El Salvador: El Angel, Carbonic Macerated Natural, Pacamara [125g]

*Please note this coffee is part of our Special Reserve range and sold in 125g bags, not 220g*

El Angel is the first farm of Rafael Silva Jr. He runs the wet mill for this family's farms - among them our familiar favourites La Fany, Siberia, Llano Grande and San Cayetano. His dad, Rafael Snr, has always been in charge of the farms. Although he's not able to be as hands on in that as he used to be, he still has the final say on everything which happens. So, Rafa Jnr decided he wanted his own farm one day, where he could try out all his own ideas without having to get his father's approval - enter, El Angel.

Purchased just over two years ago (December 2022), this farm is in a different region to the families others (it's on the Santa Ana volcano and overlooks the beautiful lake Coatepeque). The previous owners had already been moving it into producing specialty coffee, but Rafa is continuing (and accelerating) that as he adds to it using his families nurseries with access to rare varietals and their exceptional processing at their wet mill. This resulted in him taking home two awards from the 2024 Cup of Excellence - 2nd place in the Naturals category for a Natural SL28 and 7th place in the Experimental category for a Carbonic Macerated Natural SL28 (the same process as this one).

The name for the process of this coffee is made up of two parts - Carbonic Maceration and Natural. Coffee processing names can be confusing nowadays as there are often multiple parts involved so let's break this down - first off, what is Carbonic Maceration?

It’s an idea borrowed from winemaking, where the fruit is put into a barrel and sealed up. This sounds like the same thing as Anaerobic (i.e. without oxygen), doesn’t it? Well, it is - the bit that makes it Carbonic Maceration is what happens next, as Carbon Dioxide is pumped into the barrel. This displaces any air in the barrel and is also absorbed by the fruit, which creates a change in the biochemical processes happening within the cherry.

The second part of the name is Natural. That means that after about 2-3 days in the barrel, the coffee cherry is removed and set out to dry in the sun. This causes the fruit around seeds (the green coffee beans) to dry out and shrivel up like a raisin. After they are dry, the fruit is put through machinery at a Dry Mill to remove it and just leave the green beans behind.

And there you have it! Interestingly, some of the flavours wine tasters give to carbonic macerated wines are cherry or red berries - see if you think the coffee has a similar flavour (spoiler alert, we do).

All aboard, destination funky! Starting with raspberry, this swings into fresh red cherries, but the funky edge is like a sweet balsamic glaze over it, before a hit of brown sugar as it cools. Big and bold flavours in this cup mean you won't be sitting on the fence!

• Country: El Salvador
• Region: Santa Ana
• Nearest city: Chalchuapa
• Farm: El Angel
• Mill: Beneficio San Pedro
• Producers: Rafael Silva Jr.
• Elevation: 1,650 m.a.s.l.
• Variety: Pacamara
• Processing method: Carbonic Macerated Natural

Tasting notes: Raspberry, red cherry, balsamic glaze, brown sugar.

Cup of Excellence Cupping Scores

• Clean Cup: (1-8): 6
  
• Sweetness: (1-8): 7
  
• Acidity: (1-8): 7
  
• Mouthfeel: (1-8): 6
  
• Flavour: (1-8): 6.5
  
• Aftertaste: (1-8): 6
  
• Balance: (1-8): 6
  
• Overall: (1-8): 6.5
  
• Correction:(+36): +36
  
• Total (max 100): 87
  

Roast Information
Medium to medium dark: this coffee might need a little more heat than you expect, but you want a good amount of development on it and to push it to the end of the gap.