Single Origin Highlight

Finca La Guachoca lies between 1,410 to 1,600 meters in the foothills of El Salvador’s extinct Cerro Verde volcano, in the fertile Apaneca Ilamatepec mountain range. It is owned and managed by the Pacas family, who have been farming coffee in El Salvador since 1905 and own several small estates in the area. They bought La Guachoca in 2009.

In 2005, the Ilamatepec volcano erupted releasing lots of ash into the air, covering the surface of farms with layers of ash. When the family took over the farm it was in poor shape and production was low – however, the Pacas family saw potential given its location, altitude, and fertile soil.

The farm’s gentle slopes are interspersed with native shade trees and other native species. Very meticulously, these are pruned so that the coffee plants get 70% sunlight during the fruit’s growth period and 30% during the ripening period.