El Salvador Finca Himalaya Semi-Sun-Dried Red Bourbon Varieties, Brand Recommendations and Estate

El Salvador Finca Himalaya

Country: El Salvador

Estate: Finca Himalaya

Region: Santa Ana

Altitude: 1580-1720 meters

Varieties: Red Bourbon, Typica

Processing Mill: El Divisadero

Flavor Notes: Plum, brown sugar, red wine acidity

About Project Origin

Sasa Sestic, the 2015 World Barista Champion, launched a green bean sourcing project called Project Origin three years ago with his business team at ONA Coffee. The project works directly with coffee farmers in poorer countries and regions, improving their production conditions and offering purchase prices 20% higher than fair trade prices.

The project's original purpose also includes strengthening the connection between roasters and coffee farmers and guiding farmers to cultivate high-quality beans. To date, Sasa has built relationships with coffee growers from eight countries, including Brazil, Panama, India, Ethiopia, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.

Bourbon coffee was originally cultivated on Réunion Island, which was known as Île Bourbon before 1789. Simply put, Bourbon is a coffee variety belonging to the Arabica species. It generally produces red fruit and is then called Red Bourbon. There are also Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon; Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yields but better quality.

Brewing Method

Hand-pour El Salvador coffee: use 15g of coffee grounds with a medium grind (Fuji ghost tooth grinder #4), a V60 dripper, and water at 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and stop. Wait until the water level drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Processing Method: Semi-washed

Finca Himalaya is located in the renowned Santa Ana region, in the Apaneca mountain range, with growing altitudes of 1,580-1,720 meters. It is one of the few estates managed by Aida Batlle, and Bourbon is the main cultivated variety.

The coffee from this estate is processed at Mauricio Salaverria's El Divisadero mill in Ataco, then dried evenly on African raised beds with sun exposure and ventilation. Mauricio inherited his parents' and grandparents' business, growing up around coffee from childhood, with a particular focus on specialty coffee cultivation.

Flavor Description: Red wine acidity, plum, brown sugar, full body, long aftertaste

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

FrontStreet Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon is a well-rounded contrast to a winey Central American cup. Cerrado is a well-known Brazilian region noted for high-quality coffee, and this classic South American Red Bourbon is roasted medium, giving rich aromas of creamy peanut, toast, caramel, and hazelnut with a rounded, unsour body and a light bitter note. It is flexible too: pour-over, moka pot, espresso SOE, siphon, or French press all work.

FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate is the sweeter option. Grown in Mogiana, near South Minas, on fertile red volcanic soil that lets the cherries build a full aroma, it is the rare Yellow Bourbon, a mutation of Red Bourbon with a cleaner fruit character. Through pour-over, a moka pot, or a home espresso machine it shows the sugarcane sweetness found only in this region, plus fruit and chocolate notes.

FrontStreet Classic Blend is the everyday espresso choice. Brazil's low acidity, balanced body, and friendly price make it a first pick for espresso recipes, and FrontStreet's blends from the rich-crema Classic Blend to the nutty Fine Blend, the balanced Dark Cocoa, and the café-oriented Commercial Blend all include Brazilian beans. The Brazilian component supplies chocolate and cream aromas and a soft sweet-sour-bitterness, and that balance helps keep extraction stable.