Read more: Crema Chats with Anny Ruth Pimentel of Finca Loma La Gloria

EL SALVADOR COFFEE BEANS

The Bourbon coffee beans produced by Finca Loma La Gloria, El Salvador, are grown at altitudes of 1,400-1,550m above sea level and are processed using Natural and Honey processes.

Bourbon is a parent to a variety of Arabica varieties, named after Bourbon Island (now known as Reunion Island) where it is derived from. It’s a short tree with many secondary branches and on average produces 25% more coffee than the Typica variety. The Bourbon variety is renowned for its exceptional sweet/acid balance and is considered by many producers and roasters to be a classic everyday drinking coffee.

The beans are grown, milled and processed all on site for more responsive processing, higher quality, traceability and consistency of the beans.

We recommend drinking this Bourbon as a black coffee – espresso, long black, pour over or Chemex.

 

Tasting Notes: Medium-high body and wine mouthfeel, with flavours of vanilla and plum, and just a hint of pepper.                  

 

 

FINCA LOMA LA GLORIA – EL BOQUERON SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR

Finca Loma La Gloria is located in the San Salvador region in El Boquerón on the slopes of The San Salvador volcano crater. It was founded in the late nineties by Roberto Pimentel, who is a civil engineer and businessman. He named the farm after his Grandfather’s fruit and coffee farm and Finca Loma La Gloria was established. It became a true family business in 2012 when Roberto’s daughter, Anny Ruth Pimentel, brought her marketing savvy and business skills to the mix.

Anny Ruth began operating out of the abandoned mill built by her father in 2001, allowing the farm to bring more of the operation onsite for accountability, traceability and higher quality. Over the past four years, the farm has grown exponentially as she has built relationships with roasters to engage direct trade. The reputation of the farm has gained recognition throughout the industry, both locally and internationally, which is an amazing feat considering they are quite ‘new’ to the coffee industry.

The farm grows Pacamara coffee and several kinds of Bourbon, including Red, Yellow and Orange, and they are all processed in the onsite coffee mill. The processes they specialise in a mostly honey processes (yellow, red and black), but also natural green bean processing as well. The coffee on the farm is shade grown by a variety of native trees to protect the eco-system that provides the perfect micro-climates for growing coffee. Finca Loma La Gloria is also home to several notable bird species, including Blue-jays, Chiltotas, Torditos, Guacalchias, Humming-birds and more.

 

THE GREEN BEAN PROCESS

Finca Loma La Gloria uses a natural process for this Bourbon. The natural dry method of processing coffee beans doesn’t require the use of water and is the most delicate process given the increased risk of fermentation than other methods, suitable in regions with lower levels of rainfall and long periods of sunshine. The natural process is done by laying the whole ripe coffee cherries on raised beds or patios. The cherries are raked and turned throughout the drying process to make sure they dry evenly, which can take up to three weeks depending on weather conditions. After they have dried to the optimum moisture level, they are placed in yute sacks and stored in the warehouse to rest. Then they are prepared for export through the Dry-Milling process: the husk is taken off; the beans are classified by weight, size and density. They are hand-sorted by approximately 30 women on Loma La Gloria, who make sure clients get the nicest beans. Beans are then bagged and exported. The process of drying is a crucial to the final quality of the coffee bean, as it affects how heavy the body will be and flavour profiles. Naturally processed coffees tend to have a heavier mouthfeel, lower acidity levels and intense flavour profiles.

 

All images supplied by Anny Ruth and Finca Loma La Gloria.

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