El Salvador Specialty Coffee Regions: Brewing Flavor Characteristics of El Salvador Chocolate Lover Estate

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El Salvador, once the world's fourth-largest coffee-producing country, saw its entire coffee industry devastated by decades of civil war. With the cessation of conflict, local people began to reclaim long-abandoned farmland, replanting coffee trees batch after batch. In recent years, as coffee trees began to bear fruit, El Salvador's coffee has regained its vitality. FrontStreet Coffee has continuously sought coffee beans from various producing estates in El Salvador for roasting and cupping. Through comparison, FrontStreet Coffee believes that El Salvador coffee beans are characterized by delicate and soft acidity and sweet, balanced flavors, following a fresh flavor profile.

El Salvador Coffee Industry Crisis

Since its introduction in the 19th century, coffee rapidly became the main export product as the Salvadoran government focused on lucrative emerging industries. By the 1930s, coffee accounted for over 90% of the country's exports. Even through two World Wars and periods of global economic recession, El Salvador remained among the top coffee-producing countries.

It wasn't until after the civil war in the 1980s that land reform reversed previous land policies and broke the country's original large estate system. The land reform policies and subsequent nationalization period disrupted the existing structure and efficiency of the country's coffee industry, almost breaking general coffee trade. However, even from that time until 2000, coffee remained highly profitable in the country.

However, in 2001, the Salvadoran coffee industry encountered a second major shock—coffee prices dropped to $0.43 per pound. According to ICO data, that year El Salvador's production decreased by over 34%. Due to the sharp price decline, the entire Salvadoran coffee economy collapsed, with producers and exporters defaulting on bank debts.

In addition to decades of political and price factors, El Salvador's coffee industry also lacked unity. By 2013, leaf rust disease broke out in El Salvador, causing production to drop by 60% from 8.58 million bags (one bag weighs approximately 60-70kg). Since 2014, although various private and government efforts in recent years have helped increase annual production by 7.5%, no effective measures have pushed production back to seven digits. In 2016, the country's Ministry of Agriculture launched a new plan to distribute 20 million rust-resistant plants to small farmers to further revitalize the country's coffee industry.

El Salvador Coffee Bean Growing Conditions

Geographically, El Salvador is located between Honduras and Guatemala, with the Pacific Ocean to the south. The terrain is predominantly mountainous and highland. El Salvador is known as the "Land of Volcanoes," with volcanic zones rich in minerals that create high-quality, fertile soil favorable for coffee tree cultivation. El Salvador coffee gardens mostly use shade-grown cultivation, with the harvest season from November to April.

Currently, El Salvador has 23,000 coffee growers, nearly 90% of whom own farms smaller than 17 hectares. Small and medium-sized farmers' cultivation areas account for 80% of the country's total production. Additionally, approximately 15,000 small farmers have formed 119 cooperatives, providing economic and social support for member families.

El Salvador Coffee Growing Regions

El Salvador coffee has 8 major producing regions, mostly distributed on high mountain slopes or plateau areas covered by volcanic ash at altitudes above 1,200 meters. The coffee harvest and collection season runs from November to April of the following year. Since coffee prefers mild climates, El Salvador's coffee trees are mostly grown under the shade of tall, sun-blocking trees (shade-grown coffee) to avoid excessive temperatures and direct sun exposure that would affect coffee bean quality. The coffee beans produced belong to the Arabica species, with Pacas and Bourbon as the main varieties, featuring large beans with sweet flavors and excellent taste profiles.

Apeneca-Ilamatepec Mountain Region

Located in western El Salvador, the coffee features refreshing sweetness, floral notes, chocolate, drupes, peaches, and cream flavors, with citrus-like subtle acidity and delicate texture. The aftertaste is long-lasting. Altitude: 1,000-2,365m.

Alotepec-Metapan Mountain Region

Located in northern El Salvador, bordering Honduras, it has excellent aroma and floral flavors, with chocolate, citrus, and special acidic caramel sweetness to balance it, carrying distinct fruit flavors. Altitude: 1,000–2,000m.

El Balsamo-Quezaltepec Mountain Region

Located in the southern foothills of the coastal mountains of La Libertad province, El Salvador, approximately south of San Salvador and San Vicente cities. Extending west from the Armenia Gorge to another province, La Paz, in the northwest. Coffee from this region has excellent balance, creamy flavors, excellent concentration, vanilla aroma, and bright acidity, with a very smooth texture. Altitude: 1,000–1,960m.

Chichotepec Volcano Region

Located in San Vicente city, central El Salvador. The coffee has fragrant aroma with orange blossom floral notes and chocolate sweetness. Altitude: 500–1,000m.

