Valle de Oro Natural

Valle de Oro sits in San José de la Majada, Sonsonate, on flat volcanic Andisol at 1,050 metres. It is a monovarietal farm — Marsellesa, all of it.

That was a decision, not an inheritance. In 2007 the farm pulled out its Pacas and Pacamaras and replanted with a rust-resistant hybrid nobody in specialty respected at the time, because rust and a changing climate were both visible from where they stood. The seed came from ECOM CRIAD in Nicaragua, and more than a decade of in-house selection followed — keeping only what cupped and yielded. The industry came around later.

The natural process here starts before picking. Cherries are read for sugar and only the fully ripe ones come off the tree; a second sort happens before processing, and the lot’s average sugar decides how it gets handled. Drying runs to 10–11% humidity. At the start the coffee is just turned for an even dry, three times a day — no numbers yet. As it nears the end, that becomes an hourly check on the coffee mass’s own temperature, plus three humidity readings a day. That log is why a lot can be repeated a year later.

We roast it to keep the fruit in the background and the chocolate forward. If you want to taste what the process is doing, brew it lighter and give it a minute in the cup.