Origin - El Salvador

Region - Chalatenango

Process - Honey

Producer - Finca La Hondurita / Fito Montiel

Altitude - 1500-1550m

Variety - Pacamara

Tasting notes - Red apple, raspberry, cinnamon sugar

We were lucky enough to meet José Arnulfo “Fito” Montiel and visit his farm - La Hondurita - on a trip to the Chalatenango region of El Salvador back in April 2023. At that time we missed out on purchasing his incredible honey process Pacamara, but this year we’ve been able to get hold of some with the help of our partners at Covoya.

The farm’s history goes back to 1970 when Fito’s father began growing coffee on this property, but during the civil war the Montiel family moved to another city, leaving behind their property. Once the civil unrest was over, Fito and his family moved back to La Hondurita and started over, doing coffee replanting, pruning shade trees and reviving the entire farm.

Coffee production in these northern mountains of Chalatenango is relatively new. The micro-region where these farms are situated is extremely difficult to access, especially in the rainy season when already challenging roads become perilous to drive along. Nevertheless the mountainous terrain and microclimate of the region is highly suited to the production of high quality arabica.