El Salvador Santa Ana Region Apaneca | Las Ranas Washed Bourbon SHB

What are the flavor characteristics of the washed Bourbon SHB from Las Ranas "Mountain Frog" farm in the Santa Ana region of El Salvador?

El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. Coffee is the main crop in most regions, but don't let its size fool you. About 60% of the country's coffee is Bourbon—including orange, pink, and red Bourbon. Most Salvadoran farms are medium-sized, and the farmers behind them bring enormous passion and professional expertise to their work.

The Las Ranas growers farm on a mountain-top lagoon in the volcanic zone of the Apaneca-Llamatepec range in western El Salvador. Over the years the farm has developed its own cultural practices, from pruning coffee trees and shade trees to weed control and upgrading farm equipment. All of it is still done by traditional methods, and finding workers nearby is extremely difficult: after the 2005 Santa Ana volcanic eruption, only 2 people remained living near the farm. Even so, this has been a bountiful harvest year, with beans slowly drawing nutrients from the volcanic soil at high altitude, helped along by elegant sea breezes, abundant sunshine, and a cool, dry cloud belt—conditions that create flavors you rarely find anywhere else.

"Las Ranas" means "mountain frog" in the local indigenous language. The environment here is treated with great respect, and both harvesting and processing follow Rainforest Alliance guidance. This is a Salvadoran coffee from November 2012—a batch of washed green beans that delivers a rich, dazzling, and unexpectedly exotic experience.

Property Characteristics

Farm Name: Las Ranas "Mountain Frog" Farm

Grade: S.H.B

City: Apaneca-Llamatepec

Region: Santa Ana Volcano

Country: El Salvador

Altitude: 1,600 meters

Coffee Characteristics

Variety: Bourbon

Processing Method: Washed

Flowering Period: June - August

Harvest Period: November - January (annual harvest between November and January of the following year)

Aroma/Flavor: Nuts, jasmine flowers, Asian pear, pineapple, toffee, honey, milk candy

Acidity: Plum, orange, vibrant acidity

Complexity & Others: Complex tropical fruits, super clean mouthfeel, jasmine aroma, a complete sweet aftertaste

Flavor: Tropical fruits, clean, beautiful jasmine aftertaste

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing:

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, using 15g of coffee grounds. First pour 25g of water for a 25s bloom. Second pour to 120g, then pause. Wait until the water level in the coffee bed drops halfway before pouring again. Pour slowly until you reach 225g total. Extraction time approximately 2:00.

Analysis: A three-stage pour clearly separates the front, middle, and back-end flavors of the coffee. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, pausing during the pour helps extend the extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

This washed Bourbon is a great example of the clarity a good wash can bring, and if that clean, floral style appeals to you, FrontStreet Coffee's washed lineup is a good place to keep exploring. Take FrontStreet Yirgacheffe Gedingding Cooperative: because growers in the area produce small volumes, they send their cherries to a cooperative for centralized processing, and Gedingding is one of the standout teams. Its washed processing draws out jasmine florals and bright citrus acidity to the fullest, and after a medium-light roast the cup shows green tea and honey notes.

If you like more fruit in your washed coffee, FrontStreet Kenya Little Tomato is one of the best-known examples. Kenya is famous for its double-washed process, and the repeated soaking and rinsing pushes the juice-like quality to the extreme—think cherry tomato, smoked plum, Asian pear, black plum, and yellow sugar, with a sweet, tangy, juicy body.

For something softer and more classic, FrontStreet Jamaica Blue Mountain No.1 represents washed coffee through and through. Jamaica's island climate means fewer sunshine hours than most origins, so washing—removing the skin, pulp, and mucilage before drying—was developed to cut down the moisture wrapped around the bean and shorten drying time. The result is a translucent bean with a low defect rate and a coffee with a rich aroma and a pure, balanced character of hazelnut, cream, chocolate, and caramel, with no single note dominating the others.