El Salvador Coffee - Campanilla Estate Single-Origin Coffee Bean Recommendation - The World's Best Coffee

Profile Overview

Country: El Salvador

City: Santa Ana

Region: Apaneca-Ilamatepec

Estate Name: La Campanula Estate

Owner: Sociadad Lima Y Socios

Estate Area: 35 hectares

Altitude: 1750 meters

Cultivated Varieties: Bourbon and Kenya varieties

Processing Method: Traditional washed, with final drying on African beds in the sun

Harvesting Method: Manual selective harvesting by ripeness and batch

Harvest Period: April 2017

Dry Aroma: Sweet berries, cane sugar, and herbal vanilla notes

Wet Aroma: Cream, walnut, and cane sugar sweetness

Cupping Notes: Cane sugar sweetness with chocolate, cream, herbal vanilla, sweet lime, and melon. FrontStreet Coffee recommends this pour-over coffee bean.

The description "by the turquoise lake stand great trees, with the cool mist of the breeze gently caressing the cheeks, carrying the sweet fruit fragrance from nearby vineyards, accompanied by mouthwatering citrus and herbal vanilla aromas" fits this batch of La Campanula coffee perfectly.

La Campanula Estate is a high-altitude estate in El Salvador. Sitting above 1650 meters, its exclusive competition batch is cultivated at 1750 meters above sea level, and it is a frequent Cup of Excellence (CoE) winner. What really interests people is its Kenya-variety flavor profile.

The Lima family has run coffee plantations across El Salvador's major producing regions since 1900, accumulating more than a century of practical experience and producing some of the world's finest coffee.

The Lima family acquired this pristine forest in the 1990s. At the time, La Campanula Estate was still wild country, rich in native plants and cool-forest trees. Because so few people came through and the land sits close to a national park, it became a wildlife sanctuary. On my first visit in 2008, the estate owner still carried a handgun when leaving Santa Ana City. A volcanic eruption had blocked the original route, forcing a detour, and the gun was for self-protection and for handling unexpected situations. Seeing the familiar 45-caliber pistol, I didn't ask more, and we set off. The mountain path had changeable weather, and by the time we reached the estate we were already in misty rain.

Because of the high altitude and cold climate, the coffee trees yield relatively little. Most of the planting is Bourbon and Typica, which suit this altitude and stand up better to wind. There are also small amounts of the Kenya SL variety, which is particularly adapted to high altitudes and rainy conditions, along with the large-bean Pacamara that has become increasingly popular in Central America in recent years.

La Campanula Estate sits in the Santa Ana volcanic region. Because the volcano still erupts periodically, volcanic ash frequently covers the area, leaving the estate soil quite fertile. Santa Ana Volcano is famous and significant. When people discuss high-altitude specialty coffee estates in El Salvador, Santa Ana inevitably comes up. It is a conical stratovolcano. The 2005 eruption frightened many people; that event even produced falling rocks larger than trucks, causing casualties among mountain residents and severely damaging coffee plantations in the affected areas. Fortunately, harvest conditions were excellent the following year, and quality in the high-altitude areas was exceptional. La Campanula Estate belongs to this group of estates in the region as well.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

El Salvador's high-altitude estates are known for balance and clarity, and Central American single-origins are a fine place to chase that profile. The FrontStreet Strawberry Candy combines Costa Rica honey-processed coffee with Panama washed Geisha; brewed on a V60 it gives rose, citrus, grape, and dried blueberry notes, and turns to strawberry soft candy once milk is added. For a more classical pour-over expression, the FrontStreet Panama Esmeralda Red Label Geisha offers elegant jasmine, citrus, bergamot, and black tea with a clean, transparent body and a long finish. Both reward the quick, even extraction a V60 delivers.