Dune Coffee Roasters El Salvador El Manzano Bourbon Review

By

Bryan Huynh

on March 21, 2024

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Mornings can be difficult. To brighten and kickstart your day, it is important that your cup of coffee is the best! Question is, how do you know which one is the best? Rather than traveling around the world to taste test different coffee beans, why not get them shipped directly to your home? I was lucky enough to get my hands on the whole bean El Salvador El Manzano Bourbon offered by Dune Coffee Roasters. 

This medium roast will satisfy all coffee drinkers and can be sipped on no matter what time of day! This bourbon from El Salvador is superbly balanced, with flavors of juicy plum, creamy caramel, and silky chocolate. If you would like to hear a full review on the Dune Coffee Roasters El Salvador El Manzano Bourbon, continue reading below! Check out our Coffee Clubs page to compare and read reviews of our favorite coffee clubs!

Fun Fact: This roaster is named after the book Dune, because the greatest Science Fiction novel of all time deserved its own coffee company.

Background

Emilio Lopez Diaz, the owner and operator of Finca El Manzano, began planting new varieties and improving the facility's capabilities to handle these coffees in 2005. El Manzano coffee received first and second place in El Salvador's Cup of Excellence competition in 2018.

Emilio's company, Odyssey Coffees, is a vertically integrated coffee manufacturing enterprise, which means it owns and manages the whole supply chain, from growing to processing to exporting. This provides additional knowledge into the coffee that is being purchased, as well as increased trust in understanding the entire organization with the partners.

El Salvador is mostly cultivated with old Bourbon coffee or its variants. El Salvador's Bourbon cup has no exotic flavor, but it is the coffee you would like to consume. El Salvador has consistently had the proper elements — soil, altitude, and temperature — to produce coffee that rivals its neighbors. Most importantly, it includes Bourbon, the original old-world coffee, and tasty natural hybrids of Bourbon, Pacas, and Caturra.

Summary 

The El Salvador El Manzano Bourbon is sweet and inviting to all. Overall, tasting a perfect trio of fresh plum, sweet caramel, and smooth chocolate.

El Manzano grows a variety of coffees, notably Yellow, Red, and Orange Bourbon, in addition to Pacamara, SL-34, Geisha, Pacas, and Caturra. This batch of coffee is El Manzano's Red Bourbon, which can be traced back to one of the parent coffee varieties. I tasted stone fruit tastes such as plum and cherry, as well as a hint of cocoa and dark chocolate, with a thick and creamy mouthfeel. 

If you enjoy a balanced, yet tasty cup of coffee, this could be the one for you. The whole bean El Salvador El Manzano Bourbon was aromatic, and overall a well rounded medium roast. I have taste tested a ton of different coffee beans but I truly believe that this coffee should be next on your list!

Origin: Chalchuapa, Santa Ana, El Salvador

Producer: Emilio Lopez Diaz

Processing: Washed

Varietal: Bourbon

Elevation: 1,525 masl

Roast: Medium

Tasting Notes: Dark Chocolate, Black Plum, Cream

Pros

  • Choice of roast level and grind size
  • Option for subscriptions and frequency
  • Informative packaging
  • Socially and environmentally responsible company
  • Roasted fresh to order (Roast date printed on packaging)

Cons

  • Might be bit pricey for single origin coffee beans, but it is high quality
  • Shipping fees for smaller orders

Buying the Product

Dune Coffee Roasters packaging is definitely high-quality bags with all of the information needed such as flavor notes, roast dates, brewing guides, and components origins. Given the quality of the beans and the company's sustainability practices, I would say it’s definitely worth trying. 

One of the best things about Dune Coffee Roasters is that you can buy the precise coffee bean that you desire! You can also sign up for the Single Origin Subscription. You have the option to choose your favorite size and delivery frequency, and the highlighted coffee blends will be freshly roasted to your specifications. If you wish to update anything about your membership, Dune Coffee makes it simple for you to do so. Be among the first to experience their newest coffee products, hand-picked by the roastery team and sent right to your house.

I always strongly suggest getting freshly roasted coffee beans if you can. This will prevent you from getting the ones that have been pre-roasted and wasting away on the store shelves. Orders are roasted to order 5 days a week. Each order's bags contain roasted dates printed on the front. 

