El Salvador was the last stop on our tour of Central America, a trip in which we visited the Producer countries with which we work directly. We arrived in mid-March, after a short flight from Nicaragua. Although it is the smallest country in the region, El Salvador stands out for the level of development and success in the production, processing and research of Flavour profiles for Green coffee. Here we work closely with two partners: Alimsa and Jasal.

Farm Villa España: tradition and future from the hand of the Mena Brothers.

Our tour began in Concepción de Ataco, at the Farm Villa España. There we were welcomed by the Mena Brothers -Víctor, Alfredo and Jorge- representatives of the fifth generation of coffee growers in their family. Their work is focused on adapting both Cultivation and processing to current market needs, without losing the essence of tradition.

The coffees of the Mena family are already well known among our roasters:

• Saturninus, within our Terras Range.

• Sulafat microlots, within our Constellations Range.

Each year, the cleanliness, sweetness and diversity of Villa España’s lots grow in quality. In this last Harvest, we produced 12 microlots, of which 10 exceeded 87 points in the SCA protocol.

Mutual trust, the consistency of the product and the years of collaboration with the Mena family led us to go one step further: to organize a visit to the Farm with high school students from Ataco, as part of our Coffee Heritage project. For more than three hours we toured the greenhouse and the mill, talked about varieties, processes and tasted Natural and Washed coffees. The talk opened a space for dialogue on professional opportunities in agriculture, logistics, economics, information technology and coffee-related services.

This meeting was the beginning of a new stage: throughout the year the young people will have programmed activities in Villa España and in the benefits. When we return to El Salvador in 2024, we will continue this community building project around coffee.

Jasal and the Salaverría family: innovation and consistency

Our next visit was to the Santa Cruz mill, owned by the Salaverría family. We have been working with Andrés Salaverría for more than five years, developing processing experiments, refining recipes and expanding volumes.

Cherry of this collaboration, two years ago Lyquidambar was born, a coffee of our Terras Range. This year we have reached a production of 19 tons, enough to fill a full container.

Another recent success is Dossokam, also from the Terras Range, which debuted last year and this year reached 15 tons of production, maintaining a stable Profile and with 87 SCA points.

The star that gives its name to Andrés’ coffees is Vega. In this Harvest we have prepared 14 microlots, all with scores above 87 points. Outstanding results that reinforce the value of this project.

In addition to working on the current Harvest, together with Andrés’ team we have already begun to plan for the Harvest of 2024, incorporating a phase of industrialization of processes and a more exhaustive data control. This not only ensures delicious coffees, but also a more precise management of their Flavour profiles.

In total, this year we will have available more than 50,000 kg of coffees from El Salvador, elaborated according to our avant-garde recipes and with a diversity of Varieties and Profiles that will make any roaster in Europe fall in love.

Producer Roaster Forum: global meeting in El Salvador

The trip concluded with our participation in the Producer Roaster Forum (PRF), an annual event that brings together coffee growers, roasters and industry professionals in a producing country. During two days we attended more than ten presentations, shared experiences with colleagues from different parts of the world and confirmed that we are moving in the right direction, aligned with current trends, but always maintaining our own style and path.

Looking ahead

The experience in El Salvador left us with the certainty that long-term collaboration, process innovation and community investment are the basis for a solid and sustainable specialty Coffee.

Soon we will announce the availability of the first samples of Salvadoran coffees from this Harvest and we will tell you more about what is to come.