strengthen the connection between roasters and farmers while guiding farmers toward cultivating high-quality beans. To date, Sasa has built relationships with coffee growers in eight countries, among them Brazil, Panama, India, Ethiopia, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.

Hand-Pour El Salvador

15 g of grounds, medium grind (Fuji Royal ghost-tooth burr, grind setting #4), a V60 dripper, and water at 88–89°C. First pour 30 g of water and bloom for 27 seconds. Pour to 105 g and pause. When the level in the coffee bed drops halfway, pour slowly to 225 g. Avoid the tail end. Ratio 1:15, total extraction time 2:00.

Processing Method

Semi-washed

Himalaya Estate

Himalaya Estate lies in the renowned Santa Ana growing region, on the Apaneca mountain range. It is one of the few estates managed by Aida Batlle, and the primary variety cultivated is Bourbon.

The estate's beans are washed at the El Divisadero processing plant in Ataco, owned by Mauricio Salaverria, then dried evenly on African raised beds using sun-drying and ventilation. Mauricio inherited the business from his parents and grandparents, growing up with coffee from childhood and focusing particularly on specialty cultivation.

Flavor Description

Red wine acidity, plum, brown sugar, full body, long aftertaste

El Salvador Finca Himalaya

Country: El Salvador

Estate: Himalaya Estate

Region: Santa Ana

Altitude: 1580-1720 meters

Varieties: Red Bourbon, Typica

Processing Plant: El Divisadero

Flavor: Plum, brown sugar, red wine acidity

Manufacturer: Dazhen Coffee / FrontStreet Coffee
Address: No. 10 Bao'an Front Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
Contact: 020-38364473
Ingredients: In-house roasted
Shelf Life: 30 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans
Origin: El Salvador
Coffee Type: Other

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you enjoy the red-wine acidity and full body of a red Bourbon like this one, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian range offers a softer, sweeter counterpoint. The Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a classic single-origin Brazilian bean and a gentle introduction to the region: medium roasted, it fills the cup with creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut aromas, drinks rounded and free of acidity, and finishes with a light bittersweet note. Use it as pour-over, in a moka pot, as an espresso SOE, in a siphon, or in a French press.

For a rarer variety with a cleaner fruit character, try the Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon from Mogiana, near South Minas. The fertile red volcanic soil there lets the cherries draw in abundant nutrients and develop a full aroma. A yellow Bourbon — a red Bourbon mutation — it offers a sugarcane freshness along with fruit and chocolate notes that other origins rarely match; brew it as pour-over, in a moka pot, or on a home espresso machine.

Brazilian coffee's low acidity, balance, and approachable price have also made it the backbone of FrontStreet Coffee's espresso blends. The Classic Blend with its rich crema, the nutty Premium Blend, the balanced Black Cocoa Blend, and the shop-focused Commercial Blend all include Brazilian beans, which bring chocolate and cream aromas and a soft sweet-sour-bitter balance that keeps extraction stable.