El Salvador Himalaya Flavor Description - Which El Salvador Coffee Brand is Best

Processing Method: Washed

Finca Himalaya lies in the renowned Santa Ana region, in the Apaneca mountain range, at 1580 to 1720 meters. It is one of the few estates managed by Aida Batlle, and its main variety is Bourbon.

The beans are washed at the El Divisadero processing plant in Ataco, owned by Mauricio Salaverria, then dried evenly with sun and airflow on African raised beds. Mauricio inherited the business from his parents and grandparents and has worked with coffee since childhood, with a particular focus on specialty cultivation.

Pour-over Salvadoran coffee: 15g of grounds, medium grind on a Fuji ghost tooth burr grinder at setting 4, a V60 dripper, and water at 88 to 89 degrees Celsius. First pour 30g of water for a 27 second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Once the water level in the coffee bed drops halfway, continue pouring slowly until the total reaches 225g. Discard the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, total extraction time 2:00.

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

El Salvador Finca Himalaya

• Country: El Salvador
• Estate: Finca Himalaya
• Region: Santa Ana
• Altitude: 1580-1720 meters
• Varieties: Red Bourbon, Typica
• Processing Plant: El Divisadero
• Flavor Notes: Plum, brown sugar, red wine acidity

Manufacturer: FrontStreet Coffee
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

About Project Origin

Sasa Sestic, the 2015 World Barista Champion, launched the Project Origin green bean sourcing program three years ago with his business team at ONA Coffee. The project works directly with coffee farmers in impoverished countries and regions, improving their production conditions and paying 20 percent above fair trade prices.

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

Bourbon Variety

Bourbon was first cultivated on Réunion Island, known as Île Bourbon before 1789. Put simply, Bourbon is a variety within the Arabica species. It generally produces red fruit, which is why it is called Red Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon also exist. Yellow Bourbon yields relatively less but delivers better quality.

Typica Variety

Typica is one of the oldest varieties among the many Arabica types. Also known as the old small-bean coffee, it yields little and is difficult to cultivate, which makes it far more expensive than ordinary small-bean coffee. Typica originates from southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan, and it is the most widely cultivated coffee variety in the Western Hemisphere.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If Finca Himalaya's red wine acidity and plum sweetness are what you look for in a washed coffee, FrontStreet Kenya Little Tomato is a natural companion. It is a Kenyan specialty washed lot built around bright cherry tomato and smoked plum acidity with a full, juicy body. It comes from the Thika region of Kenya, grown at 1550 to 1750 meters from the classic SL28 and SL34 varieties, with full, rounded beans. The processing follows Kenya's signature 72 hour double washed fermentation, which draws out the fruit while keeping the cup clean and pure, and FrontStreet roasts it light to preserve the lively acidity and layered fruit. The dry aroma is dense with dried cherry tomato and florals; the entry is clear cherry tomato and smoked plum with a bright, solid acidity like fresh squeezed juice; the middle brings prominent sweetness with hints of snow pear and black plum; and the finish is clean and long, with yellow sugar sweetness and a faint green tea note. Sweet and sour balance, and highly recognizable.

For a softer, more fruit-forward pour-over, FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui has been one of the most successful stars of the specialty market in recent years. Its defining trait is an extremely pronounced tropical fruit aroma, often strawberry, passion fruit, jackfruit, even lychee. Sweetness is obvious and bitterness is very low, and it enters smooth and full of juice, which is why many drinkers call it the coffee that least tastes like coffee. For anyone who dislikes the traditional bitter edge, it tends to overturn their expectations entirely.

And for a darker, low-acid contrast on the same brewing setup, FrontStreet PWN Indonesian Golden Mandheling is roasted dark, with very low acidity and a thick, lingering body. The entry is full of herbal and dark chocolate aroma with a faint earthy note and real depth of layers, built for drinkers who like weight and do not want acidity. Sumatra's profile has cooled slightly in the specialty spotlight, but Mandheling and Blue Mountain remain the first choice for anyone who prefers a rich cup, and FrontStreet was among the earliest brands to put the PWN-exclusive jute sacks and their certificates directly into its product listings, so the green bean packaging and the accompanying certificate are all you need to confirm quality.