El Salvador Los Chelazos

This is a natural processed lot from Los Chelazos in El Salvador's Chalatenango highlands. You can find a papaya-like tropical fruit character balanced by a syrupy caramel sweetness. It works well both as an espresso and a classic filter.

The name Los Chelazos comes from a local nickname for people from Chalatenango, a northern district of El Salvador bordering Honduras. The lot is a blend of coffees grown across the Citalá and La Palma cantons, both part of the Montecristo Trifinio — a tri-border biosphere reserve shared by El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. 

This lot was grown by Marco Antonio Aguilar Lemus and Maria Julia Retana Leiva, two of roughly 25 small to medium-scale producers behind Los Chelazos who have partnered with Caravela for around a decade. Farms in this area sit between 1,200 and 1,800 meters above sea level, with fertile soils well suited to classic Salvadoran varieties like Pacas alongside newer ones such as Marsellesa.

Harvest & Process
Harvest runs from November to March. For this natural lot, ripe cherries are floated to sort out lower-density beans, then left to ferment whole for around 12 hours before being pulped and moved straight to drying. Depending on the farm, drying takes 7 to 12 days in courtyards or 12 to 22 days on raised beds.