Characteristics and Story of El Salvador Chivas Estate Coffee | How to Brew Salvadoran Coffee Beans?

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Unique, Mild-Flavored El Salvador Coffee Beans

El Salvador is one of the small countries in Central America with a very dense population. The flavor characteristic of El Salvador coffee beans is extremely well-balanced. Today, this coffee accounts for 40% of the country's total exports. The highest quality coffee is exported from January to March, with 35% of the strictly hard beans going to Germany.

Historical Challenges and Economic Impact

In the early 1990s, guerrilla warfare severely damaged the country's national economy, causing coffee production to decline from 3.5 million bags in the early 1970s to 2.5 million bags in 1990-1991. The eastern part of the country was most affected by the guerrilla warfare, forcing many farmers and workers to leave their plantations. Capital shortages caused a sharp decline in coffee production, from the previous yield of 1,200 kg per hectare to today's yield of less than 900 kg per hectare.

Additionally, in 1986, the government imposed an additional 15% tariff on coffee exports, meaning an extra 15% tax on top of the existing 30% tax. The taxes, combined with unfavorable exchange rates, caused an extreme reduction in coffee exports, and quality also declined. The government finally recognized the significant role of coffee in the national economy, such as solving employment, earning foreign exchange, and developing agriculture, so in 1990, it partially privatized the coffee export industry, hoping to increase the return rate of coffee in the export market.

Regional Coffee Characteristics and Varieties

El Salvador coffee beans are a specialty of Central America. The local coffee is light-bodied, aromatic, pure, and slightly acidic. Like Guatemala and Costa Rica, El Salvador's coffee is graded according to altitude - the higher the altitude, the better the coffee. The best brand is Pipil, which is the Aztec-Mayan name for coffee. It has obtained certification from the Organic Certified Institute of America.

Another rare coffee is Pacamara coffee, which is a hybrid of Pacas coffee and Maragogype coffee. The best production area for this coffee is located in western El Salvador, adjacent to Santa Ana near the border with Guatemala. Pacamara coffee beans are full and plump, though the aroma is not too strong.

Mercedes Farm and Finca Chalchuapa

Mercedes Farm is a large-scale specialty coffee farm. The Chalchuapa batch comes from a specific area within this large farm. Mercedes Estate won the Cup of Excellence (COE) championship in 2006 when specialty coffee first emerged, and since then has achieved top honors in COE or local coffee competitions every year. Under the professional technical management of this large estate, it belongs to a small estate. Finca Chalchuapa is surrounded by volcanic groups and is considered a precious treasure, continuously creating fruitful results.

Finca Chalchuapa coffee is processed consistently by its own farm. When the coffee ripens into coffee cherries, it is immediately hand-picked, different from general traditional fermentation. The farm uses the Wet Process, first cleaning the fruit mucilage with clear water, then moving the coffee to fermentation tanks for 12 hours of fermentation. The fermented pulp is cleaned again with clear water. Then the coffee is moved to sun-drying fields for sun-drying. This batch is completely grown from 100% ancient Bourbon native varieties, making the coffee flavor呈现 brighter and sweeter flavors more obvious. This also helps to control and remove any off-flavors in the coffee. This can be clearly seen in the sun-drying plant.

Sustainability and Community Commitment

Under excellent natural conditions, Finca Chalchuapa professionally and stably cultivates extremely high-quality coffee beans, and all coffee tree varieties can be traced back to their original varieties. The estate places great emphasis on protecting natural resources and has obtained Rainforest Alliance certification. The estate owner is also committed to giving back to the entire community service. For example: monthly food relief for elderly families, various construction and decoration projects, and funding community schools, community football teams, and donations to the Red Cross. Similarly, most importantly, they provide medical care for workers and seasonal rewards of food and clothing to show appreciation for their joint hard work.

Overall, Finca Chalchuapa continuously strives to protect natural wildlife. According to Rainforest Alliance certification standards, professional masters properly stack fertilizers to avoid poisoning and environmental pollution. In the past few years, significant results have been achieved in rural tree species to protect the natural ecological cycle.

Brewing Recommendations

FrontStreet Coffee suggests brewing method for El Salvador coffee beans:

V60 filter cup; water temperature: 89-90°C; grind size: Fuji 3.5 (medium-fine grind); coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15; extraction time: about one minute and fifty seconds.

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