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THE COFFEE

 

OFF THE ROASTER

EL SALVADOR

VillaCipres

 Cup Characteristics ::Aromas of sweet lemon and dark chocolate. First taste is sparkly lemon followed by balanced bittersweet chocolate and caramel. Very syrupy mouthfeel. A sweet cocoa and stone fruit finish with a smooth honey lift.

 

VillaCipresVillaCipres is smack dab in the middle of one of the best coffee producing regions in Central America. The Apaneca region is called the valley of gold because of how good the coffee is and how many COE winners there are. VillaCipres is surrounded by them and their sister neighbor farm VillaGallicia has won COE twice. The farm is almost exclusively Bourbon. Only perfectly red ripe cherry is picked and the Cuzcachapa mill is renowned for its excellent processing. The finca is surrounded on all sides by Cipres trees that provide windbreaks and shade.

Unique to VillaCipres is that they have their own micro mill where they process all of their own coffee. The use a eco-pulper so they can dial in exactly the level of mucilage to remove or leave on. And they dry all their coffee on African style raised beds. So the flavor profile is extra sweet and syrupy.

Country: El Salvador
Region: Apaneca, Ataco
Producer: Mauricio Salaverria
Farm: Finca VillaCipres
Harvest Period: January through March
Elevation Range: 1300 to 1425 masl
Size of Finca: 15 Manzanas
Tablons or lots on Finca: 10
Kilos Produced: 17,500 kilos (36,560 lbs) (avg year)
Mill: El Divisadero
Awards: Cup Of Excellence – National Jury winner 2011, Coffee Of The Year Finalist 2005
Varietals: Bourbon -Red, orange and yellow
Team of people: 25 (harvest) 3 (full time)
Neighboring Fincas: Las Fany, Himalya, Nazareth,

  • Microlot: National Jury Winner - This lot was awarded the National Jury award in COE 2011
  • Varietal: Red Bourbon
  • Process:Fully Washed, with 10% mucilage and dried on african raised beds

 

 

 

 

 

EL SALVADOR

 Finca Malacara

 Cup Characteristics::A sweet tobacco note in the dry aroma accompanied by thick brown sugar with a strong molasses flavor Cooked fruit in the middle with a creamy finish

Malacara, is the three-generation legacy of coffee lovers who have poured their hearts into the rich land of El Salvador. Roberto Dumont practices sustainable farming and produces some of the best coffee in El Salvador. Malacara B is located on the world famous slopes of the Santa Ana volcano in western El Salvador. The weather, soil and altitude is perfect for growing exceptional coffee. And the farm kicks coffee ass every year. With Roberto at the helm quality has gone even higher over the last decade.

Country: El Salvador
Region: Apaneca, Santa Ana
Producer: Roberto Dumont
Farm: Finca Malacara “B”
Harvest Period: January through March
Elevation Range: 1400 to 1600 masl
Size of Finca: 33 hectares
Tablons or lots on Finca: 12
Kilos Produced: 48,300 kilos (103,560 lbs) (avg year)
Mill: El Borbollon
Awards: Cup Of Excellence (4th 2011 90.83 pts, 32 2009 84.23 pts, 5th 2008 89.31 pts, 2007 20th, 84.95 pts) Coffee Review (92 pts, 89 pts, 91 pts)
Varietals: Bourbon -Red, orange and yellow, Pacamara, Pacas, Typica
Team of people: 55 (harvest) 12 (full time)
Neighboring Fincas: Malacara A, La Reforma, Kilimanjaro

Producer: Diego De La Cerda

Country: Guatemala

Fincas: El Socorro

De La Cerda the Silver Fox. And he is. Diego is the definition of suave. Not only does he produce some of the best coffee in the world but he looks cool doing it.

Diego runs Both of his farms, El Socorro and Guayaba with a focus on the details. Everything is looked and improved. The results speak loudly to the obsession with quality. #1 in the Cup Of Excellence this year, #4 in past years and even a Coffee of the Year award at SCAA this year.

And he still manages to keep his khakis clean and his fine leather cowboy hat on his head while riding his dirt-bike up the impassable trails in El Socorro. All the ladies love Diego. But Diego has only coffee in his corazon.

