El Salvador Santa Ana Volcano Region | Santa Elena Estate SHG Pacamara and Bourbon Flavor Differences

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El Salvador Santa Ana Volcano Region | What are the Flavor Differences Between Finca Santa Elena's SHG Pacamara and Bourbon Varieties?

Among the various producing countries in Central America, El Salvador is arguably the smallest in terms of land area. Although its production volume is much lower compared to other countries, the Pacific sea breeze and volcanic environment provide El Salvador's coffee farmers with unique cultivation advantages and diverse flavor expressions. Currently, the Pacamara variety, which consistently wins in numerous cupping competitions, was born in El Salvador.

Among El Salvador's various producing regions, the one with advantages in soil quality and cultivation altitude is the Santa Ana Volcano, located west of the capital at an altitude of 2,381 meters. The Santa Ana Volcano, still in an active state, erupted in 2005. Although it caused significant economic losses and some casualties for local coffee farmers that year, the subsequent organic volcanic ash provided extremely rich nutrient sources for the local soil. To this day, Santa Ana is still recognized as one of El Salvador's best producing regions.

Within the Santa Ana region, Finca Santa Elena is one of the few estates at the highest altitude. The estate is currently managed by Mr. Fernando Lima, now in his third generation as the estate owner. Mr. Fernando has over 30 years of coffee cultivation experience since his youth. The estate primarily grows Bourbon and Pacamara varieties. Mr. Fernando adheres to the principle of maintaining environmental diversity in his cultivation philosophy. Upon entering the estate, one can immediately feel the difference from other Salvadoran estates. The estate maintains a very pristine native forest environment, while Mr. Fernando has also retained a high proportion of old Bourbon coffee trees, some even over 15 years old. For the estate owner, these coffee trees represent the culmination of hard work and maintenance, and he won't cut them down despite their older age and lower yield. Although these old Bourbon trees produce fewer beans, they反而 provide better cupping flavors.

Traditionally, Salvadoran coffee farmers have not handled the coffee fruit drying process with great care, and their equipment is relatively simple. However, Mr. Fernando continuously updates many equipment in the processing plant, making Finca Santa Elena one of the few estates in El Salvador that uses African drying beds for natural processing of coffee fruits. Although using African drying beds often extends the drying time, it can improve the coffee's cleanliness and sweetness performance.

Additionally, Mr. Fernando began establishing his own wet processing station 15 years ago. With his own wet processing station, the estate owner can control subsequent processes and conduct more detailed honey processing batch experiments. At Finca Santa Elena, after harvesting red coffee cherries, Mr. Fernando doesn't immediately proceed with pulping or natural drying. Instead, he first places the red cherries in clean water tanks at the processing plant for resting to enhance the coffee's sweetness expression before proceeding with subsequent processing.

Previously, although many excellent washed batch coffees could be found in El Salvador, their performance in sweetness and body richness was somewhat inferior compared to other countries. Finca Santa Elena is one of the few estates in El Salvador with experience in honey processing and natural processing. Mr. Fernando, the estate owner, is almost obsessively meticulous about every detail of honey processing and natural processing. These efforts have enabled Finca Santa Elena to win seven C.O.E. competitions since 2003, and twice place in the top ten of the Central American competition organized by the Rainforest Alliance.

Finca Santa Elena Pacamara Washed

Country: El Salvador
Region: Santa Ana Volcano
Altitude: 1,850M
Processing Method: Washed
Grade: SHG
Variety: Pacamara
Flavor Description: Starfruit, pickled plum, fruit juice, spices, white sugar sweetness, smooth mouthfeel

Finca Santa Elena Pacamara Natural

Country: El Salvador
Region: Santa Ana Volcano
Altitude: 1,850M
Processing Method: Natural Processing
Grade: SHG
Variety: Pacamara
Flavor Description: Apricot, citrus, tropical fruits, clean and full-bodied mouthfeel

Finca Santa Elena Bourbon Natural

Country: El Salvador
Region: Santa Ana Volcano
Altitude: 1,850M
Processing Method: Natural Processing
Grade: SHG
Variety: Bourbon
Flavor Description: Grape, sweet fermented rice, roasted nuts, dark chocolate, full body, excellent sweetness

Finca Santa Elena Bourbon Washed

Country: El Salvador
Region: Santa Ana Volcano
Altitude: 1,850M
Processing Method: Washed
Grade: SHG
Variety: Bourbon
Flavor Description: Plum, bay leaf, nut biscuits, excellent cleanliness, viscous mouthfeel

Finca Santa Elena Bourbon Honey

Country: El Salvador
Region: Santa Ana Volcano
Altitude: 1,850M
Processing Method: Honey Processing
Grade: SHG
Variety: Bourbon
Flavor Description: Dried fruit, maple syrup, roasted hazelnuts, full and balanced body

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing:

Dripper: Hario V60
Water Temperature: 90°C
Grind Size: Fuji Mini Mill setting 3.5
Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, 15g coffee grounds. First pour 25g water for 25s bloom. Second pour to 120g, then pause. Wait until the water level drops to halfway, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g total. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: Using a three-stage brewing method to clearly define the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, pausing during pouring can extend the extraction time.

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