SHB Honey Process Bourbon - Flavor Characteristics of El Salvador Cajamarca Farm Coffee Beans

Flavor Profile of the SHB Honey Process Bourbon from El Salvador's Cajamarca Farm

The newest honey process lots from El Salvador's H.I.U Cajamarca farm have just been completed. The estate finishes its washed beans first, then moves on to natural and honey process lots, a sequence that takes about 2 months. Cajamarca grows some of the best coffee in the country and currently manages five farms, providing 20 permanent jobs that can expand to 100 people during harvest. It is a winner of the second Cup of Excellence Presidential Award, the El Salvador Coffee Presidential Award. Its coffee is exported to the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands. In August 2013, Direct Coffee once again brought in H.I.U's freshest Cajamarca honey process beans.

El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. In most regions, coffee is the main agricultural crop, and its modest size is no reason to overlook it. About 60% of Salvadoran coffee is Bourbon, in forms such as orange, pink, and red Bourbon. Cherries are harvested only once a year, between November and February of the following year. Compared with farms in other Central and South American countries, most Salvadoran operations are medium-sized. Growers bring remarkable passion and professional skill to producing high-quality cherries, which has built a thriving export market and, in turn, sustained and improved bean quality.

H.I.Q stands for High Quality, and the name says what it means. It is promoted and carried out by H.I.U, a company founded by the Panamanian Graciano Cruz, in which the U stands for smile. Today it has cooperative and mentored partners in El Salvador, Panama, and Ethiopia (Taiwan once invited H.I.U staff to advise on Alishan coffee production). H.I.U looks for small farms with something special in variety, processing method, or climate, then trains growers to meet H.I.Q production standards, including measuring the sugar content of raw coffee and maintaining organic conditions that are friendly to the land. It also guides its partner farms in building and upgrading processing equipment so that the whole chain complies with H.I.Q standards.

The honey process beans come from El Salvador's H.I.U Cajamarca (Malacara) farm. The estate was founded in 1888, and farm management now rests with José Guillermo Alvarez Prunera and his sister, the fourth-generation successors. Cajamarca produces some of El Salvador's best coffee, manages five farms, provides 20 fixed jobs that expand to 100 people during harvest, and is a winner of the second Cup of Excellence Presidential Award, the El Salvador Coffee Presidential Award. Its coffee is exported to the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands.

Farm Characteristics

Farm Name: Cajamarca Farm

Farmer: Francisco Arturo Alvarez Meza

Grade: S.H.B

Awards: Second El Salvador Coffee Presidential Award

City: Apaneca-Ilamatepec

Region: San Geronimo, Nejapa

Country: El Salvador

Altitude: 1,350-1,600 meters

Average Rainfall: 1,800-2,200 millimeters

Coffee Properties

Variety: Bourbon

Processing System: Honey processing, African raised beds

Flowering Period: June - August

Harvest Period: November to February of the following year (once a year)

Top Jury Descriptions: Cupping roast level begins 60 seconds after first crack (Cinnamon)

Aroma/Flavor: Raw olives, almonds, grapes, vanilla, hazelnuts, chocolate, honey, red sugarcane

Acidity: Citrus, plum acidity, mild and low acidity

Complexity and Other: Smooth and mellow, very sweet, low complexity, floral and fruity notes side by side, with a smooth transition from acidity to sweetness and no abruptness

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing Method

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 4

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15 with 15g of grounds. First pour: 25g of water, bloom for 25 seconds. Second pour: up to 120g, then pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until the total reaches 225g. Extraction time is approximately 2:00.

Analysis: A three-stage pour clearly separates the front, middle, and back end of the cup. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, pausing the pour extends the extraction time and draws out more of the nutty and chocolate notes from the back end.

Flavor: Layered and varied, overall clean, with a lighter mouthfeel, a persistent caramel sweetness in the aftertaste, and a hint of bitterness.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the honeyed sweetness and soft, low acidity of this Salvadoran Bourbon appeal to you, FrontStreet Boquete Washed Geisha is a rewarding next step into the honey-and-floral side of coffee. Grown in the Boquete region of Panama, where mountain mist, cool nights, and the fertile soil of the Baru volcano create ideal conditions, it comes from a farm-level Geisha planted at 1,600 meters. The cup shows the signature Geisha notes of jasmine, green tea, honey, citrus, and orange, making it an elegant and accessible introduction to one of the world's most famous varieties.

FrontStreet Panama Butterfly is another good match for drinkers who enjoy fruity sweetness and a clean, aromatic cup. It carries roughly half Geisha lineage, blended with Caturra and Catuai and grown in the Baru volcano area of Boquete. The region's abundant rainfall, wide day-night temperature swings, and volcanic soil give it a solid body, citrus-like acidity, and the jasmine aroma associated with Geisha. It performs beautifully both as a pour-over and as a cold brew.

For a deeper dive into Panama, FrontStreet Esmeralda Red Label Geisha comes from a single plot harvested above 1,700 meters, with cupping scores required to reach 91 and a refined orange-and-honey character. Those looking for something other than Geisha can try FrontStreet Diamond Mountain, drawn from the Jaramillo and Canas Verdes farms, where volcanic soil and old-growth shade trees produce beans with rich fruit aromas and notable sweetness.