This article will take you on an in-depth look at the HiU Project sun-dried Bourbon coffee beans from El Salvador's Finca El Carmen. From the 2012 WBC competition experience to the unique hops aroma in the green beans, and on to Finca El Carmen's volcanic soil and family heritage, the author shares in detail this bean's flavor profile, roasting insights, and origin background. The article also introduces the strict standards of the HiU Project and the cultivation characteristics of Salvadoran coffee. Currently this bean is nearly out of stock, and Front Street Coffee is specially offering a limited-time special price on the last batch, with a limit of two bags per enthusiast, while supplies last.
Friends familiar with Maoshu will certainly be familiar with this bean—El Salvador Finca El Carmen HIU Project sun-dried Bourbon.
Over the past six months, this bean is the sun-dried bean whose flavor suits Master Mao's taste the best. Speaking of this bean, I have to talk about 2012, when Master Mao competed in the Xiamen regional round of the WBC World Barista Championship. At that time, Master Mao used this bean in a light-dark blend, and the espresso received unanimous praise. Unfortunately, it was also Master Mao's first time competing in such a large-scale event, and in the finals it was inevitable that nerves led to many mistakes, so he missed out on the China national finals held in Shanghai that April.
Uh~ Having said that, I must make clear that this bean is a single-origin bean. Using it for the competition espresso blend was only to let you know that its body is excellent, and that it has a wonderful berry character and citrus acidity, bringing out a slight fermented wine flavor—these are the overall基调. Master Mao tried various roast levels with this bean, and its expressiveness was excellent at all of them. In the end, Master Mao chose his own preferred drop point at the middle-to-late stage of first crack, as this better brings out this bean's very rich tropical fruit aroma and lovely fruity acidity.
So when talking about this El Salvador HiU Project sun-dried Bourbon, one cannot help but introduce the HiU Project.
The HiU Project is a program to improve coffee quality in Central and South America. Proposed by Panamanian honey-processing celebrity Mr. Graciano Cruz, it carries out sun-dried or honey (Miel) post-processing procedures for micro lots (Micro Lot). Only when the final cupping score is above 85 can it bear the HiU mark, creating a win-win situation for both estate owners and processors.
When I first received this El Salvador bean, I opened the bag of green beans, and the whole room was instantly filled with a hops aroma. This bean is undoubtedly the one with the most tension in green bean aroma that Master Mao has ever encountered. Even after roasting and resting for more than a month, that vinous aroma still would not dissipate, which truly made Master Mao find it unbelievable.
Next, Master Mao will introduce the origin of El Salvador Finca El Carmen.
El Salvador is located in a volcanic region, and active volcanic activity brings mineral-rich volcanic ash. In soil composition dominated by volcanic ash, there are more minerals and less organic matter. To maintain soil fertility and make up for the lack of organic matter, Salvadoran farmers use processed coffee cherry pulp residue, or organic matter under the coffee trees, as fertilizer to supplement the relatively lacking organic matter in the soil, so that coffee tree cultivation can produce coffee beans with a more balanced taste.
El Salvador mainly has six major coffee-producing regions, generally distributed in high mountain slopes or plateau areas above 1,200 meters covered by volcanic ash. November to April of the following year is the coffee harvest and picking season. Because coffee prefers a mild climate, Salvadoran coffee cultivation mainly uses the shade-grown method (shade grown coffee, that is, using taller tree species to shade the coffee trees, to avoid excessive exposure of the coffee and prevent it from dying due to the large temperature difference in mountainous areas). The coffee beans it produces belong to the Arabica species, with Pacas and Bourbon, two Arabica sub-varieties, as the main cultivation forces. The green beans are larger than traditional Arabica and have a sweet taste and delicate flavor.
Finca El Carmen is located in the San Vincente volcanic area (Volcano San Vincente, also known as Chinchontepeq) near San Vicente city in central El Salvador. The average altitude of the San Vincente Volcano coffee-producing region is 500-1000 meters, and the coffee produced has an aroma with orange blossom notes and a sweet chocolate taste.
Finca El Carmen has a history of about 90 years and is a traditional family business passed down from generation to generation. The current estate owner is former Salvadoran President Alfredo Cristiani Burkard (term 1989-1994). Because of his business management background from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., he has many ideas about agricultural modernization. Finca El Carmen is about 1450 meters above sea level (higher than the average cultivation height of the San Vincente volcanic area) and has a naturally cool climate. Initially, 70% of Finca El Carmen's coffee production was Bourbon, and 20% was the rare Pacas. Recently, because Pacamara's rich aroma has become popular in the market, it has also become a new favorite of Finca El Carmen, accounting for about 10% of total production.
This very rare bean is now out of stock. Master Mao has only the last batch left on hand, about thirty or forty portions, so it is being shared with everyone at a limited-time special price. To let more people drink it, each person is limited to at most two portions. Once these are sold out, it will never be available again, because the green bean supply channel is already out of stock. Master Mao will keep a little for retail in the shop, and the rest will all be shared with everyone at a special price.
Front Street Coffee: www.gafei.com
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
