Central Ninth
dark chocolate | caramel | red fruit
El Salvador Finca San Joaquin
- Tasting Notes: mulberry | cherry | walnut
- Producer: Pacas Family
- Farm: San Joaquin
- Region: Apaneca-Ilamatepec Mountain Range
- Process: Natural
- Elevation: 1700 MASL
- Variety: Bourbon, Pacamara, Pacas
- Harvest: 2022
- About this Coffee: The Pacas family has been cultivating coffee for many generations. In 1905, the family’s great great grandmother, Petrona Palacias de Diaz, purchased Finca San Joaquin. Today the farm is just under 46 hectares. The coffee covers approximately 30 hectares of land and in an effort to provide a safe habitat for endangered species of mammals, birds, and reptiles, the remaining land is covered with natural cypress forest. The Pacas family is renowned for producing high quality coffees with distinctive flavor profiles. Additionally, the family is credited with the discovery of a natural coffee variety mutation on their farm in 1949. The Pacas variety is now widely cultivated throughout the country and accounts for 25% of El Salvador’s coffee production. The farm is located in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range.The geographical location of the farm directs the morning sunlight towards the coffee trees and by the afternoon the position of the sun behind the mountains creates a shady environment that is ideal for slowly ripening the coffee cherries and increasing their sugar content. After the coffee cherries have ripened, they are carefully handpicked and transported to the Pacas family's processing mill. At the mill, the cherries undergo a visual inspection to remove any under or overripe ones. Next, the cherries are spread out on patios to dry in the sun. Initially, they are arranged in thin layers, with more cherries added over time to create a thicker layer and extend the drying period. This process takes around 10 to 15 days. Once fully dry, the cherries are bagged and stored in a warehouse to rest before being transported to the dry mill for milling and preparation for export. In the cup we taste mulberry, cherry, and walnut.