El Salvador Himalaya Taste and Aroma - Salvadoran Coffee Varieties and Prices

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. This project directly cooperates with coffee farmers in poor countries and regions, improving their production conditions and offering them purchase prices 20% higher than fair trade prices.

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

Bourbon coffee was originally cultivated on Reunion Island, which was called Bourbon Island (Ile Bourbon) before 1789. Simply put, Bourbon is a coffee variety belonging to a branch of the Arabica species. It generally bears red fruits, known as Red Bourbon. In addition, there are also Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon. Yellow Bourbon has relatively lower yields but better quality.

Typica is one of the oldest varieties among many Arabica species. Typica, also known as old variety small bean coffee, has low yields and is difficult to cultivate, so its price is much higher than ordinary small bean coffee. Typica coffee originates from southeastern Ethiopia and Sudan and is the most widely cultivated coffee variety in the Western Hemisphere.

Processing Method: Washed Process

Himalaya Estate is located in the famous Santa Ana producing region on the Apaneca mountain range at altitudes of 1580-1720 meters. It is one of the few estates managed by Aida Batlle. The main planted variety is Bourbon.

The coffee beans produced by this estate undergo washed processing at Mauricio Salaverria's El Divisadero processing plant in Ataco, then are evenly dried through sun exposure and ventilation on African raised beds. Mauricio inherited his parents' and grandparents' business and has been involved with coffee since childhood, with a special focus on specialty coffee cultivation.

Brewing Instructions

Hand-pour El Salvador coffee. Use 15g of coffee, medium grind (Fuji ghost tooth grinder #4), V60 dripper, water temperature 88-89 degrees Celsius. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to half, then slowly pour until reaching 225g. Avoid the tail section. Water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

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
Flavors: Plum, brown sugar, red wine acidity

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you enjoy the balanced, low-acid sweetness of this Salvadoran Bourbon, FrontStreet Coffee's Brazilian beans are a natural next step. As the world's largest coffee producer, Brazil offers moderate acidity and an excellent balance of sweetness, bitterness, and body that suits medium roasting perfectly. The half-sun-dried Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon from the renowned Cerrado region shows rich aromas of cream, peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut, with a rounded, non-sour cup and a light bitter touch - great for pour-over as well as moka pot, espresso SOE, siphon, and French press.

For something fruitier, the Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon from Mogiana - a mutation of Red Bourbon with cleaner fruit character grown in fertile red volcanic soil - reveals a sugarcane sweetness few other origins can match, together with fruit and chocolate notes through pour-over, moka pot, or home espresso machines.

Brazil's low acidity and balanced cup also make it the backbone of great espresso blends: FrontStreet Coffee's Classic Blend, Premium Blend, Black Cocoa Blend, and Commercial Blend all contain Brazilian beans, adding chocolate and cream aromas with gentle acidity and bitterness for stable, forgiving extraction - ideal for lattes and beginner-friendly espresso.