Santa Rita Estate Pacas Coffee Introduction - El Salvador Coffee Varieties

Coffee Details

Region: Volcan Santa Ana

Producer: Santa Rita Estate

Altitude: 1400M

Varieties: Bourbon, Catimor, Pacas

Processing Method: Fully washed

Grade: SHG

Harvest Period: November to February of the following year

Certification: Rainforest Alliance

Flavor Notes: Peanut brittle, pine nuts, almonds, sugar-roasted chestnuts, the sweetness of oolong tea, and the sweet aroma of Bourbon varieties.

About El Salvador Coffee

El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. According to the historical record, coffee cultivation there began around 1740. Today, 8% of the country's land is devoted to shade-grown coffee. Shade cultivation lets the beans ripen evenly and raises their mucilage content, which means greater bean weight and more opportunity for sweet polyphenols to form, so the main components of the bean can develop fully. Coffee trees exposed to too much direct sun, by contrast, develop curled leaf edges, lose water, photosynthesize poorly, absorb less carbon dioxide, and build less sugar. El Salvador's cherries are harvested just once a year, concentrated between November and February. More than 60% of the varieties grown are of Bourbon lineage, and El Salvador is the primary country of origin for the Pacas and Pacamara varieties. The country's grading system is based on cultivation altitude across three levels: Lowland CS (500-900M), Highland HG (900-1200M), and Strictly High Grown SHG (1200M+).

Santa Rita Estate

The estate takes its name from an Italian nun it commemorates. Located in the Ilamatepec volcanic region, Santa Rita benefits from fertile volcanic soil that provides ideal conditions for coffee cultivation. Every coffee tree grows under shade, and those shade trees double as habitat for local wildlife. The coffee is 100% hand-harvested, with pickers selecting only fully mature cherries at their deep red best.

Brewing Recommendation

FrontStreet Coffee recommends brewing this coffee at 88°C, a temperature that brings out its nutty and almond flavors along with the oolong tea aftertaste.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If the washed, nut-sweet profile of Santa Rita appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's washed specialty lineup offers two excellent companions. FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 is itself a washed coffee born of necessity — Jamaica's short island sunshine made fast, thorough processing essential — and the result is a luminous, low-defect bean that brews into a perfectly balanced cup of hazelnut, cream, chocolate, and caramel, with no single note overpowering the rest. For a brighter take on washing, try FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Guodingding Cooperative: washed processing shows off its jasmine florals and vivid citrus acidity, and a medium-light roast adds green tea and honey tones. Together they show how the same fully washed method can produce either plush sweetness or sparkling clarity.