El Salvador - La Concordia Harmony Farm Natural Process Pacas & Bourbon Flavor Profile

Flavor Profile of El Salvador - La Concordia Farm Natural Process Pacas and Bourbon

El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America, rich in natural ecosystems and diverse species. Coffee cultivation began as early as 1740, and coffee became the main crop in most regions. The country's infrastructure is well developed, and its farmers bring immense passion and professional expertise to producing high-quality coffee that thrives in export markets. As Salvadorans say, "One sip of Salvadoran coffee will make you smile."

Coffee is harvested only once a year, between November and February, with new-crop beans typically reaching foreign markets between June and August. In El Salvador, 60% of the coffee is Bourbon—including orange, pink, and red Bourbon—and the country is the origin of the Pacas and Pacamara varieties. La Concordia Farm is a small-yield estate with long-term partnerships with international coffee merchants; information about this lot can be traced to the BN-14 code on the bean bags and the documentation provided by foreign merchants, identifying it as natural process coffee from La Concordia Farm.

The natural process beans from Concordia Farm are of exceptional quality. "Concordia" means "harmony" in Spanish. The farm, together with the Sincuyo Shangri-La cooperative farm, belongs to the ACOES cooperative in the Tacuba region. In 2008 it received Fair Trade certification, establishing closer collaboration and procurement models. Fair Trade funding protects natural resources and builds better infrastructure—offices, warehouses, farmer kitchens, and ecological processing facilities—ultimately improving livelihoods for all members. There are currently 19 members, certified by North America's UCRAPROBEX and Germany's BCS, and the farm is now part of the Good Farms program under H.I.U.

Farm Information

Farm Name: La Concordia (Concordia Farm)

Farmer: Expresso S.A. de C.V.

City: Tacuba

Region: Volcan de San Salvador (San Salvador Volcanic Region)

Country: El Salvador

Farm Size: 19 small coffee farmers

Coffee Growing Area: 34 hectares

Altitude: 1,250 - 1,400 meters

Annual Precipitation: 2,500 - 2,700 mm

Soil: Volcanic clay

Type of Shade Trees: 48 species of shade trees

Certification: Fair Trade, Germany BCS, North America UCRAPROBEX

Coffee Characteristics

Variety: Arabica, Bourbon and Pacas

Processing System: Natural processing, African raised beds

Appearance: 17-18 screen

Top Jury Descriptions: Cupped at cinnamon roast level (60 seconds after first crack begins)

Aroma/Flavor: Pineapple, mango, strawberry, banana, vanilla, honey, guava, fruit ice cream, milk, chocolate

Acidity: Plum, prune, peach, blueberry; low complexity, mild low acidity, without the traditional Salvadoran tartaric edge

Complexity and Other Notes: Very sweet, with honey-cake sweetness, no earthy flavors; a fruit-forward, mellow character in which every flavor note is fruity and sweet. Tender mouthfeel, clear with smooth texture, the tropical-fruit sweetness of pineapple and guava dominating the aftertaste.

Flavor Profile: Fruity and very sweet, with banana and pineapple most prominent. The intertwined green-bean aromas of banana, pineapple, passion fruit, and sorghum wine are an olfactory delight, and the final aftertaste lingers like the afterglow of a sunset—somewhat intoxicating.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommended Brewing

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5

Brewing Method: 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio with 15g of coffee. First pour: 25g of water, 25-second bloom. Second pour: up to 120g, then pause. Wait until the water level drops to half, then continue slow pouring to 225g total. Total extraction time: around 2:00.

Analysis: The three-stage method clearly expresses the front, middle, and back-end flavors. Because the V60's many ribs drain quickly, pausing during the pour helps extend extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Natural processing is the oldest and still the most widespread way to prepare coffee: ripe cherries are dried whole in the sun until moisture reaches target, then hulled. Because the intact fruit ferments and dries around the bean, naturals show higher body and abundant ripe-fruit character. (FrontStreet's natural Red Cherry from Yirgacheffe—only fully ripe red cherries, sun-dried on raised beds away from soil-borne pests and dust with regular turning—roasted medium-light, shows elegant florals, bright acidity, tropical fruit, full fermentation sweetness, needing the 27-30 consecutive sunny days Ethiopia's high, dry climate delivers.) If the Concordia lot above has you craving more natural sweetness, the FrontStreet Huakui (Blossom) from Sidamo, Ethiopia, is a signature natural processed at very high altitude: medium-light roasted, it pours into light fermentation notes, florals, citrus, and mango, with honeyed sweetness, a hint of cocoa and spice, thick body, and a long finish. For a New-World take, the FrontStreet 2013 Natural Yunnan arabica, grown by FrontStreet's own estate where sunny days coincide with the harvest in this two-season land, balances berry-like acidity with dried apricot, brown sugar, and a gentle tea note—slightly sweeter than a conventional washed coffee. And the FrontStreet Fazenda Rainha from Brazil dries whole cherries on drying racks with constant turning before mechanical finishing, yielding fresh sugarcane juice sweetness, black tea, nutty depth, gentle clean bitterness, and rich chocolate.