What sets Rainforest Alliance coffee beans from Olive Tree Estate apart?

El Salvador's Olive Tree Estate sits at 1,800 to 1,950 meters near Volcanoes National Park, on fertile volcanic soil, and has held Rainforest Alliance certification since its 2016 shift to organic farming. Its washed Kenya SL28 beans, linked to the 2017 WBC champion bean, show sweetness, balance, and citrus-black plum notes.

The washed process removes skin, pulp, and mucilage, then dries the beans on clay patios under more than 75 shade tree species, including Ingas, grapefruit, and olive trees. Altitude, volcanic ash, and dense shade slow cherry maturation, and roasting and cupping confirm the citrus and black plum character in the cup.

Front Street Coffee recently launched a Kenya SL28 washed bean from El Salvador's Olive Tree Estate, a bean closely linked to the 2017 WBC champion bean. Olive Tree Estate is located near the Volcanoes National Park, at an altitude of 1,800 to 1,950 meters, with fertile volcanic soil and a rich ecological shade system, and has obtained organic and Rainforest Alliance certifications. The SL28 variety is known for its excellent sweetness, balance, and citrus-black plum notes. This article will guide you through the estate's background, variety characteristics, washed processing flow, roast profile analysis, and cupping flavor performance, along with Front Street's recommended pour-over parameters for coffee lovers' reference.

Front Street Coffee recently received a batch of new beans, immediately roasted them, and conducted a cupping to personally verify how the El Salvador Olive Tree Estate beans, which have quite a connection to the 2017 WBC champion bean, actually taste. Let's take a look together below.

Finca Montes El Corozo

Front Street Coffee · El Salvador · Olive Tree Estate

Estate: Olive Tree Estate

Altitude: 1800-1950M

Variety: Kenya SL28

Processing Method: Washed

Grade: SHB

| Bean Information

[Olive Tree Estate]

The coffee cultivation history of Olive Tree Estate dates back to 1930, and the estate is adjacent to El Salvador's famous "LOS VOLCANES" (Volcanoes) National Park. Rare volcanic flowers grow around the farm, and wild reindeer, raccoons, wild boars, and other animals from the national park frequently appear, forming a rather interesting wild ecological chain.

The estate itself is located atop a volcano, with extremely fertile volcanic soil. When the Ilamapepec volcano erupted in 2006, volcanic ash directly covered the estate. Although the coffee plantation suffered losses at the time, several years later, this layer of fertile volcanic ash instead created an even superior soil growing environment for the estate.

Since 2016, Olive Tree Estate has fully transitioned to an organic farm and holds Rainforest Alliance certification. Coffee production follows traditional management practices, washed with clean water, and dried on clay patios.

Olive Tree Estate adopts El Salvador's century-old planting method, using local Ingas, grapefruit trees, and olive trees as shade trees, with over 75 tree species providing cross-shading, forming a pattern of natural forest interwoven with coffee trees. Combined with the nourishment of volcanic soil, together they have created this beautiful coffee estate.

Since 2016, Olive Tree Estate has fully transitioned to an organic farm and holds Rainforest Alliance certification. Coffee production follows traditional management practices, washed with clean water, and dried on clay patios.

| Variety

Kenya SL-28 is one of the two most highly regarded varieties selected by Kenya's Scott Laboratories in the 1930s. Although Scott Laboratories no longer exists, it has now been incorporated into the National Agricultural Laboratories, under the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization. Both varieties originate from Bourbon but have different lineages: SL-28 developed from a drought-resistant variety originally planted in Tanganyika (now part of Tanzania); it is generally considered to be of the highest quality, but its yield is lower than other commercial Arabica varieties.

The young leaves of SL series varieties are all bronze-colored. Although SL28's yield is not as high as expected, its copper-colored young leaves and fava bean-shaped beans give it excellent sweetness, balance, and complex, variable flavors, with prominent citrus and black plum characteristics. In terms of coffee flavor, it exhibits strong and rich fruit acidity, a full body, and a beautiful sense of balance.

| Washed Processing Method

Selecting coffee cherries — removing pulp — fermenting — washing — drying — hulling

The selected coffee cherries are sent to the depulper to initially remove the skin and pulp; the green coffee beans still carrying residual pulp and mucilage are soaked in water to ferment for about 24 hours; after fermentation is complete, the parchment-covered green beans are placed in a flowing water channel to be washed, removing pulp and mucilage; after washing, they are sun-dried or dried with a dryer to reduce the moisture content to about 12%. Finally, the parchment of the green beans is removed.

| Roast Analysis

Roasting machine Yangjia 800N (roasting capacity 300g)

Charged at 170°C, heat setting 140, airflow opened to 3; turning point at 1'42", when the temperature reached 140°C, airflow was opened to 4, heat remained unchanged; when the temperature reached 149.7°C, the bean surface turned yellow, the grassy smell completely disappeared, entering the dehydration phase; when the temperature reached 158.1°C, heat was adjusted to 110, airflow unchanged;

At 9'11", ugly wrinkles and dark streaks appeared on the bean surface, and the toasted bread smell clearly turned into coffee aroma, which can be defined as the prelude to first crack. At this point, listen carefully for the sound of first crack. First crack began at 10'00", airflow unchanged, development after first crack was 1'30", dropped at 195°C.

Agtron bean color value is 78.6 (top image), Agtron pink value is 92 (bottom image), Roast Delta value is 13.4.

| Cupping Chart

Flavor: Lemon, nuts, berries, citrus, cream

| Pour-over Recommendations

Recommended brewing method: Pour-over

Dripper: V60

Water temperature: 88-90°C

Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15

Grind size: BG 5R (58% passing rate on China standard No. 20 sieve), i.e., medium-fine grind

Brewing technique: Staged extraction. Bloom with 33g of water for 30 seconds, then pour in a small circular stream until reaching 125g for the first stage; when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed, continue pouring until 228g and stop; when the water level is about to expose the coffee bed again, remove the dripper. (Timing starts from the beginning of blooming) Total extraction time is 1'56".

[Front Street El Salvador Olive Tree Estate Washed SL28]

Flavor: Berry aroma on the nose, citrus, berries, and lemon on the palate, with a faint herbal note in the finish, and a nutty creamy aroma in the aftertaste. The overall mouthfeel is relatively clean and bright.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.