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Cherrybook.
George Howell Coffee

El Salvador Montecarlos

WashedLight

Cherrybook Index

71Noted

Evidence-of-quality score, not a cup score. Confident: 3 of 7 signals on file. Methodology

Price position

$2.08/oz$25.00 for 340g

Typical band for this profile $1.94 to $3.10 (El Salvador washed single-origin lots (other named varieties, retail bags); USD listings in stock). Where it sits

Catalog summary

A washed lot from Apaneca-Ilamatepec, El Salvador, indexed 71 on confident evidence and priced inside the typical band for its listed profile.

Based on the listing and catalog evidence

Price and availability set by the roaster.

Cherrybook last checked this listing 6 days ago.

Roaster’s notes

walnut · orange · milk chocolate

  • Citrus
  • Cocoa and nut
Open the flavor wheel

Mapped from the roaster’s tasting notes to the SCA flavor wheel; Cherrybook’s interpretation of the stated notes, not the roaster’s own categorization.

El Salvador Montecarlos by George Howell Coffee
Farm / Co-op
Montecarlos
Process
Washed
Altitude
1585 m
Varietals
Caturra,Bourbon
Harvest
2025
Weight
340g
Bag price
$25.00
Price / oz
$2.08/oz
Brew
filter

from the roaster’s storeread by Cherrybook from the listing“estimated” below = inferred, not stated

Price contextmodeled

A modeled range and current prices for comparable listings.

$2.08/oz

typically $1.94 to $3.10

Where it sits

15 El Salvador washed single-origin lots (other named varieties, retail bags); USD listings in stock

typical band this lot

Broad comparison: 60th percentile of 15 El Salvador washed single-origin lots (other named varieties, retail bags); USD listings in stock right now.

This group broadens origin, roast or selling market to find enough lots. It does not qualify this coffee for a value recommendation.

What moves this price

cheaper×1.00pricier
  • Roaster brand and sourcing×1.20
  • Light roast×1.06
  • Washed process×0.95
  • Other listed varieties×0.96

At 340 g, this bag runs about 2% less per ounce than a typical 287 g bag; that is pack size, not the coffee.

How this estimate works

A statistical model, refit weekly across the in-stock catalog, estimates what a coffee with these listed attributes typically sells for per ounce. Each multiplier compares one trait against the average lot in this market; the roaster line covers brand and sourcing together, which this model cannot separate. Bag size is shown separately, priced at the rate observed across sizes of the same coffee, because it says nothing about the coffee itself. The distribution counts every in-stock listing in the comparison group, with at least 15 listings from three roasters and no roaster supplying more than 60% of it. Decaf, blends, variety segments, processing families and bag formats stay separate. Origin, roast and selling currency can broaden as the group label indicates. Prices are converted to USD per ounce; shipping and differences in tax treatment are not adjusted. The model reads listed attributes only: the quality of the specific lot in the bag is not observable, so a price above the typical band is not evidence of overpricing.

Cherrybook Index (CBI)

Evidence-of-quality score, not a cup score. Methodology

71

Noted

Confident

Confidence3 of 7 signals on file

Enough independent signal to score at face value; no shrinkage applied.

How confidence affects the score

Coverage measures signal availability, not cup quality. This coffee has 43% of the signal universe on file. Missing sources are dropped, remaining weights are renormalized, and the result is shrunk toward a neutral 50 baseline by 0% so one thin signal cannot carry the score on its own.

Missing: SCA grade, YouTube reviews, On-shop ratings, Cherrybook ratings

  • Reddit sentiment
    Sentiment across specialty-coffee discussion
    86/ 42% weight
  • Roaster transparency
    Producer / farm / lot disclosure depth
    80/ 12% weight
  • Coffee Review
    Mean score from coffeereview.com
    60/ 47% weight

Bonuses applied

  • Sprudge press coverage
    This roaster has been featured by Sprudge
    +2
  • Editorial coverage cluster
    This roaster has 3+ recent editorial mentions across trade press
    +1
  • Stale-stock demotion
    This lot has been listed in stock for an extended time; specialty coffee freshness degrades over weeks
    +-5

Base weighted score: 73.2 + bonuses = 71

Sensory profileestimated

Acidity
4
Body
3
Sweetness
4
Balance
4
Clean
4

Comps & alternatives

Tasting flight

Compare this with three more lots selected from the catalog.

Brew a set side-by-side. The picks vary along axes that pair with this lot; origin, process, roast, or producer; so you learn the difference, not just drink four good cups.

Build the flight

Reference · About the varietal & origin

About George Howell Coffee

Community reputation · Reddit

Cult favorite· sentiment 86/100

Two independent Reddit comments give George Howell Coffee strongly favorable but limited evidence. One home roaster said matching George Howell's roast quality was extremely difficult. Another said a frozen Borboya retained the coffee's integrity.

roast qualityfrozen Borboya
Threads cited (2)
  • r/roasting · 11↑ · Freezing GREEN !?!

    I've had frozen coffee from friends who roast/home roast as well as George Howell's Borboya. It's definitely possible to keep the integrity of the coffee intact. Vac pack + a freezer that sits at 0F or below that doesn't get opened often is the best way to go.

  • r/roasting · 8↑ · Procuring high-quality green beans

    ...it's not very hard to home roast and get "good coffee". However, my experience is that it is extremely hard to match what you can buy from Verve, George Howell, etc, and that you should not get into roasting with that goal in mind. Equipment vs. Technique, I'll say both. Obviously, if I had the same equipment as Ver

Press · Sprudge

On YouTube

Watch the reviews

12 videos

About this coffee

Manual Coffee Brewing (Pour Over Coffee) with George Howell

What the reviewer said

From How2Heroes, discussing El Salvador Montecarlos:

“This is a Sula Wisi from the region of Towarco. These are tiny farmers basically that combine together and have this coffee mill together in a cooperative effort.”
“Very sweet, very nice.”

Tasting notes mentioned: sweet

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