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El Salvador, it’s the little things

Finca Alaska El Salvador

Regular reader will know that I think El Salvador and the consejo who organise the farmers in the specialty sector are superstars in the world of coffee. As a micro roaster I love to know more about the people we have the coffee from. I still get a buzz when I see a picture or read something from a farm of which I use the coffee.

You see I spend every day for a year (and in many cases longer) working with that coffee, just as the previous 12 moths is spent in the custody of the people who grow it. Photo’s and letter from the farmer make it feel like a complete cycle anlong with the feedback form you guys the cusotemrs. We all share so much in common but we are separated by many miles and different cultures.

El Salvador seems to link people together better than any one else. Today I received an email from Ernesto Menéndez the grower of the cup of excellence coffee we won last week. Just sharing how happy he is we bought his coffee and attaching some photos of the most fantastic farm you have ever seen.

You see these little touches along with some of the best espresso coffee in the world, the natural resource of 70% bourbon coffee and a consejo that is so proactive makes El Salvador one of my favourite growing origins. Great coffee with a great story always works better.

Take a look at the photos at the link here

About the author Just Steve Leighton

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7 Comments

  1. Hi Has,

    Reading comments like this about El Salvador is most refreshing. It seems most outsider’s see El Salvador as only a place for growing guerilla warfare and gangs, which is far from the truth.

  2. Hi Steve,
    How nice is that of Menéndez to send you an email. It’s things like that which make all the difference I agree. And those photos are fabulous! When I look at photos like the one above I wonder what on earth I am doing living here in Brighton! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  3. This story nearly brought a tear to my eye 😉

    Apart from fantastic coffee, this farm also produced superb photography! All those lovely juicy red cherries, the bees, the serene landscape (I could almost breathe the fresh air), and the sun streaming through. The pictures really do show (better than words ever could) the link we have and love of the same thing. Ooo I feel all warm and cozy now.

    Thanks to both Mr. Menéndez and you for sharing this 😀

    And now, I’ll go quietly sip a cup of the only El Salvador coffee I have (for now) from the La Fany Estate.

  4. Wow, Steve… you scored~!~

    This is what COE is supposed to be about — discovering farms that are achieving great things, connecting them with roasters who are as committed and passionate as the grower, and rewarding them for their work. Connecting with a grower who’s not only savvy with production but a camera too is a *fantastic* bonus, and will surely help immensely in telling this bean’s story. (I might have to order some… despite the expense of shipping it ‘cross the pond.)

    Congrats to you and Ernesto, both!

    -deCadmus

  5. Hi Steve is really fantastic and great to be in your website, I am very happy and amazed, I want to thank you for your notes, comments and to give me the opportunity to share through of my pictures the love that I have for my Farm and the coffee of El Salvador, thank you for all comments, I hope you enjoy a lot the Alaska’s coffee when arrives to United Kingdom and many greetings from El Salvador.

  6. Hi Ernesto, I too got your email yesterday and I found it very touching. I appreciate the labours and efforts you and your people put into your coffee and I can’t wait to get my tiny share of your lot.

    Greetings from Austria

    Walter

  7. […] As I said before it’s the little things. Heres a link to the pictures its very cool to see them being loaded up, something I’ve not seen before. […]

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