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La Salvaje Washed Java
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La Salvaje Washed Java

La Salvaje Washed Java

$14.00

Having founded his farm in just 2019, Fabio Caballero has already won Honduras Cup of Excellence an astounding two times. And, he won COE as recently as this last year with his washed Gesha from the same finca as this lot. Fabio runs his farms with his legendary grandfather, Don Caballero. Fabio has grown up surrounded by coffee producer excellence. He told us that his aunt is a huge mentor and reason for his success. Marysabel Caballero, of Finca el Puente, is a name you may be familiar with if you know Tim Wendelboe's coffee too. In a short time, young Fabio has already began garnering "legend status" in Honduras coffee. We are very excited to have Fabio's traditionally washed Java as an offering this year and plan to keep including his coffee on our menu when we can.

If you bought the Nordic Light, we recommend drinking this cup slowly to watch as it evolves. What starts as a dry, walnut-forward cup will open up into a creamy, soft, zesty, and fuzzy floral delight as it degasses. In the cup, we were reminded of the complex savory and nutty qualities of hojicha, a creamy body like orange creamsicle pops, soft stone fruit acidity like nectarine, and the "fuzzy" taste and aroma of white florals (jasmine, chamomile, and gardenia). As the the coffee rests more, the hojicha transforms into a delicate green tea.

This coffee launched on April 7th as part of Drop 7!
Farm and Producer

The Caballero family are coffee producer legends in Honduras. They are largely based out of the town of Marcala in western Honduras, near the El Salvador border. Fabio is a 5th-generation coffee farmer of this family. He is also a university graduate. And, upon graduating, he returned home to manage La Salvaje, a farm in San Isidro that he and his grandfather, Don Fabio Caballero, bought together. Since owning the farm together, their gesha lots have won the Cup of Excellence twice -- in 2018 and 2025.

La Salvaje means "wild", and is a name picked to recognize the dense forest their coffee grows in. The forest is home to many native plants and wildlife. The farm sits at 1750 masl and Fabio grows solely Java and Gesha on the land. Part of what makes Fabio and Don's coffee so amazing is their attention to detail in their processing methods. Most stages in their coffee processing are highly monitored, usually by temperature, and are methods built upon decades of iteration.
Coffee Varietal and Processing

Java has lean and long seeds, known for being fuller bodied and having flavor notes reminiscent of a honey-like sweetness, nuts, cocoa and spices. It was given the name by the Dutch after they introduced the island of Java to Ethiopian Abysinia seeds. Java does well at high altitude and is a common recommendation for smallholder farmers to grow in Central American coffee producing countries due to its (slightly) better resilience to leaf rust, coffee berry disease, and nematode. According to World Coffee Research, the first Central American country to recognize Java as a varietal was Panama in 2016.

Cherries handpicked at peak ripeness during the early months of 2025. Only cherries with a score of 21° Brix sugar content are kept. Cherries are submerged and fermented for 12 hours in tubs at controlled temperatures between 17–23°C to encourages the development of clean, refined flavors while maintaining inherent floral and citrus character. The coffee then gets de-pulped and washed. It dires for 12–15 days on raised beds in partial shade. Temperatures during drying range between 18– 28°C.
Coffee is also left in parchment before milling and export prep to "ensure stabilization".
Cost Transparency

We had the chance to cup with Andros, an owner of the exporter Cima Cafe, and Fabio at Multimodal in Queens, NY. There we tried Fabio's COE winning geisha, along with a few other great lots of his. We knew we wanted to work with Cima due to their focus on Honduras coffee and community. Aside from coffee, they also fund and lead projects in healthcare, food security, and clean water in Honduras. They also work to spread awareness and share sustainable farm practice to their producing partners, such as the importance protecting the native birds & bees, shade growing, recycling cascara for fertilizer, and treating honey water.

Green cost: $30.8/kg ($2/kg Tariff; $3.33/kg Shipping)
Package and roasting costs: $2.91/bag; $10/kg
Profile and sample use: ~2.5kg
Approx. Margin: 28.82%
Brewing and Resting Recommendation

Resting: Wait 30+ days for peak experience (degas the night before by opening bag for about an hour). We're impatient and think this has tasted high clarity as early as 25 days after roast too. If you taste bitter and dry walnuts, it needs more rest.

We've primarily enjoyed this offering as a pourover and soup for how delicate it is.

Temperature range: 198-201°F
Water: Tap/Demineralized and Third Wave Water Light Roast
Grind Settings: Our Medium Coarse (600-700µm)
Target Drawdown Time: 2:30-2:45 (12g dose)

2 Pour Recipe (flat bottom/UFO and blendier burrs):
1. Pour 1/2 water every minute with medium-low agitation. Slow spiral on both pours. However, halfway through the second pour, swap to a low agitation center pour with a low spout height. The softer you are with your second pour, the better this should drain.

Oxo Rapid Brewer Soup:
Temperature: 203°F
Water: Tap/Demineralized & 1/3 Third Wave Water Light Roast
Grind Settings: Finer Coarse (550-650µm)
Ratio: 20g coffee to 150g water, 40-50g of water bypass at the end. Wait 30s to beginning pulsing.
Drop Variants

Drops are typically prepared in two formats: a standard 100g / 200g bag offering at your preferred roast level or as a roast experiment.

  • Standard bag lets you support the producer, exporter, and the project without having to buy and drink coffee you're less interested in. You still get to observe and critique our roast methods at your preferred lightness but in larger quantities.
  • Roast experiment lets you participate in 3 blind tastings of 60g bags to evaluate 3 different roast curves. After the drops have been released, profile info and our own sensory feedback will be shared alongside any collected feedback from tasters.

Note that roast level selection does not apply to experiments sent out.
When will I get my order?

We work as quickly as possible to roast and ship your coffee within a week of your order placement. Times vary on roaster rental availability and our limited roasting schedule. We typically roast on two subsequent days twice a month. Once your order has shipped, you will receive an email with further information. Delivery times vary on location.
Return policy

Because we are selling an agricultural product with limited shelf life, we do not accept returns. However, our goal is for every customer to be absolutely satisfied with their purchase. If you aren't enjoying the experience, let us know in an Instagram DM and we'll do our best to work with you to make it right!

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