El Salvador - Finca Los Angeles

A rare treat in our roastery; we're returning to El Salvador for another exceptional honey process, and what an absolute corker it is. 

Finca Los Angeles is a very small project, based in western El Salvador, specifically the Ahuachapan Department. The farm is part of the Los Naranjos farm group, headed by Sigredo Corado a former professor in the field of agronomy, educating the newest generation of farmers in the region about best practices that are restorative for the land and also beneficial for yield and soil quality. 

The neighbouring farm to Finca Los Angeles known as Noruega is where most of the coursework is held, with around 60 students experimenting on the plots here with different varietals such as Bourbon and Geisha. Finca Los Angeles is solely Pacamara focused. The coffee is selectively harvested and from here it then is taken to the wet mill and drying beds at Beneficio San Rafael located between the two hills of El Pilon and Cerro Aguila at 1450 masl. In the harvest this football field becomes filled with drying beds for all the coffees that come from the farms Los Angeles and Noruega.

The Pacamara lot is washed and floated before then being pulped and left to ferment in tiled tanks for around 24 to 36 hours. After this, the coffee is washed in fresh water to remove the remaining mucilage before being taken to the raised beds to dry for 15 to 20 days, being turned regularly to ensure even drying until the desired moisture content is achieved.

We've selected a particular offering from Los Angeles, known as the 'black honey' process, that a few of you have had from us before - but for those new to this process; Black Honey is a special fermentation wherein the coffee cherry is left on the beans rather than washing, to allow sugar transfer and give rich sweetness however, unlike the natural process, any honey process is shade dried. 'Black' is the level of fermentation given before cherry (pulp) removal, a bit like the difference between black and green tea, where the level of fermentation defines the definition, in this case, 'Black' is the most fermented, but 'Red' is the most common. 

Finca Los Angeles is a stunner for all brewing methods, with rich notes of dark chocolate, rounded off by citrus notes of lemon and a full toffee body. 

Process: Black Honey

Location: Finca Los Angeles, Ahuachapan Department

Altitude: 1350 - 1450 MASL

Flavour Notes: Dark Chocolate, Toffee and Lemon

Roast Level: Medium

Varietal: Pacamara