EL SALVADOR BERNARDINA

Tastes Like: Muddled Peach, Black Cherry, Wildflower Honey, Citric Acidity

Curator’s Notes: Ryan (our co-bean) always tells me to keep my emails short and sweet, but it’s not going to happen this time. There’s just so much to say about this super-limited, unicorn coffee, one of my personal favorites. The story will blow you away, and the coffee? It's a true masterpiece of sugary peach, floral jasmine, and rich caramel. It's well worth the hype... and then some!

The El Salvador Bernardina is only grown by the Pacas family, at Los Bellotos farm, making it one of the rarest, and most exclusive, coffees you'll ever try. They only produce a small amount each year, and they're snapped up immediately. Luckily, Jill from Cloud City has a great direct relationship with this farm, and that means we get to enjoy it too! This is a honey processed lot, with a bright aroma and lots of caramel sweetness. The profile is delicate, silky body, heady with florals, like a classic Gesha coffee, but with a depth like panela, or raw sugarcane. As it cools, you'll taste a juicy fruitiness, like apricot nectar or muddled peaches, with a dash of tart cherry juice thrown in. Citric, elderberry-like acidity. Maybe a dusting of cinnamon or nutmeg in the clean, rich finish. SO GOOD.

Bernardina is a true unicorn of coffee, a brand new Gesha hybrid varietal that was discovered by accident on the foggy slopes of El Salvador's Cerro Verde volcano. The story goes like this: the Pacas, a longstanding coffee-growing family, purchased the Los Bellotos farm in 2012. Little did they know, it had a hidden treasure: a small group of coffee plants that appeared different from the rest. Once the coffee was harvested, it was clear they'd found something special. While the beans were being processed, an overwhelmingly sweet and fruity aroma filled the air. According to Maria Pacas, even their truck driver wandered over to see what smelled so good. Upon cupping, the flavors were crisp, floral, full of tropical fruit and citrus notes, unlike anything they'd had before. An amazing discovery!

But what to make of this mystery? This new coffee tasted like the famed Gesha varietal, delicate and distinct, but the plants didn't look like Gesha. So the family sent it to a lab in Italy to determine its genetic provenance. Turns out, the plants represent a brand new varietal! They are wild hybrids, part Gesha, part Agaro, and there were just a handful of them on the farm, hidden in plain sight for 70 years. The family named the coffee Bernardina, after Ruperto Bernardino, the manager who had discovered them. Only grown by one family, on one small farm, Bernardina coffee stayed under the radar for a couple years, until the "mysterious new varietal" won 3rd place at the 2019 El Salvador Cup of Excellence. This sort of thing only comes around once in a blue moon (or should we say, a "brew" moon).

Thanks to Cloud City Roasters, we're excited to offer a small lot of Bernardina for Bean Box customers. Don't delay: she only has less than 100 bags of this rare and special roast, and it's bound to sell out fast. Secure your own bag of El Salvador Bernardina Honey, and enjoy your own sip of coffee's latest and greatest hidden treasure. Available as 8oz bags, while supplies last.

Bottom Line: You’ll love this coffee if you love peach tea, St. Germain cocktails, or knowing you’re drinking something that few coffee lovers get to experience.