El Salvador - Diego Baraona - Bourbon Elite Black Honey

The Bourbon Elite was planted by Diego's forefathers over a hundred years ago. For a long time El Salvador was famous for the prevalence of the bourbon variety. This direct mutation of typica, has now become a rarity in the world and even in El Salvador. Due to the outbreak of coffee leaf rust in the last decade many of these plants have died and were never replanted. The sweetness found in the Bourbon variety, however is unparalleled. 

The incredible age of these plants and their survival of the constant of decease outbreak reflect the perseverance of Diego himself. Although it may be easier to remove the plants and change them with more modern varieties, Diego has decided to keep them around to stay connected with the long history of the farm. 

This lot underwent the black honey processing. In this process the seeds are removed from the cherry very gentle in a dedicated depulper that does not use water. This way all the mucilage, the honey like sweet substance attached to the seeds, remains in tact. Coffee is fermented in the sun for two days in thick piles, promoting fermentation and slowly drying out the mucilage. Afterwards the sticky parchment is transferred to shaded drying beds where the coffee can gently dry for up to forty days. In this period the mucilage firmly sticks to the parchment of the beans creating it's signature black colour. 

This lot is then rested in hermetically sealed bags for three months before processed at the state of the art facilities on the farm. Coffee is handsorted and packed for international transport on the farm.