El Salvador

Santa Cristina

Rich chocolate and caramel

Rich chocolate notes dominate in this lot grown by the Gonzalez family on the slopes of the San Salvador Volcano.

Santa Cristina has been managed by the Gonzalez family for over 40 years.

Producer
Rene Gonzalez-Hernandez
Coffee expression
A sweet & rich coffee

Regular price: $20.00
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Sale price: $20.00
incl. vat/tax
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Honey Bourbon

Santa Cristina

This lot comes from Finca Santa Cristina, located at 1200 masl on the slopes of the San Salvador volcano, not far from the city of the same name, El Salvador’s capital. Santa Cristina has been owned by the Gonzalez family for over 40 years, and most of the current work is undertaken by Rene Gonzalez-Hernandez, who also works as a lawyer in San Salvador. The rather high altitude, and fertile volcanic soils lead to great potential for quality. The combination of this with high quality varietals and generations of knowhow leads to excellence in the cup. This lot is a honey-processed Bourbon, harvested in March of this year.

The volcanic soils and high altitude lead to excellent potential for quality.

The processing preserves the clean terroir notes of Salvadoran coffees, with the traditional chocolate notes backed up by a deep and rich caramel sweetness, enhanced by the honey process. Our attention was drawn to this lot by Rene’s son Eduardo, who lives in Vienna and helps his father to make connections in Europe; a true family business.

Technical Data

Producer
Rene Gonzalez-Hernandez
Region
Quezaltepec
Altitude
1200 masl
Varietal
Bourbon
Process
Honey
Harvest
March 2022

Honey Process

With the honey process a certain amount of mucilage and pulp are allowed to remain on the coffee bean during depulping. The cover will stay with the bean during fermentation and drying thereby contributing to the sugars absorbed by the bean and affecting the flavour notes of the final cup. The amount of mucilage remaining defines the type of honey process - white, yellow, red or black in ascending order of mucilage concentration. If they are processed properly, the coffees can take on quite a lot of sweetness and flavours while remaining clean.

Raised drying beds (sometimes referred to as African drying beds) are often preferable when working with honey processed coffees, because of the additional airflow they allow. The air ensures that the beans dry evenly and reduces the incidence of fungi and bacteria formation. On the other hand, some farmers are accustomed to using sun-exposed patio drying that require a regular raking of beans to avoid moulds. While total fermentation and drying time depend on such choices as well as ambient temperature and moisture levels, red honey processing easily needs two weeks from depulping until drying has completed.