We think that Pacamara is one of the most elegant varietals. A classic hybrid of Pacas and Marigogipe, this coffee often displays lovely clean fruit and mellow florals. This one is no exception. It's less in your face and a bit more refined than some of our other naturals, with notes of Dried Mango, Papaya, and Orange Blossom. A coffee that will give you many different flavour notes with different brewing styles, and reward a good dial-in with care and consideration.
We sourced this coffee with help from our friends at Falcon coffee who are on the forefront of producer empowerment and changing the supply chain. Really rate them, and their relationship with Los Angeles.
Finca Los Angeles is a beautiful 23-Manzana farm planted with only Pacamara, situated in the Ahuachapán mountain range in the west of El Salvador. This farm is part of the Los Naranjos group headed by Sigfredo Corado, a retired professor of Agronomy from the National School of Agriculture. The farm is part of the Renacer Program (Reborn in Spanish) which is a technical coffee field school and educational program for producers in the area to learn about better farm management practices. This program is funded by Raices (Roots) and supported by Catholic Relief Services in El Salvador.
The technical field school is led by Sigfredo and 6 field technicians to help small-to-medium producers in the area by focusing on the best farming practises that are restorative for the land and soil as well as beneficial for the yield and quality of the coffee. The field school is based at the sister farm named Finca Noruega where there is a class held twice a month for the students. Throughout the year there are 3 modules, and these look to focus on the 4 R's the program has developed for soil health: Right Source. Right Dose. Right Place. Right Moment.
Los Angeles is planted only with Pacamara and has been under Sigfredo for 10 years. Since he took on the farm they have used no herbicides, and they have worked hard to help replenish the soil and its nutrients to give a good base for growing coffee once again. The farm is broken into 23 Manzanas with approximately 3000 trees in each section. The farm is beautifully divided with shade trees and wind barriers to protect the trees. The farm is managed on a day to day basis by some of the graduates from the technical school as well.
The coffee is selectively harvested and then taken to the wet mill and drying beds at Beneficio San Rafael, located between the two hills of El Pilon and Cerro Aguila at 1450 masl. During the harvest, this football field becomes filled with drying beds for all the coffees that come from the farms Los Angeles and Noruega. Here the Pacamara is washed and floated before being laid out on drying beds for 25-30 days, where it is moved every hour until ready.
