Los Andes, Washed Bourbon, El Salvador

Los Andes washed Bourbon at 1,720m calls for a 430μm grind — 70μm finer than the V60 default — because two independent factors push toward finer grinding simultaneously: light roast demands more surface area for the dense, low-solubility bean, and the high altitude adds extra density from slow cherry maturation. At 430μm, you're extracting through a genuinely dense, hard bean that resists water penetration. Bourbon roasts slower than Typica-group varieties, requiring more roast development time to build body — a well-roasted lot at 1,720m will have the roast-developed complexity (almond cake) to complement its acid clarity (red apple, lime zest), but only if the grind is fine enough to access those slower-dissolving roast-developed body compounds compounds alongside the faster bright fruit acids. At 94°C and 1:15.5 ratio, the V60 delivers a precise, articulate expression of this combination.

The Kalita Wave's flat bed geometry provides a meaningful advantage for high-altitude Bourbon: the grind is set 70μm finer than default, putting the Wave's recipe at 460μm, which is fine enough that bed resistance is a real variable. Flat-bed brewers distribute that resistance evenly across the entire puck, while a cone brewer like V60 concentrates flow through the center. At a fine-for-Wave setting of 460μm, the flat bed prevents the preferential channeling through looser zones that a cone might allow. This matters for Bourbon specifically because it roasts at a moderate pace — the roast-developed-to-first-crack interval that built the almond cake character requires even extraction to come through cleanly. If parts of the bed channel, you get uneven acid-to-sweetness ratios cup to cup. The Wave at 460μm with a 1:16.5 ratio produces consistent red apple and almond cake balance.

AeroPress drops to 85°C for Los Andes washed Bourbon — the same temperature reduction applied to other light-roast beans — but the effect on Bourbon's flavor profile is distinct. Bourbon carries almond cake character from roast-developed compounds (specifically roast-developed nutty compounds during roasting). These compounds are less temperature-sensitive than the fruity acids; at 85°C they still dissolve, but the citric lime zest becomes less aggressive, allowing the almond cake to move from the finish to the mid-palate. The 330μm grind (70μm below default for this bean) is fine enough to provide AeroPress-appropriate puck resistance; Bourbon's smaller bean size relative to Pacamara means particle distribution is tighter, so this finer setting doesn't cause the channeling risk that the same reduction would introduce with Pacamara. The 1:12.5 ratio concentrates the cup, intensifying the sweet apple-almond character.

Clever Dripper at 460μm (70μm below default) runs 30μm finer than the standard Clever recipe, driven entirely by the high-altitude density of this Bourbon. That finer setting affects the immersion phase: smaller particles hydrate faster in the pre-drain steep, which is advantageous for the almond cake roast-developed compounds that dissolve more slowly than the red apple acids. During the paper-filter drain, those roast-developed compounds — already dissolved in solution from the immersion — pass through cleanly, whereas coarser grinding would have left them in the bed at drain time. The 3-4 minute steep window gives the dense 1,720m seeds time to fully hydrate before the valve opens. Paper filtration removes oils, maintaining the clean washed character of the Bourbon while the immersion phase extracts the almond cake depth that pour-over's contact time sometimes cuts short.

Los Andes washed Bourbon at espresso requires navigating a specific challenge: 180μm grind is exceptionally fine (70μm below default, versus 40μm for many other light-roast beans), reflecting both light roast and altitude density. At 180μm, the puck resistance is high enough that preinfusion is not optional — it's essential. Without low-pressure pre-wetting, 9 bar slams into a dry 1,720m Bourbon puck and channels before extraction begins. The longer ratio (1:2.4) is calibrated for this: more water through the puck means more time to extract the almond cake roast-developed complexity that distinguishes this bean from a simple fruit-forward light. Expect red apple and lime zest to dominate the first half of extraction; almond cake complexity arrives in the last third if the shot is pulled correctly. The 93°C temperature is one degree cooler than Chemex — appropriate for pressure's own extraction efficiency boost.

Los Andes washed Bourbon requires a temperature cap for Moka Pot that most beans don't need: the recipe caps temperature at 94°C by specifying that temperature directly, rather than using 100°C as moka default. Combined with the -70μm grind delta, the Moka Pot recipe for this bean (280μm grind, 94°C, 1:9.5 ratio) is one of the most constrained bean-brewer combinations you'll encounter. The temperature cap matters because moka pot's steam-driven pressure extracts more aggressively at higher temperatures; at 1,720m altitude Bourbon's light roast, there's significant underdevelopment relative to a medium-dark lot, meaning high-temperature moka would amplify the astringent bitter compounds from residual acidity. Pre-boiling water at 94°C and filling the base before assembly is the cleanest way to hit that temperature target. The almond cake character reads as a toasted nuttiness at moka concentration rather than the cleaner roast-developed sweetness the Chemex delivers.

French press adds a variable to Los Andes washed Bourbon that other brewers suppress: oil extraction. Bourbon is a its variety characteristics — its longer MAI phase produces more roast-developed body compounds, which contribute body and mouthfeel and pass through metal mesh where paper would trap them. The recipe at 930μm grind (70μm below the coarse baseline) and 96°C reflects the light roast adjustment: the finer grind compensates for Bourbon's altitude density, while the temperature ensures adequate extraction through the coarse immersion grind. The coarse immersion extracts red apple more gently than pour-over, while the metal mesh passes oils that make the almond cake character feel richer and more integrated. You'll lose some of the lime zest clarity that Chemex delivers, gaining a heavier, mellower expression of the apple-almond core.