El Salvador Coffee Beans | Honey Process Coffee | El Recuerdo Estate Pour-Over Coffee Bean Recommendations

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Introduction to Honey Processed Coffee

Besides the coffee featured in this article, FrontStreet Coffee also recommends these honey-processed, pour-over-friendly beans: Costa Rica Black Honey and Nicaragua Black Honey.

El Salvador El Recuerdo Honey

Origin Country: El Salvador

Region: Apaneca-Ilamatepec; Santa Ana

Estate: Finca El Recuerdo

Producers: Jose Antonio and Andreas Salaverria

Washing Station: Las Cruces

Altitude: 1,400 meters

Varieties: Bourbon; Icatu

Processing Method: Honey Process

Harvest Time: January-February 2017

Flavor Notes: Milk chocolate, milk fudge, deep and intriguing flavors, gentle stone fruit acidity, and slight herbal notes that add complex layers

El Salvador El Recuerdo Estate

El Recuerdo Estate is run by brothers Jose Antonio and Andreas Salaverria, who harvest the coffee cherries for each year's honey-processed lots. Thanks to their forward-thinking mindset, their approach is both intelligent and sustainable. They personally oversee every stage: planting coffee and shade trees, cherry selection, processing, drying, hulling, quality control, and finally bagging.

In early 2017, the brothers specially processed several outstanding coffee varieties planted on a small plot they had cleared on the farm. Their investment keeps growing as they experiment with new varieties, while they remain committed to maintaining the health of the old Bourbon and other legacy coffee trees across several farms in Santa Ana. At the Las Cruces washing station they run a whole series of different processes — depulping with a Jotagallo machine, fermenting parchment while it still carries its sugars, or using mucilage removers to strip away the pectin before drying on patios or African beds. Last year brought several distinct coffees, including water-soaked batches in which the parchment was submerged in clean water for extended periods, producing a very slow anaerobic fermentation.

This lot from El Recuerdo Estate is honey processed, with 100% of the mucilage left clinging to the seed and dried in the sun. That drying method is hard to control: the beans become extremely sticky and clump together easily unless they are turned constantly. But the extra labor is well worth it — slower, more even drying makes the flavor more complex while keeping the cup clean: captivating milk chocolate and fudge, joined by interesting herbal and fruity notes that give this approachable coffee an extra dimension.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If this honey-processed El Salvador appeals to you, two more honey lots from FrontStreet Coffee deserve a spot on your shelf. The FrontStreet Costa Rica Blackberry is a true black honey coffee — almost none of the mucilage is removed, and the beans dry for at least two weeks under shade covers with regular turning, yielding a medium-light roast full of floral fragrance and flavors of grape, berries, and ripe blackberry. For something even more experimental, the FrontStreet Mozart uses the raisin honey process, in which whole cherries are pre-dried on raised beds for at least three days before pulping, keeping 100% of the mucilage intact. It rewards you with rich, warm fruit sweetness — osmanthus, pineapple, and raisin notes — whether brewed as pour-over, cold brew, or moka pot.