El Salvador Mustang Limited Edition Coffee

Mustang from El Salvado

El Salvador Mustang makes a striking first impression. Its aroma is reminiscent of a late summer harvest, filled with the enticing fragrance of ripe red fruits and grapes.

Once brewed the flavours become reminiscent of richer fruit: juicy blackberry, elegant fig, and exotic tropical fruits. The texture is deliciously jammy, balanced with the bright zing of pineapple acidity.

But it is the moments after the first sip that reveal Mustang’s standout feature – a sparkling champagne finish, which is celebratory and elegant.

COFFEE ORIGIN PROFILE

El Salvador is a small but mighty coffee producing country. With a landmass only a third of the size of Tasmania, 20 000 El Salvadorean coffee producers combine to produce 85 000 tonnes of coffee per annum.

Contrast that with the 600 tonnes of coffee produced by the whole of Australia! They’ve got us covered for consumption too - the average El Salvadorean drinks 2.8kg of coffee a year, with Australians logging a respectable 2.2kg per person.

The El Salvador Mustang comes from a great coffee family, who have been raising coffee in the valley of Sonsonate since Don Rafael Meza-Ayau Snr purchased the property in 1936.

His grandson, Roberto, now runs the finca, growing their coffee in the shade of a natural rainforest and employing family, neighbours and friends to work the harvest. The most recent audit from Rainforest Alliance earned them a perfect scorecard reflecting the socially and environmentally responsible practices championed on Finca Majahual.

TASTING NOTES

The first impression of El Salvador Mustang comes through the late summer harvest aromatics of ripe red fruits and grapes. Once brewed the flavours become reminiscent of deeper, richer fruit: juicy blackberry, elegant fig, and exotic tropical fruits.

The texture is deliciously jammy, balanced with the bright zing of pineapple acidity. What really blew us away at the cupping table was the flavour and texture left after each sip – a sparkling champagne finish, celebratory and elegant.

BREW RECOMMENDATIONS

Naturally processed coffee has a tendency to be sweeter, with bigger body and less pronounced acidity. So you can go two ways with this: adjust you brewing to amp up the acidity and crispness, or lean into that jammy sweetness.

If you’re hand brewing, and looking to bring the brighter notes forward: go for a cone-shaped pourover such an a V60 or Origami dripper. Let the brewer do the work for you. Use a paper filter, and lower your water temperature. The champagne finish is wonderful with this method.

If you’d like to go hard on the jamminess, try it as an Aeropress with short brew time, don’t go any finer than usual. You’ll bring out the rich flavours of blackberry and fig, while swerving any bitterness. It will be intense, but sometimes that’s just the ticket!

If you’re a home barista on the espresso machine, avoid the temptation of the short pour! Leave your dose down as usual and let the full yield run. Dial in your grind for sweetness and balance, the El Salvador Mustang is gorgeous as a full-bodied shot, and blends beautifully with all kinds of milk.

COFFEE CUPPING DETAILS

SCORE: 86/100

AROMA: red fruit and grape

FLAVOUR: blackberry, fig and tropical fruit

ACIDITY: pineapple

BODY: jammy

AFTERTASTE: champagne.

OVERVIEW

Country: El Salvador, Central America

Region: Los Naranjos

Farm: Finca Majahual

Varietals: Yellow and red bourbon

Process: Natural

Altitude: 1500-1700m above sea level.