Finca Ethiopia - El Salvador - SL28 - Anaerobic Natural
A first from Los Naranjos' newest and highest altitude farm, Finca Ethiopia! The farm sits at over 2100 masl and is planted solely with Geisha and SL28. The intent of course is to produce high quality coffee grown on the best terroir. The result is an expressive and vibrant coffee with layered fruit and those classic SL28 rosey-florals. Expect notes of blackcurrant, watermelon, and cherry.
Info
Farm
The team named the farm 'Ethiopia' as the high elevations and forested nature of the land resembles the home of coffee, and the conditions in which coffee was born.
Region
Cerro Ilamatepec lies on the Santa Ana Volcano. The volcano is the country's highest and most active, with a national park and many scenic walking routes and a famous turquoise-blue crater lake.
Competition
Finca Ethiopia took 2nd place in the Experimental category of this years Cup of Excellence El Salvador with an anaerobic natural Geisha.
Terroir
The farm sits at over 2100 masl on rich volcanic soils in the mountainous region of Santa Ana. It is a remote plot and is home to wildlife such as toucans, deer, and armadillos. The farm is kept 'wild' and zero chemicals are used, all weeding is done by hand with machete and the team have constructed bench terraces and filtration pits to avoid erosion and conserve soil and water.
Variety
SL28 was bred as a drought-resistant hybrid by Scott Agricultural Laboratories in the 1930's and planted throughout Kenya. Fortunately the cup quality happens to be exceptional and the SL varieties are a big reason why, for decades, Kenyan coffee was regarded as the best in the world. SL28 is also notable for its rusticity, a quality meaning that it can be left untended for years or even decades at a time, and then return to successful production. There are SL28 trees in many parts of Kenya that are 60-80 years old and are still producing fruit.
Process
Full-ripe cherries are first floated, cleaned and hand sorted. They are then placed in sealed, oxygen-free barrels to ferment for a short time before being laid to dry on raised beds where they are constantly monitored and turned. The meticulous attention in the drying phase is crucial to producing a stable green coffee and a clean cup.
Finca Ethiopia
“We searched for a piece of land suitable for cultivating only high quality varieties at very high altitudes.”
Finca Ethiopia is reserved solely for the cultivation of Geisha and SL28, 2 varieties that with some care and the right conditions, can produce outstanding cup quality. The Geisha trees make up 75% of the farms production, while the other 25% is SL28. In fact, we bought the entirety of this years anaerobic natural SL28. The team named the farm 'Ethiopia' as the high elevations and forested nature of the land resembles the home of coffee, and the conditions in which coffee was born.
Renacer Program
“Sigredo founded the Renacer Program with his Los Naranjos group and the Blue Harvest program in 2020. The field school takes place on their farm, Finca Noruega, where the students work the test plots.” Sigfredo’s approach and values for teaching are based on those of regenerative agriculture and land restoration which promote a natural alliance with the mission of the Blue Harvest program. Sigredo established a curriculum to help educate and support producers with a program of farm management he designed. A class is held twice a month for the students and throughout the year there are 3 modules which the students attend. The program has a focus on the 4 Rs that were developed to optimise soil health: Right Source. Right Dose. Right Place. Right Time. Here they can implement the knowledge gained in class before applying it to their own farms.
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