El Pepinal 2 Bourbon Honey

This honey-process offering opens with aromas of maple, toasted hazelnut, and tamarind. We found notes of raisin and butterscotch in the cup alongside red apple acidity and a creamy body. The finish features semi-sweet chocolate and a touch of cedar.

Details

Producer: Lucia Ortiz Farm: Finca Las Mercedes Region: Usulután Department Altitude: 1,194-1,600 masl | 4,900-5,250 feet Varietal: Bourbon Process: Honey Roast: Light Notes: Butterscotch, Raisin, Semi-Sweet Chocolate

The Story

The honey process is common in Central America, emphasizing rich fruit notes and rounding out acidity while contributing a creamy mouthfeel to the cup.

At Las Mercedes, Bourbon cherries from the El Pepinal lot are screened for quality and only selected when they have achieved peak ripeness. After sorting, the cherries are sent immediately to the on-site wet mill. The cherries are washed in ceramic tile channels and sent into the pulper where the skin is removed, leaving the sticky, honey-like mucilage exposed.

The coffee is then laid out on clay tile patios to dry for a day or two and carefully turned with rakes to allow the mucilage to ferment evenly. After fermentation the parchment coffee is sent through washing channels to remove the remaining mucilage, then spread back out on the tile patio to dry for 7-10 days.

Direct Trade

We have been proud to partner with Finca Las Mercedes since 2006, when Lucia's El Pepinal lot took first place in El Salvador Cup of Excellence. The farm has thrived under the leadership of Lucia Ortiz, whose family has owned the farm for five generations.

Produced by Lucia Ortiz in the Usulután Department of El Salvador, El Pepinal 2 is a standout example of the Bourbon varietal. This specific lot undergoes a honey process, a technique that often bridges the gap between washed and natural coffees by leaving a portion of the fruit mucilage on the bean during drying. This method frequently contributes to a syrupy mouthfeel and enhanced sweetness, characteristics that align well with the butterscotch, raisin, and semi-sweet chocolate notes identified by PT's Coffee Roasting.

Because Bourbon is widely celebrated for its balanced acidity and complex sugar browning, it serves as an ideal canvas for the honey process. When evaluating these specific flavor profiles, tasters may find it helpful to reference a flavor wheel to better categorize the interplay between the deep, dried-fruit tones and the rich, confectionary finish found in this harvest.