Sourcing Details
El Salvador is a country in renaissance when it comes to coffee. The civil war has been over for nearly three decades and subsequent decades of violence have begun to wane. Leaf rust is ever present but renovation strategies have curbed the crisis. And coffee processing knowledge is drawn from generations of experience. There are simply no limits to the ways this generation of El Salvadoran producers has embraced the specialty coffee market with the duality of tradition and innovation. This is certainly evident with coffee coming from Finca Puerto Arturo located near the town of Concepcion de Ataco in the Ilamatepec mountain range within the department of Ahuachapan. Karla Quiroz and her husband Alvaro Moises along with their children manage 40 acres of coffee cultivation. Karla and her husband have been renovating farms that have been in the family for 6 generations. One area of focus has been replanting Pacamara and Bourbon under the diversity of mature shade trees. They have recently earned accolades with an 8th place finish in the Cup of Excellence.
Processing Details
Through years of experience, Karla and Arturo’s families have learned that their coffee cherries respond exceptionally well to natural processing, a method that also saves a tremendous amount of water resources, which is good for the environment. During the harvest a great deal of care and focus is dedicated to picking and delivering the best quality of cherries to their micro-mill where they are depulped and placed on raised beds and turned regularly for more than 20 days to ensure even drying. After drying is completed, the coffee is carefully stored and later milled and sorted with equipment specifically designed to to manage traceability and quality required for a specialty micro-lot.
