El Salvador Finca Los Angeles Anaerobic Natural

Tasting Notes: Cherry, Grape, Hibiscus, Chocolate

Origin: El Salvador

Region: Cantón Taltapanca, Apaneca

Farm: Finca Los Angeles

Process: Anaerobic Natural

Variety: Pacamara

Elevation: 1380 masl

Importer: Cafe Imports

Each year our love for Salvadoran coffee grows. Quality and complexity is always high and that rings very true for this anaerobic natural from Finca Los Angeles. When hot, this coffee evenly balances jammy red fruits like cherry and cranberry, ripened black plums and a syrupy, chocolatey body. As the cup cools aromatics of rose and hibiscus subtly pop through and the acidity begins to take on a sparkling quality with a flavor that reminds us of concord grape juice. The anaerobic process in this natural is masterfully carried out to prevent heavy handed fermented flavors you sometimes get with anaerobic processes. Don't miss this one, it won't be around for long.

Finca Los Angeles is a 16-hectare farm founded in 2017 by Los Naranjos Coffee. Several years ago there was a natural disaster that destroyed a large part of the community in the cantón. This farm has been part of the development of the area since and is aiming to be one of the best. In 2020 it competed in its first Cup of Excellence and placed 5th. Something notable about this farm is its topography. It is a practically flat farm with very young nearly 100% Pacamara trees.

This coffee was processed via anaerobic fermentation which is carried out with great focus and detail at Finca Los Angeles. Before harvesting mature cherries, areas of the farm are sampled through Brix measurements to determine ideal ripeness for what sort of processing the cherries will undergo:

From 0 to 20 degrees brix classification A = Processes: Full Washed or Semi-Washed
From 21 to 30 degrees brix AA or AAA classification = Processes: Honey, Natural, or Experimental

Anaerobic fermentation of the cherries is tightly controlled in special tanks with degassers and drain valves. This allows the monitoring of pH and and sugar development, via brix grains, to avoid overfermentation. The fermentation lasts 72 hours under constant monitoring.

Coffee is pre-dried or three days then taken to raised beds to finish drying. The high elevation of the farm slows the drying process but this helps to have more even drying.

The coffee undergoes 4 quality control cuppings, 2 cuppings before being offered and 2 subsequent cuppings after the coffee has rested. All cuppings look to measure consistency or improvement in quality.

Finca Los Angeles' experimental processes, like this anaerobic natural, stand out for their control, avoiding phenolic or alcoholic notes and brewing clean, sweet cups.