Santa Rosa

Tasting Notes: Chamomile, gala apple, yellow peach, honey

Fragrance/Aroma: Floral, yellowish
Acidity: Soft
Body: Tea-like
Aftertaste: Sweet

Cup Profile

This honey-processed Pacamara opens with a fragrance of yellow florals and chamomile, revealing the cultivar's herbaceous character through delicate, slightly earthy floral tones.

On the palate, a soft, rounded acidity introduces notes of gala apple, offering gentle tartness paired with balanced natural sweetness. As the cup develops, the acidity brightens and evolves, transitioning into the stone fruit territory of ripe yellow peach. This progression demonstrates how residual mucilage sugars interact with Pacamara's inherent characteristics to create layered fruit expression.

The body presents as tea-like, clean and refined rather than heavy, allowing the flavors to articulate clearly across the palate. This lighter texture complements the floral and fruit notes while maintaining the mouthfeel characteristic of quality Pacamara.

The finish lingers with soft honeyed sweetness, a trait of the honey processing method. This gentle sweetness provides a satisfying conclusion that invites the next sip, demonstrating the balance Rivera has achieved between processing technique and varietal character. The aftertaste remains clean and sweet, with echoes of the chamomile and stone fruit notes encountered earlier.

Finca Santa Rosa in the San Ignacio district of Chalatenango, El Salvador, was founded in 1979 by Jorge Raúl Rivera and his brother José Roberto Rivera. With the civil war raging and coffee prices plummeting, the brothers put their coffee dreams on hold for a time, instead planting a pine forest to protect the mountain.

But Jorge never gave up his passion for coffee. In 2003, the year the first Cup of Excellence was held in El Salvador, he and his brother began planting coffee again, choosing the Pacamara variety. They designed their farm to utilize the shade-rich coniferous forests to ensure the coffee trees thrive in the hot and dry conditions of Chalatenango.

Since then, Jorge has not only nurtured Santa Rosa but also taught coffee cultivation and processing at the National University of El Salvador, sharing his knowledge with local farmers. This constant focus on research and quality improvement has helped Santa Rosa become El Salvador's leading specialty coffee producer, achieving numerous outstanding achievements, including first place in the 2014 Cup of Excellence and subsequent wins in 2017 and 2019.

This exceptional lot showcases the Pacamara cultivar, a remarkable hybrid of Pacas and Maragogipe developed in El Salvador during the late 1950s. Pacamara's genetic lineage produces unusually large beans that translate into complex, layered cup profiles. Unlike conventional varieties that emphasize bright fruit-forward notes, Pacamara distinguishes itself through distinctly herbaceous and savory characteristics that challenge and delight the palate.

Rivera's meticulous honey processing amplifies Pacamara's inherent complexity. By leaving controlled amounts of mucilage on the bean during drying, this semi-washed method creates a bridge between clean, bright washed coffees and full-bodied naturals. The result is a multifaceted cup that balances Pacamara's signature savory depth (think fresh herbs, umami richness, and subtle vegetal notes) with honeyed sweetness and a tea-like body.

Sourced from: Coffee Libre
We paid: S$34.15/kg
Roasted cost: S$50.65/kg

Moisture content: 10.1%
Weight loss: 12.0%
Agtron: W87.7 / G131.2 / △43.5