El Socorro farm is located in Palencia, municipality of Guatemala department, 50 kilometers away from Guatemala city. The farm used to be part of Hacienda San Guayaba, property of Antonio López Colom in 1905. After he died, it was inherited to the youngest son Julio Colom Gómez Carillo, who sold it. For many years it was owned by different people until 1968, when Dr. Mario de la Cerda and his wife Maria Colom de la Cerda bought it back to the family. In 1980, his son Juan de la Cerda Colom began to plant coffee. This is the fourth generation of owners. Juan de la Cerda and his son Juan Diego are now in charge of producing one of the best coffees of Guatemala. El Socorro’s success is the result of a strict quality control through out the whole process, from the management of the plantation, to the picking and the wet milling. The farm has an efficient ecological wet mill. It depulps coffee cherries dry, then transports the coffee and its pulp mechanically and recycles the water in the process. Then, the water is treated with clean production techniques, before allowing it back into the forest.

Country: Guatemala
Region: Palencia
Producer: Diego De La Cerda
Farm: Finca El Socorro
Harvest Period: January through April
Elevation Range: 1400 to 195 masl
Size of Finca: 74 hectares
Tablons or lots on Finca: 21
Kilos Produced: 32,000 kilos (73,500 lbs) (avg year)
Mill: Servex
Awards: Cup Of Excellence – (2011 #1 91.35 pts, 2009 #10 88.98 pts, ,Coffee Review (91 pts)
Varietals: Bourbon -Red, orange and yellow, Maracaturra, Caturra, Typica, Pacamara
Team of people: 65 (harvest) 22 (full time)


Producer: Tom Hawk

Country: El Salvador

Fincas: Aconcagua

Tom Hawk is a whirlwind of talent and drive. He is a tight balance between entrepreneur, farmer, humanitarian and political activist. Tom has run and managed Aconcagua since 1995. He acquired Finca Aconcagua for two reasons: 1) To grow great coffee and 2) To reforest the land. Tom noticed while flying all over El Salvador in his tiny Cessna (he has a dairy farm in his native Honduras where the profits support a childrens home that he has to fly to) that for the most part if it was green and verdant it was a coffee farm. In El Salvador well cared for coffee farms make up the vast majority of forested land. Since buying Aconcagua Tom has planted over 10,000 trees (not counting the 12,000 coffee trees!) to improve the ecosystem and reforest the area and to build up an even better coffee farm ecosystem.

Tom is very active in politics and is very proactive in promoting social justice and pushing for transparency and openness in government. Tom is crazy smart and crazy passionate. He is also one of the most personable people you will ever meet.

Tom brings his myriad experiences and unique perspective to bear on Aconcagua and he is doing some fantastic work on improving quality even further. Did we mention that he also has vegetable farms and a 100% natural dairy farm in addition to the coffee farm? Tom REALLY likes growing things.

Tom makes the world a better place.

coffee cherriesAconcagua (named after the highest peak in all of the Americas) is located at the top of the mountains leading into one of El Salvador’s most awesome national parks: El Impossible. This proximity causes them to be very careful stewards of the land and the trees. Intense ecosystem management enables extremely limited use of chemical fertilizers and keeps the coffee farm healthy and strong. There are a LOT of animals on the finca. Aconcagua has been kicking ass with their Pacamaras for the last few years. They have planted two new Tablons of Pacamara under the giant Cedar trees. All of the Pacamara is under dense Cedar tree shade.

Country: El Salvador
Region: Apaneca, Tacuba
Producer: Tom Hawk
Farm: Finca Aconcagua
Harvest Period: January through March
Elevation Range: 1100 to 1350 masl
Size of Finca: 15 hectares,
Tablons or lots on Finca: 16
Mill: Coex, Santa Ana
Awards: Cup Of Excellence (Not entered 2009-2011, 12th 2008 86.5 pts, 2007 18th, 85.35 pts) Coffee Review (91 pts)
Varietals: Bourbon -Red, orange and yellow, Pacamara, Pacas, Typica
Neighboring Fincas: Las Mercedes

posted : Tuesday, February 14th, 2012