Origin Trip to El Salvador - Finca El Salvador

El Salvador is the smallest, yet most densely populated country in Central America. Numerous cars roar along wide boulevards lined with US fast-food chains. Compared to its neighbors Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, El Salvador is somewhat wealthier. However, due to numerous robberies by heavily armed gangs, it has a much higher crime rate. The contrast between a liberal lifestyle and armed self-defense against attacks is unmistakable.

Typical street scene in El Salvador

El Salvador's landscape is dotted with volcanoes; even the capital, San Salvador, is surrounded by them. However, the volcanic soil provides excellent soil conditions for coffee cultivation. Therefore, mainly aromatic Arabica varieties are cultivated here, sometimes with a Catimor hybrid, but almost no Robusta. Most coffee plantations are located between 1000 and 1800 meters above sea level, where excellent microclimates for coffee cultivation prevail.

View of the capital from Volcan San Salvador

Rodolfo Ruffatti Battle is a visionary, friend, and passionate coffee farmer. On his Finca El Salvador near the Santa Ana volcano, he cultivates numerous Arabica varieties, from Bourbon, Typica, and Caturra to Pacamaras and Geisha. The drive to his family-run Finca El Salvador is extremely bumpy and dusty, even in a 4x4.

At the foot of the slope, we reach the farm and the nursery where young coffee plants are being nurtured. There, Rodolfo not only cultivates tried-and-tested local varieties, but also tries to establish seedlings from foreign countries like Kenya and Colombia. After about two years, the plants are robust enough to take up a shady spot among the older plants.

Colombian seedlings being cultivated at Finca El Salvador

Then we continue on foot, strolling up the steep but shady slope. We sweeten the climb by sucking on beans freshly squeezed from the cherry. Since the sweetness varies greatly, you can already tell the difference in taste between varieties and farms. Before we spit out the beans, we bite them open so they can serve as a home for insects.

Sweet refreshment on the climb

A striking feature of coffee plants is the special direction in which the branches grow. By manually tying and bending young branches, many more shoots can grow vertically on the coffee bush. This significantly increases the yield per plant in a natural way. This controlled cultivation method ("agobio") is widespread in Central America.

Productive coffee bush of Finca El Salvador

Once at the top, we once again enjoy the impressive panorama of the Santa Ana region with its numerous volcanoes and the border region to Guatemala.

View from the steep slopes of Finca El Salvador

Post-harvest processing takes place at a decommissioned dry mill that Rodolfo revived for himself and other coffee farmers. This made it possible to preserve an important processing facility and secure numerous jobs in the region.

Buena Vista Dry Mill

The coffee is typically processed using honey. While the pulp is removed from the beans (depulping), some of the mucilage is left on the beans during drying. This transfers much of the sweetness to the coffee, and virtually no water is required. While drying the beans takes longer than with washed coffees, the long drying time in El Salvador, due to its geographical location, makes this processing possible.

Honey processed coffee beans in Parchment

Finca El Salvador not only boasts fantastic views and hospitality, but also some exciting coffees. One of them is our particularly sweet Red Bourbon – Honey, which was worth the trip in itself. Stay tuned, more to come.

Breathtaking views from Finca El Salvador