Tasting Notes: Chocolate Orange / Caramel Apple / Plum

Our El Salvador Las Mercedes Pepinal 1 is back, and we’re roasting up the crowd-pleaser once again! This gem is the ultimate fall single-origin to snuggle up with. Think flavors of rich chocolate orange, caramel apple, and juicy plum – it's autumn in a cup! Plus, the aroma? A heavenly mix of chocolate and salted caramel, all wrapped up in a clean, tangy, malty, smooth and sweet body. Cozy season, meet your perfect coffee companion!

The Las Mercedes farm process begins with hand picking only ripe, mature cherries, and then carefully screening them before depulping to eliminate twigs, leaves, and other foreign material. At the wet mill, the cherries are received into ceramic tiled ditches, washed with fresh collected rainwater, and immediately fed into a pulper. These pulpers are designed to separate the bean from the flesh of the fruit while leaving each bean intact in its parchment envelope.

Instead of the usual washed process, Las Mercedes uses a “Double Washed” method for the Pepinal 1, otherwise known as the “Kenya Method”. This method moves the coffee into a special water-filled tank to soak for an additional 24 hours. The tank is then emptied, and the process is repeated, filling the tank and letting the coffee rest for an additional 18-24 hours. After the second soak, the coffee is moved to the drying patios. This process is done in Kenya and in parts of Ethiopia, but the technique varies from place to place.

REGION: Cerro El Tigre
FARM: Finca Las Mercedes
FARMERS: Lucia Abregado De Ortiz
ALTITUDE: 1400 M
VARIETAL: Bourbon
PROCESS: Washed
ROAST: Medium | Light