El Salvador: From Civil War to Coffee Revival

In this Directors Cut episode, Kevin Sinnott and Kenneth Davids explore the remarkable story and taste of El Salvador coffee — from its 1970s glory days through civil war, rust devastation, and finally a triumphant return to quality. What you’ll experience: The historic rise and fall of El Salvador’s coffee industry. Rare heirloom varieties like Bourbon and Pacamara. Five blind-tasted coffees including washed and natural processes. Deep insights on flavor: chocolate, caramel, berry, floral, and leather tones. A heartfelt look at how passion and perseverance shape a nation’s coffee identity. Tasted coffees include: Café Grumpy — Mala Cara Bourbon PT’s Coffee — SL-28 Variety Cuba Cold Coffee — Red Bourbon Sparrow Coffee — Monteverde Natural Bell Lux Coffee — Pacamara Natural 00:00 – 01:15 Intro – El Salvador’s coffee legacy 01:15 – 02:22 Civil War & the lost farms 02:22 – 05:33 Bourbon & Pacamara explained 05:33 – 10:44 Cup A – Café Grumpy Mala Cara 10:44 – 20:13 Cup B – PT’s SL-28 Variety 20:13 – 34:38 Cup C – Cuba Cold Red Bourbon 34:38 – 47:10 Cup D – Sparrow Monteverde Natural 47:10 – 58:22 Cup E – Belux Pacamara Natural 58:22 – 1:04:43 Washed vs Natural — Ken’s final rankings 1:04:43 – 1:05:20 Closing reflections – El Salvador’s quiet strength Kenneth Davids is one of the world’s foremost coffee experts and the author of Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying — considered by many to be the “coffee lover’s bible.” Davids has reviewed thousands of coffees over his long career and is credited with defining the modern coffee vocabulary used by roasters and tasters worldwide. Kevin Sinnott is the host of CoffeeCon and the founder of CoffeeCon, the world’s first consumer coffee festival. Known for his approachable humor and deep knowledge of brewing, Kevin has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, ABC-TV’s 20/20, and in USA Today. Together, Kevin and Ken explore coffee’s most fascinating origins and help viewers taste coffee the way experts do — by flavor, by aroma, and by story. #ElSalvadorCoffee  #specialtyCoffee  #Coffeeists #coffeereview #KennethDavids #KevinSinnott #Coffeeists #coffeeEducation #coffeeFlavor #coffeeAroma #coffeeDiscussion #coffeeExperts #coffeeCulture