Artisan Roast: El Salvador, Peña Redonda, Washed

The El Salvador border lands of North East Chalatenango are home to small owned family coffee farms, usually a handful of hectares in size, where the coffee trees grow under gentle shade in the mountains that rise to the high-altitude border with Honduras. In this thinner mountain air the coffee has a unique profile very different from the more Pacific influenced growing zones to the west.

Of these farms Peña Redonda found recognition for producing award winning coffee while owned and run by Jose Maria Lemus. Now in the hand of Jose’s son Carlos the production of Pacamara coffees in the moreish classic Chalatenango style continues as ever. The farm itself is high in the hills above the town of La Palma. Perfectly named after the huge boulder in the middle of the farm, around half the farm is planted with the equally large beaned Pacamara. Carlos then brings his Pacamara from down the hill to a processing area nearer La Palma, and the raised beds at the site are a rainbow of different colours of parchment coffee. These colours are the result of varying sun drying times, all carefully managed, and offering differing levels of ferment and resulting flavour profile.

With a medium roast Peña Redonda develops a rich, warming and syrupy sweet structure very much in the mould of classic El Salvadorean honey process coffees. Flavours of milk chocolate, dried black fruits and roasted almond form the base. The zesty lime like citrus of the Pacamara is balanced off by a maple syrup like sweetness making this an accessible and versatile coffee for home brewing.