EL SALVADOR LA HONDURITA GESHA

tasting notes: white chocolate, donut peach, jasmine

variety: gesha
elevation: 1700 MASL

this is a coffee that our beloved alejandro valliente has exported for us through his outstanding cafenor project. tal and ryan visited in 2023--below are ryan's trip notes.

trip report el salvador 2023

after breakfast at the cafenor compound overlooking beautiful metapan, we all jumped in the trusty nissan 4x4 and started the journey to la hondurita.   A five-hour drive down the mountain, through the valley over to the chalatenango range and up the mountain.  not many people get to drive vehicles like this, through the mountains and jungle; its extreme 4x4 ing at its finest. hold on! as we enter the zone of the farms Alejandro is met by many as a celebrity.  we keep climbing and finally get to la hondurita .  A couple of well used 70s landcruisers at the gate and a few massive raised drying beds filled with naturals.  we asked what they were doing with all of these naturals and they said it was the last of the pickings. they showed us around the lower part of the farm.  it is a mill which includes a fermentation tank, shaded drying tables, and a storage bunker for all the green in parchment. very smart that they control everything . ok now the exciting part: the gesha plants . the farm was almost all pacamara but hidden high up in the trees is the gesha part of the farm.  when i say farm, it is not a farm at all, it's basically a preserve or just jungle on the side of a mountain. as we hike up the 500feet above the mill we were lead by Fito Montiel, the farm's owner, wielding a large machete to cut our path.  it's remarkable how healthy these plants look underneath this natural canopy.  we talk about the health of his farm and the future of obtaining more land around the area.  very exciting.  lunch time.  we walk over to Fito's house.  He has a wooden patio built over the family's garden with a couple of hammocks and a table for at least ten people.   A couple of dogs and cats joined us for lunch.  Then pupusas started flowing out of the kitchen. I think I set my maximum number of pupusa eating record that day. I’m too embarrassed to say the number.    We said our appreciation and headed back to cafenor.