Coffee Beans Suitable for Pour-Over: El Salvador's Honey-Processed Caturra with Fruity Sweet and Sour Notes

FrontStreet Coffee - El Salvador Finca Los Alpes Caturra Honey Process Introduction

Salvadoran coffee still flies under the radar for many drinkers. Grown in the small Central American nation of El Salvador, it tends to be light-bodied yet aromatic and clean, with a gentle acidity and the kind of balance that has made it a Central American specialty. Acidity, bitterness, and sweetness sit in comfortable equilibrium here, and the sweet spot for roasting falls in the medium-to-dark range.

El Salvador is often discussed alongside Mexico and Guatemala as one of Central America's reliable volume-and-quality producers, regularly contending for a top position in the region. Beans grown at higher elevations tend to be larger and more uniform, with a rich, smooth cup.

Like Guatemala and Costa Rica, El Salvador grades its coffee by altitude - the higher the growth, the better the cup. Three grades are used: SHB (Strictly High Grown) for the highest altitudes, HG (High Grown Central) for medium-high altitudes, and CS (Central Standard) for lower altitudes.

El Salvador Finca Los Alpes Caturra Honey Process

Region: El Salvador

Altitude: 1,550 meters

Variety: Caturra

Processing Method: Honey Process

Flavor Notes: Berries, maple syrup, brown sugar, citrus, cream

Brewing Tips

The keys to a delicious pour-over are grind size, water temperature, and the coffee-to-water ratio. Compared with machine brewing, pour-over demands more attention to detail - but that control is exactly what lets a honey-processed lot like this one show off its fruity sweetness.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If you enjoy the syrupy, fruit-forward sweetness of honey-processed coffee, FrontStreet Coffee's pour-over lineup has plenty to explore. The FrontStreet Ethiopia Huakui bursts with tropical fruit aromas of strawberry, passion fruit, and lychee, with a distinctly juicy, low-bitterness cup - a natural fit for a V60 pour-over. For something brighter still, the FrontStreet Kenya Cherry Tomato delivers vivid cherry-tomato and dried-plum acidity through a clean 72-hour double-washed fermentation.