This Pacas Honey from Carlos Pola is a clear reflection of El Salvador’s heritage varieties combined with a modern, data-driven approach to coffee production. Produced in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range, this lot highlights how thoughtful processing and sustainable farming can elevate a classic Salvadoran variety into a refined and expressive cup.
Finca Las Brisas & Finca San Antonio
Carlos Pola comes from a long line of coffee farmers and purchased Finca Las Brisas in 1997 while still working in the textile industry. In 2012, he made the decisive shift to coffee full time, applying his background in quality control, efficiency, and data management to radically rethink how specialty coffee could be produced in El Salvador.
Today, Carlos manages both Finca Las Brisas and Finca San Antonio, covering a total of 119 hectares, with 98 hectares under coffee. His farms are located in Juayúa, within the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range — one of the country’s most prestigious coffee-growing regions. Beyond production, Carlos is deeply committed to education, traceability, and community support, even developing a digital system to track coffee from harvest day through export.
Varietal & Process
Variety: Pacas
Process: Honey
Drying: Raised beds, parchment dried for 15–20 days
Altitude: 1,200–2,030 m
Producer: Carlos Pola — Finca Las Brisas & Finca San Antonio, Juayúa, Sonsonate, El Salvador
Harvest: October–March
Pacas is a natural mutation first identified in El Salvador in 1949 and remains one of the country’s most emblematic varieties. For this lot, cherries are selectively handpicked and pre-dried under shade before pulping. The remaining mucilage is left on the parchment during drying, creating the honey process that enhances sweetness and texture while significantly reducing water use.
Drying takes place on raised beds with frequent raking to ensure even moisture loss. In line with Carlos’s ecological philosophy, water used during processing is treated and reused as part of a closed-loop system that nourishes beneficial fungi supporting nutrient uptake in the coffee trees.
Tasting Notes
🥜 Nuts – 🍭 Cotton Candy – 🥭 Tropical Fruits
A playful and comforting cup with a creamy, rounded mouthfeel. Nutty undertones provide structure, while cotton-candy sweetness brings a soft, nostalgic character. Tropical fruit notes lift the profile with gentle acidity and a juicy, lingering finish. Balanced, expressive, and highly approachable.
In Collaboration
Carlos Pola’s work represents a new generation of Salvadoran coffee production — one rooted in tradition but driven by innovation, sustainability, and transparency. This Pacas Honey lot showcases not only the potential of El Salvador’s native varieties, but also the impact of long-term vision and responsible farming. We’re proud to share this coffee as a refined expression of place, process, and purpose.