El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, but that doesn’t diminish its weight as a producer of high-quality coffee. Its volcanic, mountainous geography —with the Santa Ana volcano as its emblem— creates rich soils and microclimates that have made the region one of the most awarded on the continent, with the Cup of Excellence winning year after year.

One detail reveals the character of the Salvadoran coffee grower: in areas battered by strong winds, producers have learned to use shrubs and small trees as natural barriers that protect the plantations. And against threats such as coffee leaf rust, they have bet on developing resistant varieties. That ingenuity, combined with meticulous harvesting, is what sets the country’s coffees apart.

This coffee is born at Miramar farm, in the district of Juayúa, within the Apaneca-Ilamatepec region. It is owned by the Salaverría family, proprietors of the three main growing areas around the Santa Ana volcano, together with JASAL, a family business with more than a hundred years of experience cultivating, processing and exporting the country’s finest coffees.

Many farms coexist within their coffee-growing areas, some of them inherited, and a majority of the coffees are of the San Francisco variety —a hybrid of Pacas and the old Bourbon Elite, developed on the farm itself—. Now and then Pacamaras appear, as well as Catuai, Caturra and Catimors. But the most striking feature is the overall quality of the cherries: an intense, uniform blood red, a sign of careful harvesting and of an enormous effort to carry out every task on time and with attention to detail.

For this lot, the Bourbon variety grows between 1,425 and 1,700 m.a.s.l., an altitude that concentrates sugars and defines the density of the bean.

Honey with anaerobic fermentation combines two techniques. First, the pulped coffee retains part of its mucilage and ferments in a closed, oxygen-free environment, where yeasts work slowly and in a controlled way. That anaerobic environment intensifies the sweet and fruity aromas with great precision. Then, in the honey phase, the remaining mucilage dries on the bean, adding body and a deep sweetness.

The result is a complex, clean and sweet profile, with well-defined fruit and an enveloping texture.

Subgroups present: sugars, berries and forest fruits, citrus, florals, tropical fruits, herbals and aromatic herbs.

Aroma/flavor: muscovado sugar, white flower, raspberry, lemon and green tea.

In the cup, plum, dark chocolate, hazelnuts and apple unfold as well, with a creamy, sweet sensation and medium body. Muscovado and dark chocolate build the sweet, roasted base; plum, raspberry and apple add ripe fruit; hazelnuts bring creaminess; and white flower, lemon and green tea close with freshness and elegance.

Tip: to preserve the citric acidity and floral nuances, use a medium grind, water at 90-93 °C and a 1:16 ratio. A profile designed for those seeking sweetness, fruit and elegance in a balanced cup.