2013 COE #1 Champion El Salvador | Nicolas Estate Pacamara Black Honey Process

2013 COE #1 Champion El Salvador | Flavor Notes of Nicolas Estate Pacamara Black Honey Process

Located in the Chalatenango province of El Salvador, near the Honduran border amid the mountain ranges of Central America at an elevation of 1450-1550m, this region enjoys cool temperatures year-round, steady rainfall, and a special mineral-rich soft soil. These conditions let the organic fertilizers the farm cultivates penetrate the soft soil, so the coffee trees absorb nutrients fully. The farm is not large and sits at the very upstream of natural water sources. The fertile soil and microclimate keep the coffee trees gleaming green, and every bean shows strong vitality. With half a century of growing experience, the farm owner has taken first place nationwide in all three competitions.

A Three-Time Award Winner

Farm owner Ignacio Gutierrez Solis began growing coffee in 1991, after the civil war ended, on land inherited from his father, Finca Roxanita. In his first COE competition in 2011 he took the championship with an impressive cupping score of 93.19. He passed one of his parcels, Finco San Nicolas, to his son, and just two years later his son won the 2013 championship with the PACAMARA variety using a special honey processing method. In 2012 the owner acquired El Pocitos, cultivating native PACAMARA seedlings and planting them with organic fertilizers. In 2015, competing again with a high score of 92.06, he claimed the national championship for the third time.

Farm Details

Province: Chalatenango

Farm: Nicolas Estate, 2013 COE #1 Champion

Elevation: 1,450m - 1,550m

Variety: 100% PACAMARA

Processing Method: Black Honey Process

Cupping Notes: Camellia fragrance, cane sugar sweetness, red wine, honey plum, a refreshing fruit-juice balance of acidity and sweetness, peach, a sweet-and-sour fruit aftertaste, honey sweetness. Very sweet and clean, rounded and smooth, with a long aftertaste and a perfect structure.

FrontStreet Coffee's Recommended Brewing

Dripper: Hario V60

Water Temperature: 90-91°C

Grind Size: Fuji Royal grinder setting 3.5 (64% pass-through rate on a China #20 sieve)

Brewing Method: Water-to-coffee ratio 1:15, using 15g of coffee. First pour 25g of water for a 25-second bloom. Second pour to 120g, then pause. Wait until the water level drops to half, then continue pouring slowly until reaching 225g total. Extraction time about 2:00.

Analysis: The three-stage method clearly separates the front, middle, and back-end flavors. Because the V60 has many ribs and drains quickly, pausing the water flow extends the extraction time.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Black honey processing is the heart of this champion coffee, and it is also a specialty at FrontStreet Coffee. FrontStreet's Costa Rica Blackberry is made with a distinctive black honey process that removes almost no mucilage, drying for at least two weeks under cover so the sugars convert fully. After a light-medium roast, the grounds release an intense floral fragrance, and the cup shows grape, berry, and ripe blackberry flavors with a clear, sweet depth.

For a different take on honey processing, FrontStreet's Mozart uses a raisin honey method in which the whole cherry is pre-dried for at least three days before the skin and pulp are removed, retaining 100% of the pectin. It delivers the sweet, aromatic notes of osmanthus, pineapple, and raisin, and it works beautifully as pour-over, cold brew, or moka pot.