Is El Salvador Santa Rita Coffee Delicious? El Salvador Coffee Brewing Methods

Processing Method

Washed processing

About Yellow Bourbon

Yellow Bourbon is a coffee variety that produces yellow cherries when ripe. It was first discovered in Brazil and is now grown there primarily. It is generally believed to have originated from a mutation resulting from hybridization between the red-fruited Bourbon variety and a yellow-fruited Typica variant known as "Amerelo de Botocatu." Yellow Bourbon is considered one of the most exceptional varieties. Where typical Bourbon cherries turn from green to yellow to red, Yellow Bourbon cherries remain yellow throughout their ripening. Grown at high altitude and processed by natural sun-drying, Yellow Bourbon produces exceptionally flavorful coffee.

El Salvador Santa Rita Yellow Bourbon Washed SHG EP

Coffee Details

Country: El Salvador

Estate: Santa Rita Estate

Region: Santa Rita

Grade: SHG

Rating: 94 points - Coffee Review, February 2012

Santa Rita Estate is located in the northern part of the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range at approximately 5,000 feet above sea level. Santa Ana Volcano (Volcan Santa Ana in Spanish) sits in southwestern El Salvador, in Santa Ana Province, and is the country's highest peak (2,362-2,381 meters). The estate is also a model for coffee production in El Salvador.

Variety: Yellow Bourbon

Flavor Notes: Wheatgrass, roasted nuts, maltose

About El Salvador Coffee

El Salvador is one of the smaller countries in Central America. Its local coffee is characterized by a light body, aromatic quality, pure taste, and slight acidity. Its standout feature is excellent balance, which makes it a specialty of Central America, holding equal measures of acidity, bitterness, and sweetness.

El Salvador coffee ranks alongside Mexico and Guatemala as a major producer in the region and competes with other countries for the top one or two positions in Central America. High-altitude varieties produce large, uniformly sized beans with a rich, mild flavor. Like Guatemala and Costa Rica, El Salvador grades its coffee by altitude, where higher altitude means better coffee. It is divided into three grades: SHB (strictly high grown) for high altitude, HEC (high grown central) for medium-high altitude, and CS (central standard) for low altitude. The best-known brand is Pipil, the Aztec-Mayan name for coffee, which has received certification from the Organic Certified Institute of America.

Tasting Profile

The flavor features wheatgrass, roasted nuts, and maltose, with a smooth milky creaminess, rounded acidity, brown sugar sweetness, and nutty chocolate notes.

Brewing Method

Hand-pour brewing for Santa Rita: 15g of coffee, medium grind (using a Fuji demon teeth grinder at setting 4), a V60 dripper, and a water temperature of 88-89°C. First pour 30g of water for a 27-second bloom, then pour to 105g and pause. Wait until the water level drops to halfway, then slowly pour until reaching 225g total. Avoid the tail end. Water-to-coffee ratio of 1:15, extraction time 2:00.

Product Information

Shelf Life: 90 days

Net Weight: 227g

Packaging: Bulk coffee beans

Roast Level: Roasted coffee beans

Origin: El Salvador

Roast Degree: Medium roast

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Since this article centers on Yellow Bourbon, the closest match in FrontStreet Coffee's lineup is the Brazil Queen Estate Yellow Bourbon. Grown in Mogiana on fertile red volcanic soil, it is a rare Yellow Bourbon, a genetic mutation of red Bourbon, so it offers a cleaner fruit character. Through pour-over, moka pot, or a home espresso machine, it reveals a sugarcane-like sweetness found in no other region, alongside fruit and chocolate notes.

For a side-by-side comparison with red Bourbon, try FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Cerrado Red Bourbon. Cerrado is a well-known Brazilian region prized for high-quality beans, and medium roasted it shows rich aromas of creamy peanut, toasted bread, caramel, and hazelnut, with a rounded body, no acidity, and a light bitterness, working equally well as pour-over or espresso.