Introduction to El Salvador Himalaya Coffee Growing Region & How to Brew El Salvador Coffee

Understanding Bourbon and Typica Coffee Varieties

Bourbon coffee was first cultivated on Réunion Island, which was known as Île Bourbon until 1789. Put simply, Bourbon is a coffee variety belonging to a branch of the Arabica species. It typically produces red fruit, and is therefore known as Red Bourbon. There are also Yellow Bourbon and Orange Bourbon; Yellow Bourbon yields relatively less but delivers superior quality.

Typica is one of the oldest varieties among the many Arabica types. Also known as old-variety small-bean coffee, Typica has low yields and is difficult to cultivate, which makes its price much higher than that of ordinary small-bean coffee. Typica originated in Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan, and is the most widely cultivated coffee variety in the Western Hemisphere.

Processing Method

Processing method: semi-washed

Himalaya Estate

Himalaya Estate lies in the renowned Santa Ana growing region, in the Apaneca mountain range, with the estate sitting at an altitude of about 1,500 meters and its coffee plots spread between 1,580 and 1,720 meters. It is one of the few estates managed by Aida Batlle. The primary variety cultivated here is Bourbon.

The coffee from this estate is washed at the El Divisadero processing plant in Ataco and marketed under the name of Mauricio Salaverria, then dried evenly on African raised beds with sun and ventilation. Mauricio inherited the business from his parents and grandparents, grew up around coffee from childhood, and is especially devoted to specialty coffee cultivation.

Brewing Instructions

For hand-poured El Salvador coffee, use 15 g of coffee and a medium grind (Fuji ghost-tooth grinder, setting #4) in a V60 dripper, with water at 88-89°C. First pour 30 g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour up to 105 g and stop. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to about halfway, then continue pouring slowly until you reach 225 g. Avoid the tail end of the extraction. The water-to-coffee ratio is 1:15, and the total extraction time is 2:00.

Flavor Profile

Flavor description: red-wine acidity, plum, brown sugar, a full-bodied mouthfeel, and a long aftertaste.

Coffee Information

El Salvador Finca Himalaya

Country: El Salvador
Estate: Himalaya Estate
Region: Santa Ana
Altitude: 1,580-1,720 meters
Varieties: Red Bourbon, Typica
Processing Plant: El Divisadero
Flavor: Plum, brown sugar, red-wine acidity

About Project Origin

Sasa Sestic, the 2015 World Barista Champion, began a green-bean sourcing project called Project Origin three years ago together with his business team at ONA Coffee. The project works directly with coffee-farming families in poor countries and regions, improving their production conditions and paying them purchase prices 20% higher than fair-trade prices.

The project was also intended to strengthen the connection between roasters and coffee farmers and to guide farmers in cultivating high-quality coffee. To date, Sasa has built relationships with coffee growers in eight countries, including Brazil, Panama, India, Ethiopia, El Salvador, and Costa Rica.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The varieties at the heart of this article — Bourbon and Typica — both trace their lineage back to Ethiopia, and there is no better place to taste that heritage than in FrontStreet Coffee's washed Yirgacheffe, the classic entry point into Ethiopian specialty coffee. It is famous for its clear white jasmine florals, bright citrus acidity, and clean tea-like body, and it drinks like a crisp, refreshing glass of lemon tea. For a small-lot expression of the same region's florality, FrontStreet Coffee's Guodingding cooperative coffee comes from the Worka area at the southeastern edge of Yirgacheffe: roughly 300 member farmers who established their own independent single-origin cooperative in 2012, and the cup shows citrus and lemon with an elegant white-floral lift. If you'd rather explore Ethiopia's dry-processed side, FrontStreet Coffee's Natural Red Cherry delivers peach, cocoa, honey, and lemon from fully ripe cherries dried on raised beds. All of these are roasted light to protect the delicate aromatics, so brew with 15 g of coffee at a 1:15 ratio and water around 90-91°C.