El Salvador Santa Leticia Pacamara Honey Processed

Description

New crop El Sal Pacamara! Giant screen size 18-22 beans.

Honey processed coffees are somewhere in-between washed and natural processing. It is the process of leaving some of the fruit on the beans during the drying. They can end up closer to a washed processed with a quick dry, or closer to a natural processed with a slow dry. This one is smack dab in the middle – little hint of a red fruit tone at lighter roasts but very clean and not as wild as the full natural. Sweeter with bigger body than the washed processing.

Fina Las Ninfas Pacamara, located near the town of Apaneca within the department of Ahuachapan, El Salvador, is owned and operated by Ricardo Valdivieso, a third generation coffee farmer, and his family. Ricardo’s grandfather purchased the land in 1870. Finca Las Ninfas Pacamara was passed down to Ricardo during a time of great turmoil in El Salvador’s history. At the peak of conflict in the 1980’s, Ricardo came face to face with a firing squad in defense of his family’s land. He was not shot but spent many years in exile before he was able to return to Finca Las Ninfas Pacamara. Today, Ricardo works with his daughter, Monica, to protect their groves of pacamara varietal from leaf rust. In addition to coffee, Monica operates a beautiful hotel and restaurant at their other farm called Finca Santa Leticia. Mayan artifacts discovered on the property by Ricardo’s father have also been preserved as an archaeological site for visitors to enjoy.

Tasting Notes:
Very cool gentle cup – hints of a citrus and red fruit acidity with a fuller body and smooth semi-sweet chocolate undertone. Very clean cup profile and very dependent on roast. Being a cool honey processed, the light to medium roast points are where the coffee will shine but still awfully tasty at a dark roast, just less exotic.

Roasting Notes:
Light to medium roast is definitely the way to go. Very sweet with those nice red fruit complexities popping right out. A little on the milder side so a quicker roasts helps Holds up nicely at a darker roast unlike the full natural; smooth and creamy with some nice sweet smokey tones.