EL SALVADOR - SANTA ANA (ESPRESSO)

We recommend this batch for espresso and Italian mocha

Origin Santa Ana, Metapan, El Salvado

Altitude 1500 meters

Washing Process 

Bale Varieties , Bourbon

Producer Small producers in the Santa Ana area

CaféNor is a dry mill located near Santa Ana, El Salvador, run by local producers under the leadership of Don Alejandro, whose family has been involved in coffee production for four generations since the 19th century. The dry mill has only been in operation for a short period and producers visit the mill every day to deliver their coffee to Alejandro.

On our trip to El Salvador, we drove approximately three hours from the capital city of San Salvador to reach the CaféNor dry mill. It is located on a hill surrounded by pine trees and the view from the tasting lab, which looked like a small cabin, was fantastic with a very good vibe flowing through it. Also exceptional was the location of the house, where it remains during the harvest and processing season; It was located on a small hill and overlooked the Trifinio biosphere reserve, the point where the borders of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala meet. The coffee flowers were in full bloom and the air was filled with a creamy jasmine-like aroma. “It's safe here, surrounded by my friends' farms,” Alejandro said.

“I wanted to build a local mill specialized in specialty coffees independent of the market price provided by the community producers. Some producers produce only a very small amount of coffee, about 100 kg per year. Even if they produced excellent quality coffee, they previously had to sell it mixed with normal quality lots. We now grade these small lots by quality and sell them as group lots. The group's lots can be traced back to any producer's coffee. In this way, coffees from producers who can only produce 100 kg per year can reach the roasters while maintaining traceability.”
Some producers have multiplied the selling price of their coffee tenfold as a result of this initiative. They deliver the fruits of the producers' efforts directly to the roasters so they can pay them a fair price for the quality. This makes the local population happy both mentally and financially.

“The dry mill was built with local materials by people hired locally. Additionally, the dry mill and cupping laboratory are powered by electricity from solar panels on the roof. The roasters and buyers who come here say it's great and the community is very proud of it.”
When we ask, "Where does your sense of mission come from that makes you so committed to the community?" Alejandro waited thoughtfully for a moment and then laughed and said, "I think it's natural to think that we all want to be better together."
“

CaféNor is a dry mill located near Santa Ana, El Salvador, run by local producers under the leadership of Alejandro, whose family has been involved in coffee production for four generations since the 1800s. The dry mill has only been in operation for a short period and producers visit the mill every day to hand over their coffee to Alejandro.

On our trip to El Salvador, we drove about three hours from the capital city of San Salvador to reach the dry mill of CaféNor. The dry mill is located on a hill surrounded by pine trees and the view from the cupping lab which looked like a small hut was fantastic with very good vibe flowing through it. The location of the house, where he stays during the harvest and processing season, was also exceptional; it was located on a small hill and overlooked the Trifinio biosphere reserve, the point where the borders of El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala meet. The coffee flowers were in full bloom and the air was filled with a creamy and jasmine-like scent. “It's safe here surrounded by my friends' farms,” Alejandro said.

“I wanted to build a local mill specializing in specialty coffees independent of the market price that contributes to the producers in the community. Some producers produce only a very small amount of coffee like 100 kg per year. Even if they produced excellent quality coffee, they had to sell it mixed with normal quality lots before. Now we classify these small lots by quality and sell them as group lots. The group lots can be traced back to any producer's coffee. In this way, coffees from producers who can only produce 100 kg per year can reach roasters while traceability are maintained.”
Some producers have increased the selling price of their coffee tenfold as a result of this initiative. They deliver the fruits of producers' efforts directly to roasters so that they can pay producers a fair price for quality. This makes the local people happy both mentally and financially.

“The dry mill was built using local building materials by people who were hired locally. Also, the dry mill and cupping lab are powered by electricity from solar panels on the roof. The roasters and buyers who come here say it's great and the community is very proud of it.”
When we asked, “Where does your sense of mission come from that you are so committed to the community?” Alejandro waited in thought a bit and then laughed and said, “I think it's natural to think we all want to be better together.”
“The community is all of us riding in the same boat. You can't be wealthy while others aren't wealthy and it's not possible to be wealthy with your efforts only either. I want to be a good leader, but I can't be a leader if there is nobody around. The key to nurturing a community is to help someone else first. If you do that, the people around you will do the same for you and we can help each other. For example, when my car broke down the other day, the first person who came to help me and stayed with me until the problem was solved was someone from the community. In terms of coffee production, there is healthy competition among the producers, and they are able to put their love and passion into their coffee. This community is really an open-minded and peaceful community. Of course, patience is required and in order to make new things happen, you have to explain things carefully to each person, think on their behalf, and negotiate.”