Finca Monte Urales was named after the Ural Mountains in Russia, due to it’s great elevation. It’s been in the family since 1969 and between Rolando the elder and the younger, the farm benefits from more than 40 years of experience farming coffee.

A quick look at the specs:
Farm: Finca Monte Urales
Varietal(s): 100% Pacas
Processing: Natural Process
Altitude: 1 400 metres above sea level
Owner: Cayro, S.A. de C.V.
Town: Apaneca
Region:  Apaneca-Ilamatepec, Ahuachapán
Country: El Salvador
Total size of farm: 35 hectares
Area under coffee: 35 hectares

Variety and Processing

Pacas is a natural mutation of Bourbon, similar to Caturra in Brazil and Villa Sarchi in Costa Rica. Similar to other widely cultivated Bourbon mutants, Pacas has a single-gene mutation that causes the plant to grow smaller (dwarfism). This is it’s chief virtue: the plant’s small size leads to higher potential yields and the possibility of placing plants closer together to increase total fruit production on a farm.

The variety was discovered in 1949 on a farm owned by the Pacas family in the Santa Ana region of El Salvador. In 1960, the Salvadoran Institute for Coffee Research (ISIC) began a program of pedigree selection (selection of individual plants through successive generations) for Pacas. It is still widely grown in the country; it accounts for about 25% of the country’s coffee production. Source- www.worldcoffeeresearch.org

This Pacas lot has been kept separate for Natural processing. All Naturals on the farm are first hand sorted to ensure that all under ripe or damaged cherries are removed. This helps create clearer cup with more flavour distinction.

The cherries are then thinly spread on raised beds – normally with one layer in the beginning to ensure even drying. Drying is slow, with shade cover being rolled out over the beds during the hottest parts of the day. As they dry, cherries are regularly turned and sorted to remove any damaged cherries that may have been missed. Total drying time usually is between 20 and 26 days, depending on climatic conditions.

Monte Urales has already established a nursery with Kenya and Pacamara seedlings for planting out in the coming year. The farm is also currently experimenting with new processing techniques, particularly with regards to fermentation. So we are likely going to see more interesting happenings in the years to come.

El Salvador Finca Monte Urales – Natural processed Pacas drying on raised beds.

Soil analysis and the environment

Four annual fertilisations are conducted, always with reference to soil and foliar analysis*. An important step in tracking quality potential. As you can imagine soil health and composition are important to allow the varieties to uptake more nutrients which can become flavour precursors.

*Foliar analysis can be a convenient and cost-effective method for evaluating the nutrient status of forested sites. It provides an index of the amount of nutrients actually taken up by the tree and, as such, is based on the concept that the tree, not the soil, may be the best indicator of soil nutrient availability.

Environmental stewardship is of the utmost importance to Finca Monte Urales. Coffee here is 100% shade grown in the attempt to preserve and encourage wildlife and to help mitigate the effects the continuing global warming crisis. The farm has also recently launched an extensive program of ‘micro-terracing’ in order to prevent soil erosion – It’s pretty important if you consider where they are. Water conservation is also of great concern, and the farm takes steps to preserve local aquifers.

It’s great to see farms working more closely with nature.

El Salvador Finca Monte Urales

Conclusion

In the cup, expect wine gums, black grape and star anise. An unsuspected Pourover champion. Also try as an Aeropress or Espresso extraction.

Until next time.

Mike

I’m the Head Roaster at Origin. I joined the company in 2008. My primary focus is on developing roast profiles for the diverse array of great coffees that we purchase throughout the year. I am interested in understanding what makes coffee special, such as processing, varietals and anything else pertaining to geographical distinction.

In my spare time, I focus on something a little different. I am an aspiring mycologist and nutrition enthusiast focusing on gourmet and medicinal mushrooms and the human microbiome. I also dabble in fermentation from time to time.

Autumn Blend 2018

Brazil Fazenda Sao Silvestre
Peru Cuenca Botijas
Colombia Inza Cauca

FLAVOUR – Treacle Sugar, Pear, Allspice
BODY – Medium, Creamy
ROAST – Light- Medium
ACIDITY – Mellow, Apple
SUITABLE FOR – Espresso, Mokapot, Aeropress

Brazil Sao Silvestre – Drying patios

Brazil Sao Silvestre

FARM – Fazenda Sao Silvestre
VARIETAL(S) – Yellow Icatú, Bourbon & Típica
PROCESSING – Pulped natural
ALTITUDE – 1 250 metres above sea level
OWNER – Ismael & Eduardo Andrade Town: Serra do Salitre
REGION – High Cerrado

Fazenda São Silvestre has been farmed by the Andrade Brothers since 1991. It is located in the north of Minas Gerais, in an area known as the Cerrado Mineiro on the border with Bahia state.