Tecapa-Chinameca Mountain Region

Located between San Miguel city, Lempa River, and Grande River, with slopes tilting north to the central valley region and gently descending south to coastal areas. Very diverse flavors, with rich, aromatic coffee that has excellent balance of acidity and sweetness, featuring chocolate and ripe fruit flavors, along with cantaloupe, apple, and grape sweetness. Altitude: 1,000m–2,139m.

Cacahuatique Mountain Region

Located east of Barrios city, between San Miguel and Morazán provinces, from the Torola River Valley in the north (mountainous area along the Honduras border) to the Torola River Valley in the south, extending east to San Francisco Gotera city. Coffee from this region has delicate juice flavors, excellent texture, rich coffee flavor, and almond aroma. Altitude: 1,000–1,663m.

El Salvador's specialty coffee is concentrated in the volcanic rock regions of Santa Ana in the west and Chalatenango in the northwest, with elevations of 900-1,500m. In recent years, the top ten in cupping competitions have almost exclusively come from these two regions.

Chalatenango

This region is located in north-central El Salvador, in inaccessible volcanic mountain ranges with fertile soil very suitable for coffee growth. Most coffee from this region is SHB (Strictly Hard Bean), referring to coffee beans grown above 1,400 MASL.

Santa Ana

Considered a high-quality El Salvador coffee producing region in recent years, mainly due to: 1. Variable microclimate 2. Volcanic gravel soil with good drainage and fertility. Altitude: 1,000-2,000m.

El Salvador Coffee Varieties

The main coffee varieties cultivated in El Salvador include Typica, Bourbon, Pacas, and Pacamara.

Bourbon is a variant of early Typica after being transplanted to Yemen, with bean shape changing from slender and pointed to round. In 1715, France transplanted Yemen's round Mocha beans to Bourbon Island on the east coast of Africa (renamed Reunion Island after the French Revolution), and it was named Bourbon. Bourbon round beans were辗转transferred to Brazil and Central and South America in 1727. In 1732, Britain also transplanted Yemen Mocha to St. Helena Island (where Napoleon was later imprisoned) - also Bourbon round beans. Bourbon is the perennial champion in American specialty coffee cupping competitions.

Typica is Ethiopia's oldest native variety. Typica has bronze-colored top leaves, with oval or slender-pointed bean shapes, elegant flavor, but weak constitution, poor disease resistance, and low fruit yield. Premium coffee beans such as Jamaica Blue Mountain, Sumatra Mandheling, and Hawaii Kona all belong to Typica.

Pacamara Variety Saved El Salvador's Coffee Industry

The Pacamara variety is a hybrid of Pacas and Maragogipe (Elephant Bean), combining the excellent flavor of Pacas with the large bean size of Elephant Bean. Its name is also a combination of both: Paca + mara = Pacamara.

Pacas was a Bourbon variety first seen in El Salvador in 1949, while Elephant Bean is a Typica variant first discovered in northern Brazil in 1870. In 1958, Salvadoran researchers acted as matchmakers for these two coffee beans, creating Pacamara with body exceeding both Pacas and Elephant Bean, but with low yield and large bean size.

The Pacamara variety combines the advantages of both Bourbon and Typica lineages. FrontStreet Coffee believes the most distinctive feature of this variety is its lively and tricky acidity, sometimes with biscuit aroma, sometimes with fruit flavors, with excellent body and oil sensation. In the 2004 Cup of Excellence competition, El Salvador's Pacamara bravely took seventh place; in 2005, it surprisingly secured second, fifth, sixth, and seventh places; in 2006, it took second and third places; in 2007, it was unstoppable, sweeping the top four places. From then on, El Salvador entered the Pacamara era. In the same year, Guatemala's champion bean was also Pacamara variety, with popularity rivaling Panama's Geisha coffee at the time.

Next, FrontStreet Coffee will use Bourbon coffee beans (50% washed + 50% honey processed) from El Guayabo estate in Santa Ana region and Pacamara coffee beans (black honey processed) from Los Pozos estate in Chalatenango region for roasting, cupping, and brewing comparisons.

Coffee Bean Processing Methods

The Bourbon from El Guayabo estate uses honey processing, where coffee beans are first transported to a honey processing facility at about 800 meters altitude. The advantage of processing at lower altitudes is that clouds are less likely to form, with ample sunlight and strong UV rays, allowing coffee beans to absorb sufficient heat energy and develop excellent aroma. Additionally, honey processing coffee in such locations allows coffee cherries to dry thoroughly in a short time, presenting flavors more solidly. Washed processing utilizes the region's abundant water resources to give coffee a very clean taste. This single-estate coffee bean, formulated using such mixed processing methods, is the estate owner's way of expressing chocolate, cocoa, and drupe cream flavors, thus specially named "Chocolate Lover."

