Origin: El Salvador & Brazil
Farms & Farmers: Santa Rosa managed by Jorge Raul Rivera Jr. & São Pedro by Maria Lucia
Regions: Chalatenango & Alta Mogiana
Tasting Notes: Baking Spice, Vanilla
Hale Taste Scale: 8 - Cheery Hipstery
Varietals: Pacamara & Yellow Catuai
Elevation: 1,200m (São Pedro) & 1,700m (Santa Rosa)
Best Enjoyed As: With family and friends before opening the presents 🎅
Learn more about Santa Rosa in our Santa Is Real Blend
Jorge Raul Rivera Jr. is perhaps the most successful and prestigious producer in El Salvador. He has placed first in the country’s Cup of Excellence multiple times. The Rivera legacy dates to 1979, when Jorge Raul Rivera Sr. began growing coffee in the La Palma region at the beginning of the Salvadoran civil war. With so many farmers fleeing to Honduras and selling their properties at a low price, Raul Sr. was able to buy the land that would become Finca Santa Rosa. The farm was originally planted with pine trees which serve as shade for the Pacamara coffee that grows there now. When the country’s Cup of Excellence launched in 2003, the Riveras realized Santa Rosa offered the ideal conditions for producing high-quality microlots and planted Pacamara in the pursuit of their own Cup of Excellence journey. In the years since, Jorge Jr. has been integral to helping producers in the area connect to international buyers and for establishing a certificate of origin for the Alotepec region of Chalatenango.
Lying within the Alotepec-Metapán region in northeast and north-central El Salvador, the Chalatenango sub-region is one of the country’s highest-altitude topographies with a cooler year-round climate. Some of El Salvador’s finest coffees are produced here, with multiple farms receiving top honours in the country’s Cup of Excellence program.
Hand-sorted cherries are spread in thin layers (2-6 cm) on raised beds for optimal air flow and an even dry. Turned frequently until they reach a moisture content of below 20%, this process takes between 2-4 weeks, depending on weather conditions.
