El Salvador – Finca
New coffee – we’re delighted to have the fully washed lot from Finca Las Nubes now available. El Salvador has a really great reputation for specialty coffee, and has long been one of our favourite origins, so we’re delighted to have this coffee, sourced with the help of a fellow UK roastery.
Finca Las Nubes (which translates as “the clouds”) is owned and run by Ernesto Lima and his family, and is situated in Cantón Los Arenales, near to the town of Nahuizalco, surrounded by the famous Santa Ana volcano and mountain range. The altitude is 1,675 metres, and Ernesto grows Bourbon, Caturra and Pacamara on the RFA-certified farm, which is working towards full organic status. Las Nubes placed in the top 30 farms in the El Salvador Cup of Excellence competitions in 2010 and 2014.
Finca Las Nubes
The Santa Ana – Apaneca mountains are just about the most perfect coffee growing conditions, rich soils, good altitudes, plentiful rainfall, and local expertise in processing. The Santa Ana volcano last erupted in 2006, showering the area with ash, adding to the rich volcanic soils that produce such sweet coffees. Finca Las Nubes is about 20km to the south west of the volcano, but the processing occurs at a mill in Chalchuapa, run by Ernesto’s brother Gilberto. This lot was processed by the fully washed method, and dried on a mix of patios and African beds.
We taste a blast of tangerine acidity, followed by apple sweetness, and then a sticky-sweet demerara sugar finish. It’s a lively espresso, but if you dial it in right, there’ll be that sweet caress of sugar and fruit, but it really shows off in filter brewing methods like a V60 or aeropress. There’s a perfect harmony of acidity, sweetness, juicy fruit and complexity. Go grab some here.
