Notes: Hazelnut, brioche, chocolate
Country: El Salvador
Region: Calzontes Arriba
Farm: Santa Maria
Varietal: Red Bourbon, Pacas
Process: Washed
Altitude: 1,350 MASL
Description: Finca Santa Maria is a farm that has been in the Alvarez Family for almost 130 years, originally established by Rafael Alvarez in 1892. I just can’t imagine being Eduardo (the current Alvarez Family patriarch), managing a farm that was started by your great, great grandfather — it’s an understatement, but how cool! Throughout the years, the farm has served as habitation for all sorts of wildlife, and indigenous plant life which serves as shade for the coffee. Santa Maria sits in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec, a biosphere reserve that is home to the oldest volcano in the Central American Volcanic Arc, and over 9,000 acres of nature reserve. With the cool climates, cloud forests, and active volcanos, this region is ripe with signs of specialty coffee production, and the Alvarez Family put it to great use. After harvest this lot was sun dried on raised beds for 18 days.