El Salvador Pasa – Counter Culture January 30, 2009
This Counter Culture, El Salvador Pasa was a tough coffee to review. I first bought it during the Winter break, and drank it out of a drip system every morning with the wife. It was good, but it was drip. I really wanted to taste it with a press pot so I could compare to the rest of the coffees I’ve reviewed. Not to mention, it’s the right way to drink it.
So now a few coffees later, I picked up another bag of the Pasa and can finally appreciate it for what it is, a pretty great cup. Very smooth, no beginning or end, just coffee. It’s hard to explain, but picture that point in taking a sip when you know the coffee is past your tongue and you get that aftertaste. This coffee didn’t have any of that. Like a hot Krispy Kreme glazed donut, it just melted.
There’s a nice crisp fruit flavor, but nothing overpowering like a Yiracheiffe. I get a little smokyness, but not a ton. Just a good coffee taste with a hint of fruit, very little acid and no bite. Really great cup.
Unfortunately, I didn’t see this coffee available on the Counter Culture site. Maybe I grabbed some of the last they had, or maybe it’s just not listed.
We have been able to get a very small amount of this uniquely processed coffee from the extremely talented producer Aida Batlle in Santan Ana, El Salvador, for the last two years. She let’s the coffee cherries dry on the shrub (pasa = raisin in Spanish), resulting in a darkly fruity/chocolatey cup of coffee. This is a favorite of mine, along with Idido Misty Valley, a more traditionally processed sundried coffee. Thanks for continuing to support our coffees!