Salvadoran Coffee Beans Flavor Profile: What Makes Pour-Over Salvadoran Coffee Special

Salvadoran coffee holds a significant position in South America, serving as one of the origins of improved honey processing alongside Costa Rica. FrontStreet Coffee summarizes Salvadoran coffee's flavor profile as overall gentle, with subtle acidity and pleasant sweetness. It also possesses aromatic flavors with a slight sourness, extremely smooth, and pure without any off-notes.

Salvadoran Coffee Distribution

El Salvador is one of the smaller countries in Central America with a very dense population. Its coffee's distinctive characteristic is excellent balance. Like Guatemala and Costa Rica, Salvadoran coffee is graded by altitude - the higher the altitude, the better the coffee.

Salvadoran coffee beans are mainly grown in five producing regions, mostly distributed on volcanic ash-covered mountain slopes or plateau areas above 1,200 meters altitude. The coffee harvesting season runs from October to March of the following year. Since coffee thrives in mild climates, Salvadoran coffee trees are primarily grown under the shade of tall trees (shade grown coffee) to avoid excessive temperatures and direct sunlight exposure that could affect coffee bean quality. Salvadoran coffee beans belong to the Arabica species, with Pacas and Bourbon as the main varieties. They are large beans with sweet flavor and excellent taste.

Santa Ana Volcano Region

Among Salvadoran producing regions, the Santa Ana volcano area, located west of the capital at an altitude of 2,381 meters, has advantages in soil quality and growing altitude. The Santa Ana volcano, still active, erupted in 2005. Although it caused significant economic losses for local coffee farmers and some casualties that year, the subsequent nutrient-rich volcanic ash provided abundant nutrients to the local soil. To this day, Santa Ana remains recognized as one of El Salvador's best producing regions.

FrontStreet Coffee El Salvador Santa Ana Chocolate Lover

Coffee Country: El Salvador
Coffee Region: Santa Ana
Coffee Estate: El Guayabo (Chocolate Lover)
Growing Altitude: 1450m
Coffee Variety: Bourbon
Processing Method: 50% Washed + 50% Honey
Grade: SHB
Harvest Season: 2020

Estate Introduction

Chocolate Lover Estate is located in the Santa Ana volcanic region of El Salvador, at an altitude of 1,300-1,500 meters on the mountainside of the volcanic zone. With abundant moisture and many microclimates, the coffee grown here develops very delicate flavors. This farm primarily grows Bourbon variety, extending across the entire mountainside. Due to the well-preserved original forest in this area, various birds, reptiles, and other wildlife from nearby often visit the coffee plantation.

The estate owner uses jungle-style cultivation, preserving many native tree species as shade trees, which also provides suitable habitats for wildlife, demonstrating care for the Earth's environment. The estate also cares about farmers' lives, distributing bonuses during different festivals to help farmers live better lives.

Coffee Varieties

Bourbon is a variety that naturally mutated from Typica, belonging to the oldest existing coffee varieties alongside Typica. When green fruits ripen, they present bright red color. Compared to Typica, Bourbon plants have broader leaves and grow more densely. Although the yield is higher than Typica, the harvest period is still 2 years, making it a low-yield variety.

Bourbon coffee beans have excellent quality with better aroma and bright acidity, sweet aftertaste, and taste somewhat like red wine.

Processing Method

Chocolate Lover Estate presents this coffee bean using different processing methods. 50% honey processing and 50% washed processing are blended locally in El Salvador to create this uniquely flavored single-origin coffee. Using 100% Bourbon variety with two different processing methods makes the coffee's flavor more multi-layered and the mouthfeel richer.

In terms of processing methods, honey processing involves transporting coffee beans to a honey processing station at about 800 meters altitude. The advantage of processing at lower altitudes is that clouds and fog are less likely to form here, with sufficient sunlight and strong UV rays, allowing coffee beans to absorb enough heat energy and develop excellent aroma. Additionally, honey processing coffee in such conditions allows the coffee cherries to dry thoroughly in a short time, presenting more solid flavors.

Washed processing utilizes the abundant water resources in this region to give the coffee a very clean taste. This single-estate coffee bean, created using such a mixed processing method, is the estate owner's way of expressing flavors of chocolate, cocoa, and nut cream, hence the special name "Chocolate Lover."

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Analysis

When FrontStreet Coffee's roaster received this El Salvador Santa Ana green bean, they observed that the beans had high density. During roasting, they used medium heat to extend the bean's dehydration time. After the first crack, they appropriately extended the caramelization reaction to make the bean's sweetness more prominent in the flavor profile.

Yangjia 800N Roaster (300g batch size)

Heat at 180°C into the drum, flame power 125, damper opening 3; Return temperature point at 1'39", when furnace temperature reaches 140°C, adjust damper to 3.5, flame power to 100; At 151.2°C, bean surface turns yellow, grassy smell completely disappears, entering dehydration stage. When furnace temperature reaches 156°C, adjust flame power to 80, damper unchanged. When furnace temperature reaches 166°C, adjust flame power to 50, damper unchanged. After first crack, adjust damper to 5. At 8'38", bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, toast aroma clearly transforms to coffee aroma, can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the first crack sound. First crack starts at 9'25", damper opens to 5. After first crack, develop for 2 minutes, discharge at 194.1°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Guide

Filter: V60
Dose: 15g
Water Temperature: 88-90°C
Ratio: 1:15
Grind Size: Fine sugar (80% pass-through rate on China standard #20 sieve), i.e., medium-fine grind

FrontStreet Coffee Pour-over Technique

Segmented extraction. Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom. When pouring to 125g with small water flow in circular motion, perform segmentation. When water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. Wait for water level to drop and is about to expose the coffee bed, then remove the filter cup. (Timing starts from bloom) Extraction time: 2'00".

FrontStreet Coffee Hand-pour Flavor

Smells of fruity and nutty aroma. Entry reveals nuts, cream, caramel, with berry and citrus acidity in the aftertaste. Overall mouthfeel is quite balanced.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473