About This Coffee
The Pacas family can trace their connection to Finca San Joaquin to their great-great-grandmother, Petrona Palacias de Diaz, who purchased Finca San Joaquin in 1905. Petrona named the farm after Saint Joaquin, the patron saint of the city where her family is originally from. When their grandmother inherited the farm, it was 17 hectares. She was determined to increase the quality and productivity of her farm and worked tirelessly to expand the farm. Her hard work paid off and today the farm is 45.97 hectares.
The family affectionately calls Finca San Joaquin “the farm of the morning sun” because the coffee trees are in direct sunlight from sunrise to noon. After that, the position of the farm behind the mountains creates a shady environment for cultivating sweet, dense beans. The cooler afternoons create the ideal environment for slowly ripening cherry with an intense sugar concentration.
The Pacas family works with the local community and the farm’s workers to improve living conditions and wellness. They have partnered with FUNPRES, an organization focused on mental health awareness, to support their workers and the surrounding community.
Cultivation
Coffee is shaded by inga shade trees. The soil is sandy loam and the region is hilly and at high altitudes.,
Coffee covers approximately 30 hectares of land. The remaining land is covered with natural cypress forests to provide habitat for endangered species of mammals, birds and reptiles.
In order to protect natural water sources, the Pacas family has dug “fosas” in the fields, holes that capture water from processing and filter out organic matter before entering the local aquifers.
Harvest & Post-Harvest
Cherry is selectively handpicked and delivered to the Pacas family’s mill, Vivagua. At intake, cherry is visually inspected to remove any under or overripes. Then, cherry is laid on patios to sundry. To begin, cherry is laid in an extremely thin layer and raked frequently to ensure even drying. As coffee dries, the layers are thickened to cause cherry to dry more slowly. These thicker piles are still raked frequently to ensure even drying. It takes approximately 10 to 15 days for cherry to dry. Once dry, cherry is bagged and stored in a warehouse to rest. From the warehouse, cherry is taken to the dry mill to be milled and prepared for export.
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.