El Salvador Finca Carmen

Origin
El Salvador

Region
Chalchuacpa, Santa Ana

Producer
Finca Carmen, Cuzcachapa Cooperative

Varieties
Pache, Bourbon, Catimor, Castillo

Processing
Washed

Crop Year
2021-2022

Altitude
1600-1700m.a.s.l.

Roast level
2 out of 6

Flavour Notes
Chocolate, Nuts, Dried Fruit

Roaster
IMF

Batch Size
40

End Temperature
210.3°C

Time
11.31 minutes

Coffee production in El Salvador has fueled the Salvadoran economy and shaped its history for more than a century. Rapidly growing in the 19th century, coffee in El Salvador has traditionally provided more than 50% of the country's export revenues, reaching a peak in 1980 with a revenue of more than $615 million.

Unusual for Central America, approximately 60% of the coffee produced in El Salvador is Bourbon, characterised by an exceptionally clean, bright and sweet profile with strong citrus note. The country’s unusually high percentage of this renowned coffee varietal, however, is currently under threat from coffee leaf rust, whose impact on the country’s production has been sizable, resulting in a 20 percent drop in revenue from exports between 2011 and 2013.

• Harvest: October to March

Pache is an Arabica coffee varietal from Guatemala, a natural mutation of the Typica variety. It was discovered on the Brito farm in Santa Cruz Naranjo, Santa Rosa and is characterized by its dwarfism, allowing for denser planting and higher yields. Pache is known for its sweet, chocolatey and fruity flavor with low bitterness and acidity. It is commonly grown in high altitudes of Central America.

French missionaries introduced Bourbon from Yemen to Bourbon Island (now La Réunion), giving it the name it has today, in the early 1700s. Until the mid-19th century, Bourbon did not leave the island. But beginning in the mid-1800s, the variety spread to new parts of the world as the missionaries moved to establish footholds in Africa and the Americas. The flavor profile of Bourbon coffee is characterized by its sweet and balanced taste. It often has notes of caramel, chocolate, and sometimes fruit.

Catimor is a hybrid coffee varietal that is renowned for its high yields and unique flavor profile. This type of coffee is a cross between two popular coffee plants, the Caturra and Timor varieties, which results in a plant that is highly resistant to disease and able to produce a large number of high-quality beans. It has a medium body with flavour notes of nut and spice.

The Castillo coffee variety is a rust-resistant variety that is the result of decades of research and development by Colombia's National Coffee Research Centre, it was released in 2005 after 23 years of research. Castillo is known for its smoothness, aroma, and citric acidity, and is highly regarded by producers for its high yields and good cup profile. It's estimated that 45% of coffee grown in Colombia coffee is Castillo, but it has also spread to other Latin American countries like El Salvador in this case.