Region: Santa Ana

Estate: El Guayabo

Altitude: 1450m

Variety: Bourbon

Processing: 50% washed + 50% honey processed

Grade: SHB

The Pacamara from Los Pozos estate uses black honey processing. First, freshly harvested coffee cherries are screened, selecting qualified red cherries for depulping in a depulping machine. This step preserves almost all the pulp and mucilage. Then, coffee beans with pulp are placed on raised drying beds for sun drying, during which the fermentation degree and humidity must be frequently monitored. The coffee beans are dried to about 11% moisture content. The entire drying process takes approximately 18-25 days. FrontStreet Coffee believes that black honey processed coffee beans have better flavor, with ample sweetness and aroma.

Country: El Salvador

Region: Los Pozos, San Ignacio, Chalatenango Province

Estate: Los Pozos

Altitude: 1500 meters

Variety: Pacamara

Processing: Black honey processed

FrontStreet Coffee Roasting Recommendations

El Guayabo Estate Bourbon Roasting: Yangjia 800N, roasting amount 480g: Drum temperature 175°C, heat 130, damper open to 3; Return point at 1'42", when drum temperature reaches 130°C, open damper to 4; At 152°C, bean surface turns yellow, grass smell completely disappears, entering dehydration stage, open damper to 5; At 8'00", bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, toast smell clearly turns to coffee aroma, can be defined as prelude to first crack, at this time listen carefully for first crack sound, first crack starts at 8'50", damper unchanged, develop for 2'00" minutes after first crack, discharge at 195.6°C.

Los Pozos Estate Pacamara Roasting: Yangjia 800N, roasting amount 480g: Drum temperature 175°C, heat 130, damper open to 3; Return point at 1'42", when drum temperature reaches 130°C, open damper to 4; At 152°C, bean surface turns yellow, grass smell completely disappears, entering dehydration stage, open damper to 5; At 8'00", bean surface shows ugly wrinkles and black spots, toast smell clearly turns to coffee aroma, can be defined as prelude to first crack, at this time listen carefully for first crack sound, first crack starts at 8'50", damper unchanged, develop for 2'00" minutes after first crack, discharge at 195.6°C.

FrontStreet Coffee Cupping Report

FrontStreet Coffee conducts cupping within 8-24 hours after roasting sample coffee beans. FrontStreet Coffee's baristas typically use 200ml ceramic cupping bowls marked with 150ml and 200ml measurement lines. According to SCAA standards, water TDS is around 150ppm; too low TDS easily causes over-extraction, while too high affects mouthfeel and easily leads to under-extraction. Cupping water temperature is 94°C. Cupping grind size follows SCAA cupping standards, controlled to 70%-75% pass-through rate through a #20 standard sieve (0.85mm). Ratio: 11 grams of coffee powder to 200ml of hot water, i.e., 1:18.18, so extracted concentration falls within the 1.15%-1.35% golden cup range. Steeping time: 4 minutes.

El Guayabo Estate Bourbon Coffee Bean Cupping

Dry Aroma: Caramel, cocoa

Wet Aroma: Dark chocolate, nuts

Flavor: Cocoa, soft fruit acidity, caramel

Los Pozos Estate Pacamara Coffee Bean Cupping

Dry Aroma: Caramel

Wet Aroma: Berries

Flavor: Citrus, grapes, honey, berries

FrontStreet Coffee Brewing Tips

Dripper: V60 #01

Dose: 15g

Ratio: 1:15

Grind Size: BG6m (80% pass-through rate through #20 sieve)

Water Temperature: 90-91°C

Regarding grind size, FrontStreet Coffee determines it through sieving. Based on grinding suggestions for pour-over coffee provided by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCA), FrontStreet Coffee combines this with practical operation verification. If you don't have a sieve at home, FrontStreet Coffee suggests observing flow rate to judge - too fast flow means grind is too coarse, too slow flow means grind is too fine.

FrontStreet Coffee uses segmented extraction, also called three-stage pouring: Use 30g of water for 30-second bloom, then pour in small circles to 125g for segmentation. When water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring to 225g and stop. When water level drops and is about to expose the coffee bed, remove the dripper (timing starts from bloom). Extraction time: 1'55"-2'00".

El Guayabo Estate Brewing Flavor: Cocoa aroma with caramel sweetness, creamy texture, soft fruit acidity, berry aftertaste.

Los Pozos Estate Brewing Flavor: Citrus, orange refreshing acidity, grape sweet and sour, honey aftertaste.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, ID: kaixinguoguo0925

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