Whether you would like to join the monthly Single Origin Subscription or simply have your favorite coffee delivered on a frequent basis, Dune Coffee Roasters make it simple to set up and maintain subscriptions. The roasting and quality control teams choose a monthly selection of fresh Single Origin, Zip Zinger, Santa-Rossa, and Presidio Decaf subscriptions. The subscription club is perfect for those who are looking for single origin coffee, are indecisive, or simply want to be surprised each month!

Each subscription package includes coffee in either 10oz or 5lb bags. This is offered as an ongoing monthly membership delivery every 7, 17, or 30 days. 

Free shipping on orders of $35 or more

Check out our full review on Dune Coffee Roasters!

Results

The packaging of this coffee bag was high quality as well as the coffee beans themselves. A great touch that this packaging has over others is that it is resealable! As soon as I opened up the bag, the aroma hit my nose and immediately filled up the kitchen. This made the overall experience even better! This medium roast is incredibly easy to drink and will quickly become addictive. 

This cup was sweet and inviting. The aroma and cup characteristics include notes of fresh plum, sweet caramel, and smooth chocolate. The structure of this cup is balanced, with aftertastes of ripe fruit, milk chocolate, and sweet vanilla.

Those who appreciate a well-balanced, sweet and smooth medium roast cup with a very strong fruity and chocolatey fragrance, this might be the perfect coffee blend for you. I enjoyed everything about it, from the inviting scent of the beans when I first opened the bag to the incredible flavor after grinding and preparing a fresh cup.

I would give the Dune Coffee Roasters El Salvador El Manzano Bourbon a cupping score of 91/100. In accordance with the Total Score Quality Classification, it would be considered outstanding, also known as a specialty coffee.

Cupping Scores

Published by the Specialty Coffee Association of America. The Cupping Form allows you to note the following coffee flavor qualities: Fragrance/Aroma, Flavor, Aftertaste, Acidity, Body, Balance, Uniformity, Clean Cup, Sweetness, Defects, and Overall. These are evaluated on a 16-point scale indicating quality levels in quarter-point increments ranging from 6 to 9. To score your coffee, go through each specific flavor attribute and mark the points based on your own personal appraisal. 

Quality Scale

  • Good: 6-6:75
  • Very good: 7 - 7.75
  • Excellent: 8 - 8.75
  • Outstanding: 9 - 9.75

The Final Score is calculated by adding the individual scores for each of the key criteria in the "Total Score" box. Defects are then subtracted from the “Total Score” to arrive at a “Final Score.” The Scoring Key below has shown to be an effective technique to represent the range of coffee quality for the Final Score.

Bottom Line

At Dune Coffee Roasters, they believe that specialty coffee such as this should be easily accessible, enjoyed, and appreciated.  I could tell how much thought and effort they put into the coffee beans and the packaging. Dune Coffee Roasters El Salvador El Manzano Bourbon is made up of high quality beans acquired from Chalchuapa, Santa Ana.

It might be time to retire that old blend of yours. If you aren’t scared to try something new, then why not sign up for Dune Coffee Roasters subscription service? This is best suited for those who enjoy medium roasts but will please everyone and is perfect for drinking all day long. The Dune Coffee Roasters El Salvador El Manzano Bourbonbrewed a great tasting cup of coffee, and the smell filled up my kitchen upon brew. 

This medium roast develops tasting notes of Dark Chocolate, Black Plum, and Creamy. You can expect this cup of coffee to be sweet and inviting. This batch of coffee includes El Manzano's Red Bourbon, which can be traced back to one of the parent coffee kinds. I noted stone fruit tastes such as plum and cherry, as well as a hint of cocoa and dark chocolate, with a thick and creamy mouthfeel. If you don't believe me, try it for yourself, tasting each flavor with each swallow.

If you are not really interested in this specific coffee, return to our coffee reviews! We've sampled a lot of coffee, so check these out to see if their more your taste: 

PT's Coffee The Flatlander Signature Review

Joe Coffee Burundi Turihamwe Review

Big Island Coffee Roasters Kona Noir Review

Big Island Coffee Roasters Kona Peaberry Review

Atlas Coffee India Roast Review

About the Author

Product Tester & Writer

Bryan Huynh

Product Tester & Writer

Bryan Huynh is a determined Product Tester & Writer. Being a coffee addict, it is only right that he mainly tests and reviews different coffee from around the world and coffee subscription services.

Bryan Huynh is a determined Product Tester & Writer. Being a coffee addict, it is only right that he mainly tests and reviews different coffee from around the world and coffee subscription services.