The Story and Legend of El Salvador Santa Rita Estate's Santa Yellow Bourbon Washed Specialty Coffee Beans

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El Salvador, alongside Mexico and Guatemala, stands as one of the major coffee-producing countries in Central America, currently competing for the top one or two positions in the region. Coffees from high-altitude regions feature uniformly large, well-proportioned beans with a rich, mild flavor profile. Similar to Guatemala and Costa Rica, El Salvador grades its coffee by altitude, with higher elevations producing better coffee. The grading system includes three levels: SHB (Strictly High Grown) for highland areas, HEC (High Grown Central) for mid-highland areas, and CS (Central Standard) for lowland areas. The most prestigious brand is Pipil, the Aztec-Mayan term for coffee, which has received certification from the Organic Certified Institute of America.

Pour-Over Preparation

Santa Rita pour-over: 15g of coffee at a medium grind (ground with Fuji's ghost tooth burr grinder, setting #4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Once the water level drops to half, slowly continue pouring until reaching 225g total. Discard the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, total extraction time 2:00.

Product Information

Manufacturer: Coffee Workshop
Address: No. 10 Bao'an Qian Street, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou
Contact: 020-38364473
Shelf Life: 90 days
Net Weight: 227g
Packaging: Bulk coffee beans
Processing Degree: Roasted coffee beans
Origin: El Salvador
Roast Level: Medium roast

Processing Method

Washed process.

Yellow Bourbon Variety

Yellow Bourbon, with its yellow ripe cherries, was originally discovered in Brazil and is still primarily grown there. It is generally believed to be a mutation resulting from hybridization between red-fruited Bourbon and a yellow-fruited Typica variety called "Amarelo de Botocatu." Yellow Bourbon is considered one of the most exceptional varieties. While typical Bourbon cherries turn from green to yellow to red, Yellow Bourbon cherries stay yellow when ripe. When grown at high altitudes and processed using natural methods, Yellow Bourbon exhibits truly excellent flavor characteristics.

Coffee Details

Product Name: 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 is located in the northern reaches of the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range at approximately 5,000 feet elevation. Santa Ana Volcano (Volcán Santa Ana in Spanish) rises in southwestern El Salvador, in Santa Ana Department, and is the country's highest peak (2,362-2,381 meters / 7,749 feet). Santa Rita is also a model estate for El Salvador's coffee production.

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

Flavor Notes: Wheatgrass, roasted nuts, maltose

El Salvador Coffee Characteristics

El Salvador is one of the smaller countries in Central America, and its coffee is light-bodied, aromatic, clean, and gently acidic, with excellent balance as its signature — a hallmark of Central American coffees. It presents a harmonious interplay of acidity, bitterness, and sweetness.

The flavor profile includes wheatgrass, roasted nuts, and maltose, with a smooth, creamy texture, rounded acidity, and sweet notes of brown sugar and hazelnut chocolate.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you enjoy the balanced, gently acidic character of Central American coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil selections are a natural next step. As the world's largest coffee producer, Brazil grows an enormous range of coffees with moderate acidity and a beautiful balance of sweetness, bitterness, and body — which makes them ideal for medium roasts that bring out rich nutty aromas, whether brewed as a single origin or used in blends.

For a taste of classic Brazil, try the FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon. Cerrado is a renowned region known for high-quality beans, and this semi-washed (pulped natural) Red Bourbon at a medium roast shows creamy peanut, toast, caramel, and hazelnut aromas with a rounded, non-acidic cup and just a touch of bitterness. It works beautifully as pour-over, and is equally at home in a moka pot, as espresso SOE, in a siphon, or a French press. FrontStreet's Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon, from Mogiana near southern Minas Gerais, is rarer still: a natural mutation of Red Bourbon with a cleaner fruit character, offering a sugarcane sweetness you won't find in other origins, alongside fruit and chocolate notes.

Brazil's low acidity and balanced cup also make it the backbone of many espresso blends. FrontStreet's classic blend (rich crema), the nutty FrontStreet Premium Blend, the well-rounded FrontStreet Black Cocoa blend favored by many baristas, and the shop-focused FrontStreet Commercial Blend all include Brazilian beans — adding chocolate and cream aromas plus gentle acidity, sweetness, and bitterness, with a balanced profile that supports stable extraction.