Don Jaime Honey
El Salvador / Honey
A charming and deliciously moreish honey processed coffee from an award-winning farm. Silky smooth, supremely balanced with notes of roasted almond, sugar cane and zesty orange citrus.
Producer: Jaime Guevara
Region: La Palma, Municipality of Chalatenango, Alotepec-Metapán
Farm: Finca don Jaime
Arabica Cultivar: Pacamara
Process: Honey
Altitude: 1650m asl
he high-altitude Chalatenango district of Alotepec-Metapán in El Salvador is known for producing some of the country's most exceptional, often award-winning coffees. We first met Jaime Guevara eight years ago because his farm, Finca Don Jaime, had won a prestigious local quality award. Since then, Jaime’s coffee has been consistently delicious and approachable, representing a classic view of El Salvadorean coffee so well.
The farm is focused very much on quality and Jamie has continued to win awards for his coffee since we started working together. Embracing innovation, Jaime uses raised drying beds, similar to those originally found in East Africa, to meticulously control the drying process after fermentation. This move away from the traditional El Salvadorean concrete patio method has proven to be a quality game-changer. The construction of a shading system for these beds was funded by Artisan Roast, ensuring the coffee is cured at lower temperatures, preserving its natural sweetness and elevating its overall quality.
When used to dry whole coffee cherries for natural process micro-lots that time extends further and boosts the positive fermentation at the beginning of drying. This leads to a vibrant fruit forward expression of the Pacamara variety at its best. With Pacamara this fruit balances off the bright citrus notes so typical of the cultivar. Ripe, almost winey structure leads onto exotic flavours of red berry, pineapple and plump golden raisins. There is a sugar cane sweetness and syrupy mouthfeel complemented by flavours of roasted almonds, red apple, and a refreshing zesty lime citrus finish.
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