El Salvador Plan Del Hoyo

Plan del Hoyo sits high in El Salvador's Apaneca-Ilamatepec range, one of the country's most respected coffee growing areas, and it has been in the de Sola family since 1957. The land was bought by Francisco's father and originally ran as an Angus cattle property with a side of fruit and birds, until civil war forced Francisco and his sister Susana out of the country in 1980. When the peace accords were signed, Francisco came back and turned the focus to wood production. Then in 2005 the Ilamatepec Volcano erupted, the family had to diversify again, and after 48 years working for the Sola Group, Francisco planted his first coffee trees here in 2015 with support from the El Salvador Agricultural Department. Newish to coffee, but clearly a quick study. Plan del Hoyo placed 8th in the 2023 Cup of Excellence, which is no small thing in a field that competitive.

The Geisha coffee varietyneeds no introduction at this point. Originally from Ethiopia and made famous in Panama, it's prized for its perfume, delicacy and ability to surprise even seasoned tasters. Run through a natural process, it really lets the cherry character come through. For this lot, ripe cherries are hand picked and hand sorted, then sent straight to a nearby mill where they spend 21 patient days drying whole on raised African beds. The beans rest inside the dried cherry pod right up until export, which keeps the fruit driving the cup for as long as possible.

All that time hanging out in the fruit shows up in the cup. Heaps of strawberry, ripe cherry, a soft chocolatey middle and a red cordial sweetness that hangs around long after the cup's empty. There's a faint cascara note tucked in there too, that lightly tart tea-like thing you get when natural processing is done well. Brew it gently, don't rush it, maybe don't share it.