I’m launching a new coffee today! 

Hallelujah! El Salvador is With Us!

Las Mercedes lies on the slope of the San Salvador volcano immediately outside San Salvador city. Right at the top of the volcano is an area of natural rainforest that Fernando Aguilar and his family manage on behalf of the government of El Salvador. 

Fernando Aguilar’s Grandfather received a visitor who planted a small glade of coffee trees in a small, steep-sided valley on the farm Here, all the nutrients from the hills above washed into this valley, so these trees grew strong and tall, but they were forgotten about. 

Noticing that their leaves were a different shape, he asked his caretaker, Porfirio, what they were, and was told that they were Kenia varietal. He processed them separately from the main crop, leaving plenty of fruit on the bean after removing the skin, and drying them in the sun. The result was delicious. 

He took seeds and planted a nursery which he placed on a larger plot on the farm so he could share these coffees with more people. You are one of the first people we can share them with. 

I’m good friends with Fernando - we talk a lot and we have a lot in common. We’re both in our early 40’s, have a beagle, drive a Volvo and have daughters. 

Visiting his farms, and spending time with him and his family was a real highlight of 2018 for me, and I’ve been longing to return to visit again ever since.

Fernando’s family have been farming the mountain for generations, but they were severely affected by the Leaf Rust outbreak of 2012/13.

They lost a lot of their crops, but they replanted and re-committed to red bourbon, the signature varietal El Salvador was best known for. They planted other varietals too, but it was important to preserve red bourbon. 

When I competed in the UK Coffee in Good Spirits Championship in 2018, Fernando sent me a small parcel of the entire crop of Kenia Black Honey from that year - about 25kg in total. It was an honour to work with it then, and it is an honour to share it with you now!