About This Coffee
Federico Battle cultivates coffee on his farm, Finca Los Pinos, in Sonsonate, El Salvador. The farm is located at 1,400 meters above sea level. His Fully washed lot has piquant Granny Smith apples offset with stone fruit and milk chocolate. We love it!
Cultivation
Finca Los Pinos sits atop volcanic soil that provides ample nutrients for coffee trees.
This lot is comprised of Pacas variety trees. Pacas is named for the farm where the variety was first discovered. The Pacas family in the Santa Ana region of El Salvador identified Pacas, a natural mutation of Bourbon, in 1949. The Salvadoran Institute for Coffee Research (ISIC) further selected for Pacas in the 1960s. Like Caturra and Villa Sarchi, Pacas has a single-gene mutation that causes smaller plant size. Smaller sized trees enables producers to place trees closer together and increase potential yields. The Pacas variety is widely grown in El Salvador, where it account for approximately 25% of total coffee production and Honduras, where IHCAFE introduced the variety in 1974.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Federico selectively handpick ripe, red cherry and processes it on his farm. He pulps cherry and ferments it. Following fermentation, he washes parchment is clean water and lays it to dry. He rakes parchment frequently to ensure even drying.
Coffee in El Salvador
Don’t be fooled by El Salvador’s small size. It was once the 4th largest coffee producer worldwide and continues to produce high quality lots. The country is known for its great cupping varieties, such as Bourbon and Pacamara. In fact, two beloved, frequently high-scoring varieties—Pacas and Pacamara— originated in El Salvador.
Unlike other countries, where specialty coffee production has required a great deal of additional investment and training, El Salvador already has a broad and skilled specialty coffee workforce. Farming traditions run deep, and many Salvadorian farmers are extremely passionate about coffee production and continuously strive to improve their crop. El Salvador has optimal conditions for coffee processing. The prolonged dry season typically occurs during the harvest season, making it easier to sun dry coffee.
Though coffee output in the country has been declining for over two decades – exacerbated by the CLR crisis – the approach to coffee production has changed from volume- to quality-driven. A new generation of coffee producers has sprouted around the country with a new vision and approach to production. Many of this generation are experimenting with processing and varietals.