El Salvador – Los Chelazos, Chalantenango

Origin: El Salvador

Region: La Palma, San Ignacio, Chalatenango

Estate: Los Chelazos

Estate Size: 2-10 hectares

Altitude: 1200-1800 masl
Varietal: Pacas, Catuaí, Bourbon, Caturra
Processing: Honey Processed

Harvest: Dec-Mar

Owner: 25 producers of the Chelazos Co-Op

Tasting Notes: Winey, Dark Chocolate & Morello Cherry

Don’t be fooled by El Salvador’s small size. It was once the 4th largest coffee producer worldwide and continues to produce high quality lots. The country is known for its great cupping varieties, such as Bourbon and Pacamara. In fact, two beloved, frequently high-scoring varieties—Pacas and Pacamara— originated in El Salvador.

Unlike other countries, where specialty coffee production has required a great deal of additional investment and training, El Salvador already has a broad and skilled specialty coffee workforce. Farming traditions run deep, and many Salvadorian farmers are extremely passionate about coffee production and continuously strive to improve their crop. El Salvador has optimal conditions for coffee processing. The prolonged dry season typically occurs during the harvest season, making it easier to sun dry coffee.

Though coffee output in the country has been declining for over two decades – exacerbated by the CLR crisis – the approach to coffee production has changed from volume- to quality-driven. A new generation of coffee producers has sprouted around the country with a new vision and approach to production. Many of this generation are experimenting with processing and varietals.

Chelazos refers to the people who live in Chalatenango, a northern district of El Salvador bordering Honduras. The people in this part of the country have lighter-colored skin and green or blue eyes. This is a bit of a rarity when compared to the rest of the population and because of these characte-ristics, they are referred to as ‘Chelitos’, which is where the name Los Chelazos comes from. Los Chelazos is a blend of coffees from two main cantons: Citalá and La Palma, both of these are part of the Montecristo Tri?nio, a tri-border national park shared between El Salvador, Guatemala, and Hon-duras. Designated as a biosphere reserve in 2011, this is a protected area of incredibly rich biodiversity.

Behind Los Chelazos coffee, there are about 25 producers, the main charac-teristic that unites these coffee growers is their shared passion for coffee. Coffee farmers rely solely on coffee production and have mastered different processing methods. There is also a tradition of cultivating staple crops for their family and consumption, such as corn, beans, and some vegetables and fruits.

The coffee growers who contribute to this blend own small to medium-sized farms that have the privilege of sharing very similar agro-climatic conditions that favor excellent plant development, in addition to the good fertility of the soils. Because it is an area with average elevations between 1,200 and 1,800 meters above sea level, traditional varieties adapt well so coffee farmers can obtain an outstanding cup complexity. The main varieties that make up this coffee are Pacas, Bourbon, and Catuai, but growers also grow other varieties such as Pacamara, Cuscatleco, Costa Rica 95, and Ana-cafe 14.