The farm’s volcanic soils provide ideal conditions for growing the farm’s main varieties – Yellow Icatú, Yellow Bourbon and Típica. The beans are harvested when ripe and prepared using the pulped natural process: the cherries are pulped, and the mucilage is left on the beans while they are dried. Depending on climactic conditions, the coffee is either totally sun-dried or completed in two stages where the beans are initially sun dried, bringing the moisture content down to approximately 20%, and then finished in mechanical dryers, bringing the moisture content of the beans to a maximum of 12%.

Combined with the natural conditions of the region, meticulous crop management, forward-thinking crop planning and post-harvest selection, the final result from all Andrade family farms is excellent quality, award-winning coffees that are appreciated both within Brazil and internationally as some of the best coffee the country has to offer.    

Peru Cuenca Botijas – Picker

Peru Cuenca Botijas

FARMS – Various Smallholder Farms
VARIETAL(S) – Pache & Caturra Processing:  Fully washed & dried on raised beds in a solar
ALTITUDE – 1,800+ metres above sea level
OWNER – 4 smallholder members of COOAUNFE
TOWN – Monterrico & ViraVira, La Coipa
REGION – San Ignacio, Cajamarca

This community lot was produced by four smallholder members of the COOAUNFE. All four members come from the small villages of Monterrico and Vira Vira in the highlands surrounding Peru’s La Coipa District. The area is characterised by its high, steep slopes, with the villages themselves being situated at 1,800+ metres above sea level. Many families here farm fresh water trout, as the cool weather lends itself to small scale fisheries of the sort.

Cuenca Botijas in Spanish translates roughly to ‘Pitchers River Basin’ – a reference to the fresh, clean water that runs off through the steep slopes in this high part of Northern Peru.

The group’s short-term goals include continuing to improve their coffee quality and steadily growing as an organisation so as to impact more producing families’ lives. In the long-term, they wish to be recognised at both national and international levels as notable producers of high-quality coffee.

Colombia Inza Cauca – drying shelves

Colombia Inza Cauca

ASSOCIATION – Asociación de Productores de Café del Oriente Caucano (ASORCAFE)
VARIETAL(S) – Mostly Caturra (70%+) w/Colombia & Castillo
PROCESSING – Fully washed & dried on parabolic and raised beds
ALTITUDE –  1 500 to 1 800 metres above sea level
OWNER – 52 small holder farmers
TOWN – Pedregal and San Antonio
REGION – Inzá, Cauca

The municipality of Inzá is located in the corner of the Department of Cauca, bordering with Tolima and Huila and looking out to the west over the Pacific Ocean. Situated on the “Macizo Colombiano” (the Colombian Plateau), which surrounds the high peaks of Tolima and Huila, the region is an important source of water and wildlife, in addition to being prime coffee growing land.

The association of coffee growers, ASORCAFE, was founded in 2004 by 10 coffee growers with an entrepreneurial spirit who were tired of private parchment buyers who were paying them below national prices. The region’s violent past, with a heavy presence of FARC guerrillas, had historically prevented the FNC (Colombia’s excellent national coffee board) and specialty-focused exporters from establishing a presence in the region. As violence has diminished, it has enabled the growers in the region to seek increased access to markets for quality, not only taking advantage of the region’s wonderful coffee-growing conditions but also the economic resource that nearby tourist destinations bring (for instance, the World Heritage Site “Parque Nacional Arqueológico de Tierradentro”).

Mike

I’m the Head Roaster at Origin. I joined the company in 2008. My primary focus is on developing roast profiles for the diverse array of great coffees that we purchase throughout the year. I am interested in understanding what makes coffee special, such as processing, varietals and anything else pertaining to geographical distinction.

In my spare time, I focus on something a little different. I am an aspiring mycologist and nutrition enthusiast focusing on gourmet and medicinal mushrooms and the human microbiome. I also dabble in fermentation from time to time.