Region:
El Salvador, Santa Ana, Apaneca Ilamatepeque
Manufacturer/Station Manager:
Jose Antonio Salaverria and His Children
Farm/Station:
El Martillo
Process:
Washed
Variety:
SL-28
Altitude:
1660-1700 m
Harvest:
2023
Supplier:
Nordic Approach
Profile:
Filter
Tasting Notes:
Red Grape, Red Apple, Light Pear, Black Tea with Bergamot
CUP Score: 86,5
Roaster's Notes:
Orkun Üstel
After a break of half a year, a new El Salvador coffee is with us! Moreover, this time with the harvest of SL-28, which can be considered an exotic variety for El Salvador. Among the coffees I chose at the Nordic Approach Spring Cupping event, this El Salvador one caught my attention even though I didn't know its tadraken variety. Because I found the acidity quality of the coffee and the sweet, clean and well-balanced taste of the coffee successful. I learned about its variety after choosing coffee and that's when I understood my experience. The SL-28 variety, which is one of the reasons for the famous high, sharp acidity of Kenyan coffees, was restrained and balanced in the terroir of El Salvador. After seeing the beautiful harmony of the variety with the terroir, I decided to include this coffee in the new selection.
El Martillo is one of the reserved field blocks at the Jasal Processing Station, owned by the Salaverria family. El Martillo is medium in scale and is one of the all-time favorite farms in the Jasal station. Commonly grown varieties are Bourbon and San Francisco Hybrid. San Francisco Hybrid Dwarf Bourbon is a local hybrid of Pacas and older Bourbon Elite. However, varieties that remain exotic to the region, such as various Kenyan species, are also grown on a small scale.
When Nordic Approach started its quality program with the Salaverria family in 2011, as a result, Salaverrias began to seriously differentiate between batches. They then began to allocate a few small farms and blocks at more productive altitudes, with quality potential and good growing conditions. In this way, Nordic Approach began to purchase coffee from farms located between 1400 and 1750 meters above sea level. This (1400-1750 m.) is considered a good altitude in El Salvador, where it is very difficult to grow coffee above this altitude. In addition to dividing the land into farms and blocks (tables), the Salaverrias began working to carry out quality processing methods. They began to optimize quality by experimenting with processes to prepare a different, value-added product through fermentation and soaking, as well as drying methods.
FERMENTATION AND PROCESS:
The most ripe coffee cherries are collected by sorting workers. After the collected cherries are dehulled, they are soaked in tanks for fermentation and kept in water for ten hours. After a short fermentation process, the mucilage layer is washed and cleaned in pools. The coffees are then dried on drying beds in the sun or shade, depending on the climatic situation, on the veranda for up to 15 days. El Salvador El Martillo, with its scent of sweet rosehip and red plum notes, its taste with notes such as red grapes, red apple, light pear, black tea with bergamot, and its balanced and sweet palate, is both an intermediate coffee for those who have not tried Kenya and a must-visit for those who love high acidity coffee like Kenya. A coffee stop!
Enjoy!