Finca Machuca

Finca Machuca was planted in 1990 by don José Efraín Díaz in La Montañita, La Palma, Chalatenango, at 1550–1600 msnm. The first varieties were Bourbon and Pacas; the first harvests in 1993 were sold to traditional exporters.

Arnulfo Díaz, born in 1980, is the second of five brothers. He has managed the farm since 2005 with a single purpose: to make specialty coffee. He specialized in semi-washed and natural processing, started his specialty-coffee sales and established his first Pacamara planting.

Processing: Pacas or Pacamara semi-washed — fermented 48 hours, pulped, given a quick rinse and moved to the drying beds; a thin layer is essential for both varieties to dry the honey and stop the fermentation. Pacamara natural is fermented 24 hours in the shade after harvest, then moved to the beds.

His main challenges are leaf rust (la roya) and the cost of inputs.