La Dalia

In the middle of the Apaneca mountains in western El Salvador, not far from the border with Guatemala and only 40 minutes from the sea, the Guillen family has been growing coffee for five generations. Mainly the varieties Bourbon and Pacamara but also some Geisha. On their four farms "San Antonio", "La Dalia", "El Mercurio" and "Santa Teresa" they produce a total of 900 quintals, which are approx. 592 bags of 69kg each, i.e. a little more than two containers of coffee per year. We met José Guillen in 2016 at the "Best Of El Salvador" competition organized by the Consejo Salvadoreño de Cafe in San Salvador, where we were able to choose the best coffees in the country.

Right now Jose Guillen is the 5th generation of coffee growers in Guillen family. Since 2013 his parents (Carlos Guillen and Sandra de Guillen) and he have been changed the way they produce coffee, switching from commercial coffee to specialty coffee in all their farms. We bought the first harvest of "La Dalia" in 2018 as Pacamara Honey, in the same year as this coffee won 1st place at the German Brewers Cup. A year later, together with the Guillens, we built a cold store so that José could anaerobically ferment his excellent coffee in a targeted and controlled manner.

The 16ha Finca La Dalia is located at an altitude of 1500m. On an area of 7ha the Pacamara plants grow on loamy soil and on steep slopes under cedar, mahogany and pepeto trees. At La Dalia there are 60% of Bourbon and 40% Pacamara are growing.